The Wonton-Wrapper Kreplach
קרעפּלעך·(krep-lekh)
Friday Night Stovetop Comfort (Eastern Europe)
There’s a profound poetry in using a Chinese wonton wrapper to resurrect the quintessential Eastern European dumpling. It’s not a compromise; it’s a stroke of absolute weeknight genius. First-generation grandmothers figured out long ago that the commercial wrapper is the exact same egg dough they used to labor over, just pre-rolled. The real trick—the secret that turns a flimsy wonton into a rustic, chewy pocket of schmaltz-laced meat—is a dusting of flour and a little patience. Allowed to air-dry on the counter, the wrapper transforms, yielding a dumpling that thickens the golden chicken broth and tastes exactly like a Friday night in the old neighborhood.
Before you start
Source the right meat.
Authentic kreplach relies on repurposing leftover soup chicken or braised brisket. If you are starting from scratch on a weeknight, heavily brown and crumble a pound of raw ground beef in the skillet before processing.
Set up a sealing station.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set a small bowl of water nearby to streamline the folding process.
Ingredients
- schmaltz or neutral oil2 tbsp
- yellow onion1 large
- leftover cooked chicken or brisket1 lb
- egg1 large
- kosher salt1 tsp
- coarse black pepper1/2 tsp
- fresh dill1 tbsp
- square wonton wrappers14 oz
- cold water1/4 cup
- all-purpose flour1/2 cup
- chicken soup2 qt
Method
- 01
Caramelize the onions.
Melt the schmaltz in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions, and cook patiently for 15 to 20 minutes until deeply golden.
- 02
Process the filling.
Pulse the chopped meat, caramelized onions with all their fat, beaten egg, salt, pepper, and dill in a food processor until it forms a coarse, cohesive paste—do not purée it into baby food.
- 03
Fold the kreplach.
Spoon a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of a wonton wrapper, paint the edges with water, fold diagonally into a triangle, press out the trapped air, and pinch tightly to seal.
- 04
Execute the dusting trick.
Lightly toss each dumpling in a shallow bowl of flour, shake off the excess, and let them sit in a single layer on wax paper for at least one hour to dehydrate and mimic a rustic, homemade dough.
- 05
Boil the dumplings.
Drop the kreplach into simmering chicken soup a few at a time, cooking for 3 to 5 minutes until they float to the surface and the wrappers are tender.
Notes
Fry the leftovers.
While boiling in soup is mandatory for Friday night, leftover kreplach are magnificent when boiled, patted completely dry, and pan-fried in schmaltz with sliced onions until crispy.
Freeze for later.
After dusting with flour, freeze the kreplach directly on the baking sheet before transferring to a zip-top bag; boil them directly from frozen, adding an extra minute or two to the cooking time.