Putsy Food

Most of my cooking is in bulk,

because hubby eats in bulk

(even if it never shows on his wastline).

Sometimes though, on a cold rainy afternoon when hubby has a day off work, it is nice to make something special for a leisurely lunch.

Today it was Homemade Pot Stickers!

The recipe is tweaked from the Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines cookbook, Pork Shu-Mei filling and Chinese Boiled Dumplings dough.

Filling:  mix well & set aside covered in fridge

1 pound lean ground pork (Tender ground venison also works well!)

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 Tbs. Chinese rice wine (the cheap salty stuff)

   (If you use a good wine, also add 1 tsp salt to recipe.)

1 Tbs. freshly grated or finely chopped ginger

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. white pepper

a little black pepper

a few sprinkles of kimchee pepper flakes

pinch of sugar

1 Tbs. chopped onion - green or white (whatever is on hand)

1 egg white

1 Tbs. corn starch

3-4 cloves garlic, run through a press or finely chopped

3-5 napa cabbage leaves, chopped very fine and squeezed dry

     in paper toweling

Dough:

2 1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

1 Tbs. olive oil

Mix the flour and salt.  Add the boiling water and stir with chopsticks.  Add the olive oil, mix and knead in the mixing bowl, then on the counter until well incorporated.  Let dough rest in sealed container for 20 minutes before rolling.  Dough can also rest overnight in the refrigerator with no ill effects.  If planning to assemble the dumplings the next day, leave the napa cabbage out of the filling until just before stuffing.

For best results, roll dough balls on a marble cutting board or 12"x12" marble floor tile (well washed).  If you buy yours at Home Depot like I did, make sure they don't charge you for an entire case.  A heaping teaspoon sized dough ball when rolled thin will hold approx. 1 heaping Tbs. of filling.  Stuff the shell, seal edges, repeat.... and repeat....

Preheat pan to medium high, add some canola oil and place dumplings in pan with enough space around them that you can persuade them to come loose later without mangling other dumplings in the process.  Allow the bottoms to start browning, then pour approx. 2-4 Tbs. of water or chicken stock into the pan and cover immediately.  You may need to add a little more liquid later to ensure that the filling is fully steamed/cooked.  When the liquid has boiled away, remove the dumplings from the pan before they burn.  They will be crispy on the bottom and perfectly steamed on top.  To make the next panful, scrape away remaining dough bits and repeat the process starting with more oil.  If too much stuff is stuck to the pan, deglaze it with water, dump out the stuff, allow it to dry and start again.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.  I usually mix equal parts of Hoisin sauce, Soy Sauce, and rice wine.

The traditional dipping sauce if I remember correctly is a bit of Soy Sauce, Rice Wine, a pinch of sugar, and freshly grated ginger.

Enjoy!