I know that whenever we visit a Chinese buffet my husband and I both head right on over to the pot stickers before loading our plates up with anything else.
Let’s take a peek at what the folks over at Group Recipes have to say about it:
A classic offering at a family dim sum (Chinese brunch), these beef dumplings also make for great hors d’oeuvres for gatherings, too. At our family’s parties, the buffet line always forms right where we put the potstickers!
These yummy little guys are terrific and they aren’t too terribly hard to make, either. Score!
Ingredients
2 dozen wonton wrappers
Water
Sesame or vegetable oil
Filling:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 cup water chestnuts (diced)
6 green onions (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
3 Tbsp. Lay Choy soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger (about a 1inch finger)
1/2 tsp. McCormick black pepper
Instructions
In a bowl, mix together the filling ingredients. Set aside.
Lay out your wrappers. This is the assembly line theory of making potstickers. At first you will be slow, but soon you will be quick. Once you have them laid out, place about 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonton. It’s important not to overfill. It will make the wrapper difficult to close later.
Time to fold. Dap the tips of your fingers, or a pastry brush, in water and wet two sides of the wanton. The wet sides should be two sides off the same corner. Now fold over the sides and form a triangle. Press along the edges of the triangle to make sure the wonton seals. Now pinch up the sides toward the apex of the triangle. The result should be a ‘money bag’ shape holding the filling. Though, trust me, people rarely comment if you make ugly potstickers. If yours look like they were done in the dark by a drunken monkey, people won’t notice. Practice and yours will likely be better then mine in no time.
NOTE: At this point you can stop if you are doing prep work. You can simply cover and refrigerate. They will be okay overnight or a day in advance. The only storage issue is to be careful if you store them touching. If they are at all wet, they will stick together. This risks tearing the wontons before you’ve even cooked them.
In a large non-stick (trust me this makes your life easier) pan over medium high to high heat, add about two tablespoons of oil. There should not be a lot of oil. Just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Swish the pan to make sure oil is evenly and thinly distributed. Leave it over the heat for about 45 seconds or until the oil lightly shimmers when moved. Once it shimmers, delicately place about 10 of the dumplings into the pan.
NOTE: My preference is for sesame oil, but I’ve used vegetable and canola with good results. Olive oil may not be right because you are going to cook on very high heat and olive oil tends to have a low smoke point.
For the this step, the key is to be ready in advance. You need about 1/4 cup of water and a lid that will cover the pan. You are now looking for signs that the dumplings are starting to firm and become golden brown on the bottom. You should see them turn in about 1-2 min. Once the wontons are there, add the 1/4 cup water and place the lid quickly over the pan. The potstickers are now steaming. Turn down the heat to medium and allow them to cook for another 3 min.
WARNING: When you lift the lid, stand back because you will get blasted with very hot steam if you are not careful.
Remove from the heat and transfer the potstickers to a serving plate or warm location (an oven at 200F works). Wipe the pan clean or rinse off with water, and then prepare another batch following the same steps. Serve hot. Enjoy!
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Quick Tip: Serve these yummy pot stickers with soy sauce.
Thank you to Group Recipes for this great recipe.
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