Making Wontons with My Mother
Among all the Chinese foods, wontons are my favorite.
I love wontons because they are comfort food. I love wontons because I am very good at making them. And I love wontons also because my mother taught me how to make the most delicious wontons!
Making wontons is one of the few fond memories from my childhood. I learned at a young age how to meticulously wrap those preciously looking wontons in the most beautiful presentation. Every Sunday afternoon, my mother, my sister, and I would gather at our round dining table, making over 100 pieces filled with vegetable, ground pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, ginger. The most gratifying moment was to finally sit down, having a bowl of hot soup mixed with the scrumptious wontons.
Thirty years ago when I was leaving Beijing for graduate school in the US, my mother sensed the anxiety on my face. She said, “Remember how good you are at making wontons? You will feed yourself very well.”
My mother, an aerospace engineer, at a satellite launching site in northwest China, circa 1978.
Over the years, my technique has improved a great deal and I take pride in sharing my homemade wontons with close friends. I only wish I could have made a bowl of wonton soup for my mother when she was still healthy and able to enjoy them and feel proud of me.