I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen a lot lately and attempted something I never really thought I would be able to make at home, potstickers! They are surprisingly easy to make, just slightly labor intensive. The toughest part is pleating up the wonton skins. I was pretty slow the first time that I made them but found that I got much faster the second time. Please note that this recipe is by no means authentic, but Eric says they taste just like something you’d order in a restaurant. Serve them up with some stir fried veggies for a well rounded meal.
Gyoza ½ lb. pork or chicken, ground 2 cups cabbage (regular green or napa), finely chopped ¼ cup green onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup carrot, shredded 1 egg, scrambled 1 T sesame oil ½ T fresh ginger, minced 1 fresh red chili, chopped (alternatively could use 1 tsp. crushed red pepper) 1 T low sodium soy sauce 1 package round wonton wrappers (will need ~30) For cooking the dumplings: 1 T vegetable oil ½ cup water Dipping sauce: 6 T soy sauce3 T rice vinegar
½ tsp. Sriracha or hot chili sauce (optional, more or less to taste) Fold together all of the above ingredients with the exception of the wonton wrappers. Be careful not to overwork the ground meat. Just loosely fork it to combine ingredients. Have a small bowl of cold water ready. Place a dumpling wrapper on a dry work surface and place a heaping teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. (I use a very small cookie scoop so I don’t get the filling all over my fingers.) With two fingertips moistened with water, trace a line along half of the edge of the round wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling, and pinch the wrapper in the center to seal the edges together at that spot. Holding the filled half-circle in the left hand, pleat the top of the wrapper from the middle out, pressing it to the flat edge of the wrapper at the back. Set aside the stuffed dumpling on well floured parchment paper with the pleated-wrapper edge up. Repeat to make all dumplings. At this point you can either cook the dumplings right away, cover them with some plastic wrap and refrigerate them for a couple of hours until you are ready to cook them, or freeze them to keep for later. In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid, heat 1 T of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Place as many of the dumplings as you can fit in the pan without touching in the skillet with the pleated-wrapper edge up. Cook the dumplings for 3 minutes, or until nicely browned on the bottom. Check the progress by lifting 1 or 2 dumplings by their pleated edge.
Once the bottoms are nicely browned, pour in 1/2 cup of water. Place the lid on the skillet to trap in the moisture and then quickly lower the heat to keep the liquid at a simmer.
Continue to simmer until all the water has evaporated. Remove the dumplings from the skillet with a spatula. Cook the rest of the dumplings in the same way. Serve hot with dipping sauce.
Recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen.