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The 7 Best Substitutes For Wonton Wrappers

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Fans of Chinese cooking techniques will be familiar with wonton wrappers, and these delicate dough wraps make a great addition to any oriental-inspired meal.

They are surprisingly easy to work with, and the finished wontons make a great dinner table centerpiece or pre-dinner snack.

But what do you do if there are no wonton wrappers at the store?

What is the best substitute for wonton wrappers? The best substitutes for wonton wrappers are similar types of dough wrappers, such as gyoza or shumai wrappers. Rice paper makes a good gluten-free option, while tofu wrappers are suitable for those on a low-carb diet.

Planning a Chinese feast but the local store has run out of wonton wrappers? Don’t panic—we’ve got 7 of the best wonton wrapper substitutes here for you, as well as some top tips for how to make them work in your recipe!

What Are Wonton Wrappers?

Wonton wrappers are a type of dough used to make a thin wrapping around a bundle of ingredients.

These are used to make small Chinese dumplings often referred to as wontons. The wrapper forms a thin skin that is sealed around the filling, keeping the contents secure while the wonton cooks.

Fans of wontons will know that they come in many different forms, with a range of different fillings. These can include vegetables, meat, and fish, and they can also be cooked using a variety of methods.

Traditionally, wontons were included as part of a soup and were boiled in the same pan. In more recent times, people have started cooking wontons in other ways, such as steaming or frying.

Crispy wontons are now a regular favorite on many Chinese restaurant menus, despite being very different from their traditional roots!

The world of wonton wrappers can be quite confusing, and there are similar types of wraps that are sold under different names. A traditional wonton wrapper should be very thin and cut into small squares or circles.

Wonton wrappers have a very smooth texture, with a silky feel. Although they look very delicate, they are surprisingly strong and rarely tend to burst or split. When eaten, the texture is slightly chewy, but not tough.

These versatile wrappers have a very mild flavor and tend to take on the taste of their filling or the soup they are cooked in.

They are used as a vessel to hold more flavorsome ingredients, but when fried they do take on a deliciously crispy texture.

Other names for wonton wrappers include wanton, wun tun, wahn tan, huntun, shao mai, and siu mai. These various names are a result of regional variations in traditional Chinese cooking.

What Are Wonton Wrappers Made From?

Wonton wrappers are actually a type of dough and are normally based on an uncooked form of egg noodle dough. This is made from finely ground wheat flour, eggs, and water, mixed together to form a smooth and pliable dough.

This dough is then rolled out until it is incredibly thin. If you’ve ever seen a wonton cooked in soup, you will notice that the dough is so thin that it is almost translucent!

The dough is then cut into circles, squares, or rectangles, ready to be wrapped around flavor-filled ingredients. They will vary slightly in size but are normally around 3 ½ inches in diameter.

Wanton dough wraps are sold uncooked and are normally found in the chilled section of the grocery store.

You may find wonton wrappers sold in different shapes and thicknesses, and traditional stores sell them by weight instead of volume.

If buying by weight, it can be tricky to figure out how much you need. As a guide, a pound of thinner wonton wrappers will contain around 100-120 skins, while a pound of thicker skins will contain around 70-80 wrappers.

The shape you buy will depend entirely on personal preference – round ones hold more filling, while square or rectangular ones are more suited to making fancy pleats around the top of the dumpling.

The 7 Best Substitutes For Wonton Wrappers

So now we’ve got you all excited about wonton wrappers, we need to turn our thoughts to what you can use as a substitute for this ingredient.

There are plenty of options available, so don’t be disheartened if your local store has run out of wonton wrappers! 

Here are the 7 best wonton wrapper substitutes:

1. Gyoza Wrappers

Gyoza wrappers are like the big brother of the wonton wrapper and make a great substitute for these delicate skins.

In terms of flavor, gyoza wrappers are very similar to wonton wrappers. In fact, it is believed that gyoza (a Japanese dumpling that can be boiled, steamed, or fried) lends its origins to the Chinese wonton.

These wrappers are as versatile as wonton wrappers, and their similarity in flavor, texture, and thickness means they can be used in any recipe that calls for wonton wrappers.

Gyoza wrappers do tend to be slightly thicker and less delicate than wonton wrappers, so you might find them more filling—this dense dough will quickly satisfy your hunger!

The other key difference with gyoza wrappers is that, unlike wonton wrappers, the dough does not contain eggs. This does not seem to make a considerable difference to the taste, although purists would probably argue differently!

2. Shumai Wrappers

Shumai is a steamed or fried dumpling that you may know more commonly as dim sum. 

Shumai wrappers make a great substitute for wonton wrappers as they are the closest substitute in terms of size, thickness, and texture.

In terms of ingredients, shumai wrappers, like gyoza wrappers, do not contain eggs in the dough.

They are also made from a blend of cake flour and bread flour, which gives a denser texture to the dough than the all-purpose flour normally used to make wonton wrappers.

The square shape of a shumai wrapper and versatile foldability makes them easy to use as a substitute for wonton wrappers.

3. Spring Roll Wrappers

Spring roll wrappers are large, flat, thinly-rolled pieces of dough used to wrap fillings in a cylindrical shape. They are normally cooked by frying them in oil, so make a good substitute when you want to make a fried wonton recipe.

Like wonton wrappers, spring roll wrappers are made from a dough consisting of flour and eggs, held together with fat and oil.

They are thicker and larger than wonton wrappers, so you may wish to cut them into quarters when making wontons.

The thickness of spring roll wrappers does give a different texture to wonton wrappers when cooked.

The dough will be crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside. The result is very delicious, but much more filling than a light and airy wonton!

4. Rice Paper

Rice paper is a very fine and light dough, rolled out to make a paper-thin wrapping. It is popular in Asian cuisine, used to wrap delicate foods.

The translucent paper means it is possible to see the ingredients inside, great for when you want a treat that is visually stunning as well as very tasty!

Rice paper is normally supplied in a dried form, which is soaked to make it pliable. It can be eaten raw, making it popular for fresh summer rolls. It can also be gently fried and will withstand gentle simmering in a soup.

In terms of flavor, rice paper is very mild, with little flavor compared to wonton wrappers. It has a similar texture, that is light but slightly chewy and firm.

5. Tofu Wrapper/Beancurd Sheet

If you are looking for a vegan, low-carb, keto-friendly alternative to wonton wrappers, then tofu wrappers make a great alternative.

You may see tofu wrappers sold as beancurd sheets, but rest assured that they are the same thing!

Beancurd sheets can either be bought in a dried form, that needs to be rehydrated before using, or as a ready-to-use sheet in the freezer section.

They have a very mild taste and can be cooked by either gently frying or steaming. Their texture is slightly chewy, similar to a wonton wrapper.

6. Dumpling Wrappers

If you see dumpling wrappers at the store, are these wonton wrappers, or shumai, gyoza, or something else?!

Well, in reality, there is no one generic type of dumpling wrapper, and many manufacturers use this term interchangeably.

This means that a pack of dumpling wrappers will work for most wonton recipes, as well as gyoza and shumai too.

They are similar in thickness to wonton wrappers, although you might find that they are slightly thinner. They don’t always pleat as neatly when wrapping your wontons, but with practice, this should get easier.

7. Egg Roll Wrappers

Egg roll wrappers are similar in size to wonton wrappers but are thicker. This gives the cooked wrapper a crisp outer layer, with fluffy dough on the inside.

You will also see the characteristic blistering on the outside, beloved of all egg roll fans.

These wonton wrappers are made from flour, water, egg, and cornstarch, and have a crunchy, chewy texture when fried. They are normally deep-fried, so they work well if you are making a recipe for crispy fried wontons.

The great thing about egg roll wrappers is that they stand up well to thick, bold sauces, which might not work with thinner wonton wrappers.

If you’re looking for a great new crab rangoon wonton recipe, make sure to check out this video from chef Joshua Weissman!

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