Pot stickahs!!!

[Stinky The Clown]

We made an assortment of pot stickers tonight. I have a question for any pot sticker aficionados. What do you use for dipping sauce. I mix soy sauce and rice wine vinegar about 50/50 and then flavor it with either plain or chili sesame oil. Okay, but has become boring.

Your recipes would be greatly appreciated.












The citrus mambo is the wankie wanker. Ledo's was the giveaway.

[Denninmi]

1. Hoisin/Peanut sauce -- yum, yum.

Really easy, too. Equal parts hoisin and peanut butter (I use regular peanut butter, because I like the sweetness, but you can use unsweetened natural if you like). Stir it together. Use soy sauce to thin it down if too thick. Grate a little bit of fresh ginger very finely, stir that in, and top with a little bit of finely minced scallion and some sesame seeds to dress it up if you like.

[Blues Heron]

2. mirin

sweetens it up nicely

[Warpy]

3. I always throw in some scallions

with the plain soy/vinegar sauce plus chili oil. I also use Sriracha sauce when I don't want to dunk, just squirt a little on the potstickers. The potstickers are supposed to be the stars, not the sauce they're dunked in.

Potstickers are something I'm missing these days. I suppose I'll have to do the ones with the translucent tapioca starch wrappers to feed my Jones.

On edit: for a real taste treat, arrange them in the bottom of an oiled frypan. Pour in enough chicken stock to reach halfway up, partially cover and cook until all the stock has evaporated. What you get are potstickers that are crisp on the bottom with the super concentrated chicken stock flavor adding to the original flavor. If you're very lucky (like one time out of 20 lucky), you can turn the pan over and have the potsticker arrangement turn out onto a plate intact, crispy sides up.

The plain soy/vinegar sauce is the best for these.

[The empressof all]

4. I'm a Mai Ploy kind of gal

Sometimes I mix the mai ploy with soy, chopped garlic, a speck of toasted sesame oil and scallions but most of the time I just use it straight out of the bottle :wow:

Soy and garlic chili paste or just chili oil is good too

And don't forget the soy/wasabi mix.

If you really want something different try wasabi aioli. I like it on teryaki chicken or with asian tacos. Just use your usual aioli and add wasabi to taste. If I know I'm going to use all the recipe for Asian I'll sometimes sub out some of the EVOO with Peanut Oil... I wonder how adding a few dribbles of toasted sesame oil to it would taste? I've never tried it but now you got me wondering.

[SalviaBlue]

5. Mongolian Fire Oil - yum

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/farawayfoods_2172_18151684

[Paper Roses]

6. Waiting for someone to post the recipe.

I have never made them. I pick up a package if I go near a Trader Joe's. Love to try it myself...no seafood or mushrooms. Anyone suggest a book or post a recipe for me(us)?

[Denninmi]

7. Pot stickers. Really easy.

Buy the wrappers, of course -- you can use eggroll or wonton wrappers, but I prefer the wonton wrappers. Both are just flour, water, and salt, but for some reason, eggroll wrappers seem tougher to me. Of course, if you're good at making pasta type doughs, you could always make your own. I'm not, so I don't.

The most basic filling is very simple -- ground or minced meat, either pork or chicken, very finely minced onion, garlic, water chestnuts, ginger, and either black bean paste or a little soy sauce (provides salt as well as flavor). Not traditional, but I always add a little black pepper as well.

I can't really give concrete amounts, but I would say for half a pound of ground or minced meat, you would probably want about 2 tablespoons of finely minced onion, about the same of the minced water chestnuts, about 1 or 2 cloves or garlic, and a tablespoon of minced or grated fresh ginger, and about a tablespoon of the black bean paste or soy sauce, and just a dusting of black pepper.

Stuff each wrapper with whatever amount you feel is appropriate, seal the edges by moistening and pressing, and either steam, boil, or fry as desired.

There are, of course, all kinds of variations -- you can add other vegetables like finely chopped Napa cabbage or even bean sprouts, other seasonings like red chili paste or sesame oil, etc.

When I do something like this with a raw meat filling, I always mix it up, then fry a couple of little patties or balls of it to taste prior to stuffing the dumplings, just to be sure its seasoned properly.

[grasswire]

8. Safeway has them in the freezer section.

Either pork or vegetable, and they are pretty good.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. They're very widely available

I get them at one of the many local Asian supermarkets, but have also gotten them at Safeway, Costco, BJ's, and SuperFresh.

[Warpy]

13. Every Asian market carries them

and they're what you are going to find in most Chinese restaurants.

They're just nothing like the real thing, half assed recipe below.

[Warpy]

12. I learned from Chinese people who cook like I do

The filling is equal parts (by weight) of pork, peeled shrimp and Napa cabbage seasoned with scallion, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and sherry. The food processor is a good place to make the stuff, or chop the pork and shrimp together with 2 cleavers and then chop the cabbage into them. That gives a fine mince rather than the paste the food processor does.

The wrappers are flour and water. That's it. It takes practice to roll them thinly enough and not end up with more filling than wrappers, but it can be done. The Chinese rolling pin is about a foot long piece of 1 inch dowel, rounded on both ends, and works remarkably well.

I used to knock out 200 at a time and freeze them on cookie sheets, then put them into freezer bags. The Chinese boiled dumpling is made in a wok full of boiling water, add frozen dumplings and wait for the water to boil. Add a cup of cold water and wait for it to boil again. Add 2 more cups of water and when it boils for the last time, they're done.

The dumplings are especially prevalent during Chinese New Year, the coldest part of the year. People make the dumplings and freeze them outdoors, cooking them for meals and for guests who can turn up at any time.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Thanks for the comments, everyone

Some great ideas here to wake up a perennial favorite for us.









The citrus mambo was the wankie wanker. Ledo's was the giveaway.

[HoosierStateDem]

11. Pot Stickers - Yum!

I like to eat them plain with no sauce. Love them!