Phoenix Bakery Inspired Butterfly Recipe (a.k.a. Bowties or Dan San)
Recreate these famous Los Angeles Chinatown butterfly pastries at home using store bought wonton wrappers!
Ingredients
- 20 won ton wrappers
- 200 g sugar about 1 cup
- 50 mL water about 3 1/2 tbsp
- 15 g corn syrup about 1 tbsp
- 15 g canola oil about 1 tbsp
- more oil for brushing
Instructions
- Layer two wonton wrappers on top of each other. Slice the stack down the middle. Then cut a slice lengthwise going down the center of each set of rectangles, leaving about a 1/2 inch border at the top and bottom. Take the short end of the rectangle and push both layers through the center hole. Repeat for all the wonton wrappers.
- Brush each twist of wonton wrappers with oil. Deep fry in oil at 350 degrees F for a couple minutes or air fry in a preheated air fryer at 350 degrees F for four minutes until wrappers are browned and crispy.
- In a pot, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and oil. Heat just until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling. Take off the heat, transfer to a heat proof bowl, and let cool in the fridge for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens to a syrup consistency.
- Dip cooked wonton twists in the bowl of sugar syrup until evenly coated. Let excess syrup drip off and serve immediately. Butterflies are best eaten the day they are made.
Video
Notes
- Butter can be substituted for the oil in the sugar syrup.
- Corn syrup helps keep the syrup from crystallizing, so I don't recommend using substitutions, but you if you're really against corn syrup, you can substitute an equal amount of lemon juice.
- A tbsp of honey can also be added to the syrup if you like a honey flavor.