Pinsec Prito, Crisp Pork Wontons with Tamarind-Coconut Sauce

I plan my meals ahead to save time and minimize panic on busy weeknights when I cook dinner. This Pinsec Prito – Crisp Pork Wontons with Coconut-Tamarind Sauce was a handy recipe to have around. One recent example was when our kitchen repairs started two weeks ago. My kitchen was officially closed for a few days. Everything was put away. Water was shut off. No cooking could be done. So we ate out nearly every day.

I like to eat out but it gets expensive. Besides, I can only take so much of restaurant food. My palate longed for homemade flavors and in the end we succumbed to that desire. I found a way to make a homemade meal even without my kitchen.

I used the side burner of our outdoor grill to pan fry these wontons. In the Philippines, we call these Pinsec Prito (say ‘peen-sek pree-toh’) which translates to Fried Pinsec (the wontons).

I took out these pork-filled wontons from the freezer, which I had put together a few weeks ago. I make these in big batches, especially when my sons are home visiting. They help me stuff the wontons. We’ve made it a family effort ever since they were little. Making pork-filled wontons was something I learned from my mom and I’ve passed this on to my sons.

From the freezer to the fryer, these Pinsec Prito only took a few minutes to cook. The side sauce of tamarind (sliced from a block of solid tamarind concentrate) with coconut milk was easy to simmer on the side burner, too. The results were marvelous. We enjoyed dinner al fresco on our patio. The sheer comfort of crunchy pork-filled wontons dipped into a savory-sweet tamarind sauce was incredible. Some dishes are just best homemade.

Print Recipe

Pinsec Prito ,Crisp Pork Wontons with Tamarind-Coconut Sauce

These crisp Pinsec Prito, Crisp Pork Wontons are a popular dish in the Philippines. It is an appetizer or a meal in itself. I made these wontons ahead in a large batch and froze them. Sometimes you can drop them in a simmering broth to make Pancit Molo Soup or else drop them in a hot skillet to make this crunchy dish. The side sauce of Tamarind-Coconut milk was a new, unique twist to the classic Pinsec Prito in lieu of the standard sweet-sour sauce. This is an Asian in America recipe. Serves 4.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Resting Time5 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Filipino

Keyword: Pinsec Prito Pork Wontons

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 588kcal

Author: Asian in America recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 8 whole large fresh shrimps peeled, deveined, chopped fine
• 3/4 cup chopped water chestnuts drained if canned
• 1 whole small-sized carrot peeled, chopped fine, about 3/4 cup
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon xiao xing rice wine
• 2 stalks scallion whites chopped
• 2 whole eggs divided, 1 for pork filling, 1 beaten with a tablespoon of water for egg wash to seal wontons
• 1 Tablespoon constarch
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 stalks scallion greens chopped, for garnish
• 18 to 20 pieces square wonton wrappers
• 1/4 cup solid tamarind from a block or use tamarind liquid concentrate, for sauce
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup coconut milk fresh or canned
• 1 can (8 ounces) ginger ale
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil for pan frying wontons

For serving:

• steamed rice

Instructions

• To make the pork-filled wonton dumplings: In a large bowl, place all the ingredients together – the ground pork, water chestnuts, carrot, scallions ( Note: I omitted the cup of chopped shrimps due to family allergies. Feel free to add shrimps if you prefer).
• Mix all the ingredients well. Add the eggs, cornstarch, salt, black pepper powder, rice wine, soy sauce and drops of sesame oil. Cover ground pork mixture with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes for easier handling.
• To wrap the wonton pork dumplings: Prepare the wonton wrappers by thawing and separating the wrappers. Place them on a clean, dry, surface. On the center of each wonton wrapper, place half a teaspoon of the ground pork mixture. Brush the sides of the wonton with egg wash. Fold the wonton wrapper into a triangle, sealing the edges with your finger. Refrigerate these pork-filled wontons for at least an hour before pan-frying. Or else, keep them in covered plastic containers and freeze them till you are ready to cook.
• To cook wontons: in a large skillet for deep frying, over medium high heat, add cooking oil. When oil is hot enough in about 2 minutes (approximately 350 F temperature), add the pork-filled wontons. Pan fry on each side for about 6 to 7 minutes each. Turn them over to cook evenly. Cook the wontons in batches to keep the cooking oil temperature at a desirable heat so the Pinsec Prito will be crisp when cooked.
• When Pinsec Prito or pork-filled wontons are cooked, drain on parchment paper to remove excess oil. Serve warm and crisp with the Tamarind-Coconut sauce on the side.
• How to cook the Tamarind-Coconut Milk sauce: in a small stockpot combine the ingredients: tamarind paste, brown sugar, lime juice, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil in about 5 minutes. Then lower heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes more. Pour the cooked sauce into a gravy boat.
• Garnish the entire dish with chopped scallions. Serve with boiled white rice.
• Cook's comments: I purchase a whole tamarind block that is concentrated, from the Asian markets. I slice off portions to include as an ingredient for recipes like this one. If not available use liquid tamarind concentrate.
• Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE my original recipe. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos and  recipe content I wrote, on your website,books, films, television shows or videos  without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe or content on another website, video, news article,or media outlets mentioned above please ASK my permission, re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 43g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 1162mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg

Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.

Did you like this recipe?I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. I also have more classic recipes inspired by my mother’s cooking in my popular cookbook: My Mother’s Philippine Recipes. If you’re learning how to cook Filipino food or a fan of Philippine cuisine, buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.

Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE my original recipe, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]