Wontons

Doneness

Fried wontons are done when the wrappers are an even deep golden-brown, blistered and crisp enough to crackle when tapped, with the filling hot through. The thin edges crisp first and the centre last, so judge by overall colour and crunch — pale, soft, or oil-spotted wrappers need another minute. For a cream-cheese crab rangoon the filling just needs to be hot and softened; for any meat filling, doneness is the filling temperature (see warnings), not just the colour of the shell.

Oil & seasoning

Spray or brush both sides lightly with oil — this is what crisps the wrappers in place of the deep-fry oil they're usually cooked in. Bare wonton wrappers come out of the dry convection pale, leathery and chewy rather than crackly. A light, even mist on both faces is enough; don't drench them.

Season with: Crispy crab rangoon (the benchmark): softened cream cheese with crab or imitation crab, scallion and a little garlic powder, folded and sprayed crisp — the takeout-favourite version most people search for. Serve with sweet chilli or duck sauce., Cream-cheese wontons: the same crisp parcel with just sweetened, seasoned cream cheese and no crab — milder and kid-friendly., Fried pork wontons: seasoned ground pork (often with ginger, scallion and soy). The filling is raw, so these must reach a safe internal temperature — see warnings., Sweet dessert wontons: a spoon of apple-pie filling or banana-and-Nutella sealed in the wrapper, sprayed, crisped, and dusted with cinnamon sugar straight out of the basket..

Watch out for

• !Spray both sides with oil. Bare wonton wrappers stay pale, leathery and chewy in the air fryer's dry heat — the light oil mist is what turns them golden and crackly the way deep-frying would.
• !Seal the edges with water and press the air out. An unsealed or air-pocketed wonton pops open as it cooks, and the filling leaks out and scorches onto the basket. Wet the wrapper edges, press them firmly, and squeeze out trapped air before the final fold.
• !Single layer, no crowding. Wontons crisp by direct air contact and fuse together where they touch, tearing the wrappers apart. Leave space between them and cook in batches.
• !Meat-filled wontons must reach 165 °F (74 °C) internal — raw pork or chicken fillings have to cook through, not just crisp the shell. Cream-cheese crab rangoon contains no raw meat, so for those golden-and-crisp is the only target.