Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Potstickers


I'm steel reeling from the beauty of this experience. I'm not sure if I have words to describe how good this recipe was. My kids were begging me to make this more often before I had even finished cooking it! They hadn't even tasted it. Once it got to the table, they were fighting over just how much they could eat. Of course Hypatia didn't like it, but she doesn't like anything exept for rice, noodles, eggs and kiwis (well, maybe more than that, but not much more, lol).

I got this recipe from the February 2006 Cuisine at Home magazine. It was in an article featuring chef Martin Yan. While this recipe tasted excellent, I had a hard time making it look as good as the photos. But who cares? I practically had my family falling to their knees praising my name this time! Dylan wants me to make some for him to take for school lunch. He says, with a huge grin, "I would love to see the other kids faces when they see me eat this!" Good idea, Dylan, but there is never any left over for lunch the next day!

One more thing. Chef Yan says that if you can't find the round wrappers, thats ok, just buy the square ones and cut them round with a biscuit cutter. I couldn't find round, so I used square. End of story, no cutting involved.

Potstickers

Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt:
2 1/2 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced

Add:
8 oz. ground pork or chicken
1/4 cup chicken broth (I left this out for some reason)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (oops, I accidently left this out too)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (ok, I've lost my mind. I left this out too. Was I high or something? Maybe this was why it didn't turn out perfect, duh)
1 tablespoon scallions (is that the same as green onions? I used green onions)
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (I used black)
I added 2 cloves garlic, minced

Fill, brown, and steam
:
30 potsticker or gyoza wrappers
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup water, divided

Toss with:
Hot and Sour Chili Sauce (recipe follows)

Sprinkle cabbage with salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Squeeze cabbage tightly in your fist to remove all excess liquid (I didn't do this).

Add remaining filling ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Fill each round wrapper with a teaspoon of filling, wrap and seal. Heat a large saute pan over medium until hot; add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, swirling to coat. Add half the potstickers, seam side up and cook until bottoms are golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until water has evaporated, 5-6 minutes. Remove potstickers and keep warm. Wipe out the pan with a paper towl, then brown and steam the remaining potstickers. Toss the warm potstickers with sauce to coat.

Hot and Sour Chili Sauce

Combine:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons scallions (green onions?), minced
2 teaspoons hot chili oil
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

UPDATE: Since I had exactly enough ingredients left over to make this again, I made it again the next night. This time, I remembered the forgotten ingredients and I didn't really steam the potstickers like the instructions said. I put extra water in, but I didn't put the lid on. They turned out prettier, and they tasted heavenly!

The first picture in the post is from when I made it the second night. The second and third pictures are from the first time I made it. I think it definitely looks better the second time I made it.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Laurie, those potstickers look great! I'm not surprised that the kids couldn't wait to eat them. I might have to try this recipe instead of storebought/frozen ones. aunt lojo

Angelina said...

Okay love the new look. The pictures really pop on this background. I have the hardest time making biscuits. They are never fluffy. Pot Stickers look yummy....I am all about some good Japanese food.

Val in the Rose Garden said...

I love the new background! And OMG those look SO good! I may have to have an asian food night very very soon to try this out. Alex has been asking for things like this for school too. Pretty soon I will be packing lunch for three. (Dh, Alex AND Cyan... *SIGH*) I will have to make double of dinner just to have enough.

That first pic is incredible too!

Val

Laurie said...

Oh, ya'll are so nice!

Hey Auntie! Nice to see you commenting!

Angelina, I'm not sure what the secret to fluffy biscuits is. I just follow the recipe, you know? lol. I guess they are fluffy. The family likes them.

Val, I so bad at creative lunches, to be honest, lol!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Laurie, you forgot a word in there ; )

I'll have to test your potstickers and see if they compare to the REAL thing (from Taiwan). They look yummy!

Sis

Laurie said...

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Sis!

LOL, I noticed after posting!

Val in the Rose Garden said...

I doubt that... I am sure they are all stored in your head just like most of mine. ;) I get them out about 1/2 the time now... and poor Alex is now in 5th grade. LOL! Usually he just got pb&j's and applesauce for lunch for YEARS. lol!

As for good ideas, the vegan lunchbox is great for ideas and I just add meat and cheese. Then it becomes easier too. :D I have gotten TONS of new ideas from her. And I discovered that both of my kids like wraps this year.. that helped too.

Val