Pork and Prawn Ravioli

Who says pasta has to start from scratch? Sometimes the smartest shortcut is already sitting in your fridge, waiting to become something completely different.  Pork and prawn ravioli made with wonton wrappers and served in a rich lemon sage butter and chicken stock sauce.

Does making ravioli intimidate you? I completely understand why. At first glance, it looks like one of those dishes that belongs in an Italian grandmother’s kitchen, where years of experience are required just to roll the dough properly. But what if I told you to stop thinking of ravioli as pasta and start thinking of it as dumplings?

Suddenly it doesn’t seem nearly as complicated.

In fact, I would argue that ravioli is one of the easiest dumplings you can make. There is no pleating, no intricate folding, and no worrying about perfectly shaped edges. You simply sandwich a filling between two sheets of dough, seal the edges, boil, and you’re done.

That was exactly the thought process behind this recipe. I had a pack of yellow wonton wrappers sitting in the fridge after making dumplings and I really didn’t want them to go to waste. I had already made enough dumplings for the week, so instead of making more of the same, I decided to see how well they would work as ravioli.

The result surprised me.

Why Wonton Wrappers Make Excellent Ravioli

Yellow wonton wrappers are actually much closer to traditional Italian pasta than many people realise. They’re made primarily from wheat flour, eggs, and water, almost identical to fresh egg pasta dough. That means they behave beautifully when boiled, producing delicate, silky pasta with very little effort.

Compared to homemade pasta, they are incredibly thin, which gives the finished ravioli a refined texture that almost melts in your mouth. They also cook in just three to four minutes, making them perfect for quick homemade pasta dishes.

I actually prefer using the yellow wrappers over the white ones for ravioli. The eggs in the dough create a softer, silkier bite that feels remarkably close to fresh Italian pasta. White wonton wrappers, while excellent for dumplings, tend to produce a chewier texture that reminds me more of Chinese dumplings than delicate ravioli.

Sometimes the best shortcut is simply choosing the right ingredient.

A Dish That Bridges Two Culinary Traditions

The more I thought about it, the more this recipe made perfect sense.

Ravioli and dumplings are not as different as they first appear. Both involve wrapping a savoury filling inside dough before cooking it in boiling water. The only real difference lies in the shape and the culture they come from.

Some food historians even believe stuffed pasta and Asian dumplings may share distant historical connections through ancient trade routes, although there is no definitive proof. What is certain is that cultures across Eurasia developed remarkably similar ideas: wrap delicious fillings in dough and cook them until tender.

Italian ravioli eventually became one of the country’s defining dishes, appearing in written records as early as the fourteenth century. Originally filled with herbs and cheese during Lent, ravioli evolved into countless regional variations across Italy before spreading around the world through Italian migration.

This recipe simply brings those two traditions back together.

Building the Perfect Filling

The filling combines minced pork with prawns prepared in two different ways.

Half of the prawns are blended into a smooth paste together with some of the pork, creating a sticky base that binds everything together naturally. The remaining prawns are chopped by hand, giving the filling pockets of sweetness and a pleasant bite that would otherwise be lost.

Crème fraîche keeps the filling moist while garlic and lemon zest brighten the richness without overwhelming it. The result is delicate enough for pasta but still unmistakably inspired by dumpling fillings.

A Sauce That Lets the Ravioli Shine

Because the wrappers are so thin and delicate, I deliberately avoided a heavy tomato or cream sauce.

Instead, browned butter forms the foundation. As the butter gently caramelises, fresh sage releases its aroma into the pan, creating one of Italy’s classic pasta pairings.

A splash of concentrated chicken stock deepens the savoury character without making the sauce heavy, while fresh lemon juice and zest cut through the richness and keep everything bright.

Finished with freshly grated Parmesan, the sauce coats every ravioli without masking the filling.

Sometimes restraint produces the best flavour.

A Clever Way to Reduce Waste

One of my favourite things about this recipe is that it solves a problem many home cooks encounter.

Leftover wonton wrappers rarely get used once the dumplings are finished. They sit in the fridge until they eventually dry out or expire. Turning them into ravioli gives them an entirely new purpose while creating something that feels surprisingly elegant.

It is one of those recipes that proves creativity in the kitchen often starts with simply asking, “What else can I make with this?”

Final Thoughts

Pork and Prawn Ravioli may not be traditional Italian cooking, nor is it pretending to be. Instead, it takes two familiar culinary traditions and finds the common ground between them.

The yellow wonton wrappers become delicate pasta. The pork and prawn filling borrows from classic dumplings. The butter and sage sauce ties everything together with unmistakable Italian flavours.

Most importantly, it reminds us that great cooking doesn’t always require making everything from scratch. Sometimes the smartest shortcut produces results every bit as satisfying as the traditional method.

Pork and Prawn Ravioli

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Raymund
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 20 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Pork and prawn ravioli made with wonton wrappers and served in a rich lemon sage butter and chicken stock sauce.

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Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

Filling

• 200 g raw prawns, peeled and deveined (100 g blended, 100 g finely chopped)
• 200 g pork mince
• 3 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pack yellow wonton wrappers

Lemon Sage Butter Sauce

• 100 g unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp concentrated chicken stock
• 15-20 fresh sage leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• freshly grated parmesan, for serving

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Instructions

1. Blend half the prawns together with half the pork until smooth and sticky.
2. Finely chop the remaining prawns and combine with the remaining pork, blended mixture, crème fraîche, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
3. Cut the wonton wrappers into circles using a cookie cutter and keep them covered with a damp towel.
4. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling onto each wrapper. Brush the edges lightly with water, top with another wrapper and press firmly to remove any air pockets. Crimp the edges with a fork.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil and cook the ravioli in batches for about 4 minutes, or until they float and the filling is fully cooked.
6. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the sage leaves and cook until the butter turns golden brown.
7. Stir in the chicken stock, lemon juice, and lemon zest, allowing the sauce to emulsify for about 30 seconds.
8. Gently toss the cooked ravioli through the sauce until evenly coated.
9. Serve immediately with crispy sage leaves and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese.

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