The Fresh Loaf

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Pot Stickers

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Pot Stickers

I tried those pot stockers featured on this week's Wild Yeast blog. I was amazed how incredible easy they were to make and roll out. This was my first time and I noticed they were a little chewy where they were sealed. I think this was because I didn't roll them out quite thin enough, but the chewiness could have also come from my choice of flour (see below). I sprinkled them with a little cornstarch to prevent sticking. I will never used purchased won ton wrappers for pot stickers again!

pot stickers

2 cups (250 g) AP flour (I used KA AP but next time I will use a softer flour, e.g., Guisto's Baker's Choice)

1/2 cup (113 g) warmish water

Put flour in food processor. Pour in water and run until combined. Form dough into a ball and divide into 4 sections. Roll each section out into a log and cut into about 10 pieces. Flatten each disk into a round and roll out with a pin until you have a round that is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches. Cover unused dough logs to prevent drying out.

I used Hugh Carpenter's Santa Barbara Pot Stickers recipe for the filling. I doubled the sauce recipe per batch and ended up with extra filling mixture. I'm going to make some more today and freeze them.

pot stickers

Filling:

12 ounces spinach trimmed (or use one box of frozen chopped spinach)
2 green onions
2/3 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
1 egg
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (you may want to leave this out until you make sure the dish isn't too salty but I put it in and it seems fine to me)
24 homemade pot sticker skins
cornstarch for dusting
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

Drop the spinach leaves into 1 quart rapidly boiling water. when leaves wilt (about 10 seconds) drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out water (if you are using frozen spinach, squeeze it dry), then mince by hand. Mince green onions. Combine spinach, green onions, pork, ginger, orange peel, egg, soy sauce, chili sauce and salt. Mix thoroughly. (I think it is best to make the filling in advance so it can firm up a bit in the refrigerator.)

Within 5 hours of cooking, fold filling into dumplings.

To cook: place a 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat (I used my 12-inch stainless All-clad without any issue). Add oil and immediately add dumplings (I add the oil, then the dumplings, then place the pan on the stove). Fry dumplings until bottoms become dark golden, about 2 minutes. Pour in orange sauce. Immediately cover pan, reduce heat to medium, and steam dumplings until they are firm to the touch (about 2 minutes).

Remove cover. Over high heat, continue frying dumplings until sauce reduces completely (about 1 minute). While cooking, shake the pan so that the dumplings are glazed all over with the sauce. Tip out onto a heated serving platter.

Serves 6

pot stickers
These dumplings can be frozen. Cook frozen dumplings over medium heat until dark golden (about 3 minutes). Because they take longer to cook, you may have to add a little water to the frying pan during the steaming stage.

Notes on ingredients:
Chinese chili sauce: best brands are Cock Brand Delicious Hot Chili Garlic Sauce and Szechuan Chili Sauce
Hoisin sauce: no oriental condiment varies so much in quality from brand to brand. Buy only Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce
Oyster sauce: Lee Kum Kee Oyster Flavored Sauce (best) or Old Brand Oyster Sauce
Light soy sauce: Superior Soy Sauce (not Soy Superior)

--Pamela

Comments

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Pamela, thank you so much for posting this recipe..I would have missed it...the other day I did something I never do..I bought some frozen pot stickers..there were only a few and rather expensive..they really were pretty tasty except I would have liked a little more filling in them...I needed some fast food for those very early dinner nights we have before my husband goes to work and I'm not in the mood to prepare dinner...we will love these and a bonus of making them and freezing..so many combinations can be made..can't thank you enough..these have been on my mind!!  I will even make some for the grandkids..  I know what I will do today!!  Besides making fresh ice cream with my new ice cream maker ; )

Sylvia

xaipete's picture
xaipete

My order from KA ought to be here today or tomorrow. I can't wait to get my dough whisks.

The pot sticker dough was just nothing to make and totally easy to roll out. So easy a child could do it--I'm not kidding. And fast too. It is amazing to me that I never thought to try making them myself before yesterday.

I wish I had a mini rolling pin to roll them out. A kid's version would be perfect, I think.

--Pamela

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

I can't wait to make these in chicken, pork etc.  You didn't care for the KAAP!  I don't have any GAP where do you order yours from...I have never tried it yet...I have little space..no extra refrigerator and my cupboards full of flour right now..and a new order from KA arrived today full of flour and lots of other goodies...I might try the KAOrganicAP or GMOrganic.  You will love your dough wisks!  I have a mini rolling pin..now it might come in handy!

Sylvia 

 

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I was reading a post that Dan DiMuzio responded to and thought just maybe the chewiness I noticed in my pot stickers might be owing to amount of gluten in the flour. It might not be the flour, but it was just a thought I had. I think a flour that is a little softer might be a better choice for pot stickers. If you have some pastry flour you could mix it with KA AP, but if KA AP is all you have go ahead and use it. It will still taste great.

Most of the markets around here carry Guisto's in the bulk section.

--Pamela

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

They might be like making cakes and useing an APF if cake flour isn't available..better cakes with a Bleached flour rather than the Unbleached because it is lighter!  Now I remember what that bag of flour was I dumped into an unmarked flour bin..it's Bleached flour...maybe it will work better..what do you think!

Sylvia

xaipete's picture
xaipete

It's certainly possible. The only bleached flour I have is cake flour. But I don't want to lead you astray. It worked fine with KA AP. It's just all this talk on TFL lately about how KA AP is stronger than Gold Medal, etc.

Try it with KA AP first. I'm going to make another batch soon with Guisto's Baker's Choice which I think is about 10.5% protein.

--Pamela

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

David

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Thanks, David. I had a lot of fun making them. Just finished them off for lunch!

--Pamela

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

Yum!  I used the make them when all the kids were at home.  Now you've given me the idea of what kind of surprise I will make this week for my husband and our 7-year-old.  Thanks!

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I hope you enjoy them.

--Pamela

weavershouse's picture
weavershouse

My son and his Asian wife make homemade wrappers regularly and I wish they lived nearby so I could have them more often. Homemade wrappers make a difference.

 

When my daughter and I make gyoza we make at least 100 at a time and freeze lots. We buy the wrappers. I don't think I could talk her into rolling 100 or more wrappers. 

 

I've been wondering if we could send the dough through the pasta maker and then just cut the circles. I bet it would work and I think I'll try it this week.

 

Nice job Pamela, I think there will be a lot of potstickers made this week after seeing yours.

weavershouse

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Thanks, Weaverhouse. Yes you could sent them through a pasta machine. I googled on that yesterday and came up with a few hits that used that method.

One-hundred wrapper is a lot but I think it only took me about 30 minutes to make 25. If there were two people making them, it would take too long.

--Pamela

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

that she makes the Pot Stickers often for her family and finds it much easier to roll the dough out of her pasta machine and cut the rounds.  I do not have that attachment so I will try rolling the dough into a log and then into a long strip and cut the rounds and see if that's faster and easier than doing alll those little balls!

Sylvia

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I didn't even consider doing it in a pasta maker because I thought there would be so much waste!

--Pamela

ques2008's picture
ques2008

there is a world of difference between other brands and LKK.  I will stick to LKK from now on, a tad more expensive but well worth it.

xaipete's picture
xaipete

The specific brand recommendations came from Hugh Carpenter. I took a series of classes from him in the early 1980s.

--Pamela

susanfnp's picture
susanfnp

Beautiful, beautiful!

The potstickers I made that Pamela referenced were this month's Daring Cooks challenge, hosted by Jen of use real butter. She has a wonderful tutorial on her blog:

http://userealbutter.com/2007/10/04/chinese-dumplings-and-potstickers-recipe/

For anyone interested in joining Daring Cooks or Daring Bakers:

http://thedaringkitchen.com/

Susan (Wild Yeast)

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Thanks, Susan. I really hope others will be inspired to make their own pot stickers. Thanks for putting it on your blog.

--Pamela