Who doesn’t love a crispy, cheesy snack? This recipe captures our favorite Truffle Cheese Wontons from Nono's: star-shaped pinsec frito filled with creamy cheese and topped with truffle honey.
This hack lets you make Nono’s-style wontons for parties, potlucks, or just to satisfy your own cravings. Make more than you think—you’d be surprised how fast these wontons disappear if you’re not looking.
What is Nono’s?
Where’s the best restaurant where you can fulfill your chismosa fantasy? Your titas and their amigas will probably point you to Nono’s.
With bright, homey interiors and a cozy vibe, Nono’s is a family-style restaurant serving Western and Filipino comfort food fit for all-day brunch. Homestyle Fried Chicken and Waffles are their specialty; their Chocolate Oblivion cake is a nice way to end your meal. But what we really look forward to in Nono’s are their signature Truffle Cheese Wontons.
What a three cheese blend does for the filling
To replicate Nono’s stretchy, flavorful cheese filling, we used a combination of three different cheeses:
- Cream cheese: Neutral and slightly tangy, this cheese is the perfect base to keep our filling smooth and creamy.
- Mozzarella: Achieves a stretchy cheese pull. For this recipe, we use the pre-grated variety so each bite has the right amount of mozzarella.
- White cheddar: It’s sharp and salty, adding more cheesy flavor to our wontons. We used white cheddar to keep the filling a pale white color like Nono’s. But if it’s not available, you can substitute with yellow cheddar instead.
Black or white truffle oil?
Drop by Santi’s and you’ll spot two kinds of truffle oil: black and white. Here's how they differ:
White truffle oil is infused with the Italian Alba truffle. Since this variety is rarer than others, it’s also more expensive. But the price is worth the light, almost garlicky taste that pairs well with fries, pasta, or soups.
Black truffle oil has a stronger, more pronounced flavor. It’s often used in salad dressing and risottos to highlight the more robust flavor of the truffle.
White truffle oil wins for these wontons. Black truffle oil works too, if you already have it—no need to splurge on a new one—just use sparingly.
Now that you have some fancy truffle oil, note that its flavor fades away when heated, and is exclusively used as a finishing oil. It’s why we mixed ours with the honey drizzle, not the filling!
Ingredients
Cheese Wontons
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup grated white cheddar
- ¼ cup grated mozzarella
- 12 molo or wonton wrappers
- neutral oil, for frying
Truffle Honey Drizzle
- ¼ cup honey
- truffle oil, to taste
- roasted walnuts, chopped
Make wontons: In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, white cheddar, and mozzarella until well incorporated.
Working one piece at a time, lay a wonton wrapper on your palm. Spoon about ½ tsp of cheese mixture onto the center of the wrapper.
Using your finger, moisten two opposite points of the wonton with water. Bring them together, forming a triangle. Moisten the remaining points of the wonton and fold to the center. Press along the edges to seal. Repeat with the rest of your wontons.
Transfer wontons on a plate or baking tray. Place them in the freezer to set, about 10–15 minutes.
Fry: Add enough oil for deep frying in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Heat oil until it registers 350°F or 180°C in an instant-read thermometer. Working in batches, fry wontons until crispy and golden brown all over, about a minute. Careful not to let cheese mixture ooze out of the wontons while frying. Transfer wontons to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Assemble and serve: In a small bowl, combine honey and 1 tsp truffle oil until well incorporated. Taste and adjust with another 1 tsp of truffle oil if you want a stronger aroma.
Place wontons on a plate. Drizzle with as much truffle honey as you like. Garnish with walnuts and serve immediately.
Notes
Avoid leaky wonton disasters with these two tips:
- Resist overstuffing: We know the cheese filling is to die for. While it’s tempting to stuff a lot of filling in each wonton, spoon in only ½ tsp. More isn't better—excess cheese will leak out into the oil, creating a messy fry
- Minimize air pockets when folding: Trapped air from the wontons can expand, causing your wontons to burst. Press out as much air as you can while filling and folding. At the same time, don’t wrap the wonton too tightly. You can leave a small gap—like at the tip of each wing—for any hot air or steam to escape while cooking.
Note that the shape of these wontons are more prone to bursting. For extra insurance, fold the wontons into triangles instead!
