Pot Stickers w/Pork & Vegetables

Chinese dumplings are a new revelation to me: you mean I can cook a meal consisting entirely of the delicious dumplings found in Wonton Soup? Wait…people DO THAT? People eat dumplings for dinner? Well knock me over with a feather and call me, ugh, misinformed.

I recently discovered Chinese Dumplings, or “Pot Stickers” as they’re most popularly called, at a sushi recent.  Pot Stickers were on the appetizer menu, and not knowing what they were, a friend insisted we try them.  BOY, was I in for a  treat! Steamed, light pastry dough wrapped around a pork and vegetable filling and dipped in spicy chili and soy sauce.  I knew I was a goner.

This recipe comes after a recent trip to the local Asian market and being on a rather long, but tasty Asian Cooking kick.  Make pot stickers using any of the links below for a homemade filling, or use a pre-prepared pot sticker recipe if you feel like cheating and don’t have as much time to commit to the cooking process.  Both will be clearly delicious entrees or appetizers.

Pot Stickers with Pork and Vegetables

This recipe comes from Steamy Kitchen, but substitutes shrimp for vegetables (see here).  Alternatively, you might consider trying this tasty variation of the “Planet Hollywood Pot Stickers” by Copy Cat (found here).  Both are prepared similarly and yield clearly delicious results.  Although I used a packaged pot sticker for this particular recipe, I did re-recreate Jaden Hair’s asian dipping sauce as instructed below.

Ingredients:

Option 1: Pre-packaged Pot Stickers w/Pork & Vegetables (see below)

Option 2: Homemade Pot Stickers with Shrimp & Pork (see here) or Turkey (see here)

–Dipping Sauce–

* 1 teaspoon asian chili sauce

* 1/4 cup soy sauce

* 2 teaspoons sesame oil

* 1/2 teaspoon sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1.) If making homemade dumplings, or “pot stickers,” please see Jaden Hair’s link here for in depth instructions.   Otherwise, prepare the pot stickers according to package instructions: remove frozen pot stickers from a bag and add to a skillet warmed with several tablespoons of vegetable, or sesame oil.

2.) Add 2 cups boiling water so that the pot stickers are immersed in a hot water bath.

3.) Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes until water has reduced almost completely.  This way, the pot stickers will cook in two ways: the hot boiling water willl “steam” the pot stickers” and the pan, or skillet, will brown the bottoms after the steaming process ends.  Cook all of the pot stickers.

4.) Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce: add chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil to a small dipping bowl.  Whisk thoroughly to combine.

5.) Serve pot stickers with dipping sauce.  Enjoy! Makes about 28 pot stickers (enough for 2-3 people as an entree, or 6 people as an appetizer).

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