Showing posts with label Asian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian. Show all posts

Friday, May 8, 2015

Potstickers



 
 
I am lucky to have a friend who shares my enthusiasm for trying to make dishes that we have never made before so when I mentioned potstickers she was totally up for the challenge.  She even took me and the girls on a field trip to the Asian market to pick up our ingredients, which was foreign to me both because everything was in Chinese but also because I basically never cook or even eat Chinese or Japanese foods.  Its a shortcoming I am trying to rectify. 
 
Anyway, with premade potsticker wrappers, it isn't difficult at all to make these savory little bites.  Served up with Asian stir-fry vegetables and Spicy Soy Potsticker Sauce, this makes a delicious  and satisfying dinner.
 


Potstickers (recipe by my friend Amy Barrett)

1 pound ground pork
4 cups Napa cabbage, finely chopped
¼ scallions, finely sliced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili oil
70-80 potsticker (round) wrappers
Vegetable oil for frying
4 cups chicken broth

Combine the first twelve ingredients in a large bowl with your hands.  Place one heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of a potsticker wrapper.  Trace water around the edges of the wonton wrapper.  Fold wrapper in half and press closed to seal potstickers.  Place assembled posticker on a baking pan lined with foil and cooking spray until ready to cook.  Repeat steps 2-5 until all the filling or wrappers have been used.

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom surface of the
pan.  Place an single layer of potstickers flat side down in the pan and cook until wrapper turns to a
medium brown (about 2 minutes).  Add 1/3 cup chicken broth to the hot pan, turn heat to low, cover, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Gently remove potstickers from pan, being careful not to tear delicate wrapper.  Pour water into hot empty pan to deglaze and pour out when crispy bits have loosened.  Repeat until all potstickers have been cooked.

Serve with Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce.

Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce

This sauce is the perfect accompaniment for my favorite potstickers.  It definitely packs a little heat but it is oh so good.
 
Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce
 
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup scallions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sambal olek* (more or less depending on desired level of spice)

Whisk all ingredients together and serve in individual dipping bowls.

*Note: Sambal Oelek is a ground fresh chili paste with a green lid and a gold label with a picture of a red rooster on it. It can sometimes be found in the Asian section of a grocery store, but is readily available at any Asian market. If it cannot be found, crushed red pepper flakes can be substituted in the same quantity.