Wonton with shrimps

One of the drawbacks of living in the French countryside is that foreign food products are not easily available, even though online ordering is possible provided you pay for transport.
Good risotto rice, fresh coriander, fish from the Atlantic, smoked mackerel…
In Paris, Asian ingredients are easily obtainable from specialist supermarkets. Here there are some market stalls that have a limited supply or there are stores in cities like Toulouse or Carcassonne.
The last time I went to the “toko” in “Carca”, as we say here, I had bought packages of wonton sheets you can keep in the freezer. But you also have to take them out and use.
Back in Paris, we would eat steamed dumplings with a sauce in small Chinese joints in Belleville, or in savoury soups where you had to catch the dumplings with your chopsticks.
So, for a light dinner before an evening of Mahjong with friends in the village, I tried my hand on these.
I had frozen shrimps, fresh ginger, carrot and (wild) leeks and coriander leaves (from the freezer from a big batch I had ordered online). The evening before using the ingredients, I took the items out of the freezer.
I sliced the vegetables and herbs and put them in a small blender with a dash of saké (as I had no Shaoxing wine) and some sesame oil, plus salt and pepper. Then I mixed the paste with the shrimps.
I put a sheet in my hand, added a spoon of filling in the middle, folded it into two triangles – one slightly larger than the other – and moistened the ends with some water. Then I folded the points inside, and then rolled it up and depressed the lid onto the rest.
This I repeated for the 25 sheets and collected the wonton in a bamboo steaming basket.
Shortly before the dinner, I steamed them for some 10 minutes.