Appeale

Over the New Year holiday I didn’t make any specific resolutions. Though I did have many goals for the year on my mind, including trying out new cooking techniques and new cuisines. I didn’t grow up in an area that had a lot of asian cuisine, and as a result I’m pretty clueless as to ingredient pairing and techniques. Ever since I saw the Throwdown with Bobby Flay featuring dumplings/potstickers I’ve been craving the fried/steamed/salty goodness.

I don’t want to brag or anything, but my first foray into potstickter making was very successful. Including Neil claiming they may have been the best potstickers he has ever had (and he’s a tough judge). The recipe below is what I came up with from reading other blogs and personal flavor preferences, but feel free to substitute any ingredients. I’m telling you though, this combo was perfect.

Things I learned while making postickers….
1. This recipe makes a bunch (an entire package of store bought, pre-made round wonton wrappers) – at the time I was mildly annoyed, after mincing what felt like a mountain of vegetables, however we ended up freezing over half of the recipe and now have an easy dinner/appetizer waiting for a lazy night.

2. The first few I assembled looked a bit odd and felt even more awkward to make. Don’t worry, after two or three you’ll get a pattern/technique down. I followed pictures from this blog.

3. This is a really fun recipe to make with someone, plus it helps cut down on the extensive mincing and potsticker assembly.

4. Definitely make the dipping sauce (recipe below) – it’s a really nice compliment, and you can mince the sauce ingredients when you’re preparing the potsticker ingredients.

Pork Potstickers

Makes about 60 potstickers

Ingredients
1 package of round wonton wrappers (usually in the produce section of the grocery store)
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup red cabbage, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 cup ginger root, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful cilantro, minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn starch
1 egg

Dipping Sauce Ingredients
2 parts soy sauce
1 part red wine vinegar
splash of sesame oil
dollop of chili garlic sauce (depends on how much heat you want)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 minced green onion
small handful minced cilantro

Directions
Combine the pork, red cabbage, green onions, shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ginger root, garlic, cilantro, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Take a wonton wrapper and lightly cover the edges with the wash (this allows the edges to pinch together more securely). Place a small amount of pork mixture in the center, about one teaspoon. You’ll know if you put too much in the middle because it will be hard to close the wrapper. Pick up the wrapper and pinch the top of the two sides together to form a pleat. Continue to pinch the wrapper together until the potsticker is completely sealed. Definitely check out this site for a photo tutorial.

Next place dumplings in a frying pan (that has a lid) with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Fill the pan as full as you’d like as long as the potstickers aren’t touching each other (they’ll fuse together). Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover immediately. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat. I sprinkled a little leftover chopped cilantro over the tops before serving.

To freeze for later use…assemble the dumplings on a plate so they are not touching. Freeze until dumplings are no longer soft, and then place in ziploc bag and return to the freezer. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

Sauce Directions
Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well combined.