Works of Won Ton Art

The fish won tons from the Norwalk restaurant Renu Nakorn show the kind of craftsmanship that can make Thai food so special. The dough for these won tons--which are called keo pla in Thai--contains no flour or other starch, only fish. Restaurant owners Saipin and Suchay Chutima use three kinds of fresh ocean fish, often including true snapper and Florida perch. They fillet the fish, then scrape the fillets into particles and knead them by hand with a dash of sugar and salt until the mixture can be rolled out like a sheet of dough. They then cut the dough into squares to fold won-ton-style around a filling of ground chicken.

At the restaurant, the won tons are used in a garlicky soup and with noodles, but customers can take the won tons home--they keep three to four days in the refrigerator--and add them to chicken broth or other homemade soups and dishes, including the Garlic Soup recipe from this week’s Cover Story package on H4.

The won tons are available only when quality fresh fish is available so it’s important to check with the restaurant before heading over for won tons.

Fish won tons, 75 cents each at Renu Nakorn Thai restaurant, 13041 E. Rosecrans Ave., Norwalk. (562) 921-2124. Call first to check on availability.