I made that!

Fun! Fun! Fun! I made potstickers!

It’a been on the list for a while. But I’ve never cooked Chinese, so I just never needed an appetizer to match. This week I decided it was time. I was making Kung Pao Chicken (ok, so maybe that’s not REAL Chinese) and potstickers were in order!

There was a bit of chopping involved.

But that was the hardest part. At least for the filling.

And there was a dough. I was skeptical at first, because all the recipes called simply for flour and water. But it worked!

I rolled out little 4″ discs and plopped on some filling.

And then I made little pleated pouches! So damn cute!

I fried the pouches in peanut oil, then poured in some water and covered them so that they could steam.

And they were delicious! Well worth it. I even made extra ones and froze them for later.

PORK POTSTICKERS RECIPE:

Pork Filling:

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup napa cabbage, minced

1 stalk green onion, minced

1/2 cup bamboo shoots, minced

1/4 cup ginger root, minced

3 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP sesame oil

1 TBSP corn starch

– Throw everything in a bowl and mix well. Cover and store in the fridge.

Dough:

4 cups flour

1 1/2 cup warm water

– Put flour and half of the water in a bowl and stir with a fork. Slowly add in more water, a TBSP at a time. Once it is stiff enough, knead. Keep adding water until it is smooth, but not sticky. You might not use all of the water.

– Cover with a damp towel and let sit for 30 minutes to relax the gluten.

– Cut into chunks and roll into 3-4 inch discs.

– Place roughly 1 TBSP of filling in the center and shape into a pouch.

– Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Place potstickers in pan and fry until the bottoms are nice and browned.

– Shielding your face with the lid, pour in some water (1/2 a cup or so) and cover immediately. Lower heat to medium low and cook for 6 minutes.

– Place potstickers on plate to cool while you mix dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 TBSP red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tsp minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sugar

– Mix everything together.