Pot stickers

We love these things....you could cook them as dumplings too or make them into won-ton soup.

Warning: I do not have exact amounts for the ingredients and you will need to make adjustments for your taste.
At first I filled the wraps with raw ingredients, but then I hated to let the kids help me (raw meat etc) so now I cook and season the meat and carrots and add the cabbage at the very end and lightly cook that...so you can taste the filling before you fill the potstickers. The picture is not very good, but it gives you an idea of the ratio of veggies to meat. If your mixture is wet like mine was this time...tilt the pan to drain the liquid to the side or use a collander.


I buy the wraps at a local Chinese food store, but I do think you can buy them at regular groceries too. I like the round ones for potstickers and square ones for won-tons but either will work.

Potstickers

wraps- one package is about 40 pieces
1 lb ground pork
salt, pepper and a bit of oyster sauce if you have it
finely chopped cabbage
finely chopped carrots
water

See above for cooking instructions for the filling

hold a wrap in one hand and put about a teaspoon of filling in the center
wet the edge of the wrap with your finger that was dipped in water
fold in half, you can fancy pleat the wrapper,but it does not affect the taste

If you are making them for wonton soup, you usually just gather the four corners up into a "purse" and pinch closed.

I layer the filled dumplings on lined cookie sheets and freeze...it is much easier to handle them when you cook them.
It only takes about an hour if you have a deep freeze.

cooking- heat a frying pan that has a lid....I put in enough oil to coat the pan. Heat the pan hot enough for water to "spritz" ( I'm sure there is a technical term for that, but I don't know it)
Add your postickers, lay them down on a wide side, one layer thick.  Fry on one side until browning....then add water and quickly put on the lid and allow to steam 2 minutes. Most of the water will be gone...scoop them out and eat or place in warm oven and make the next batch....
How much water do I put in?  I don't know.... enough to just cover the bottom of the pan....and loosen the potstickers if they started to "stick"



Story behind these yummy things....Once a little Chinese girl was cooking dumplings for her master. She got sidetracked and forgot the water. The dumplings started to burn and she quickly poured in water and plopped a lid on top to think what to do....She had little time and the master showed up and wanted his supper. So quaking in her shoes, she served the "burned" dumplings.  The master loved the fried, pot-sticking dumplings and wanted them again.

Now you get the idea, how to make them  :^)


Won ton soup....big pot of boiling water....another big pot of won-ton broth....throw the frozen won-tons in the clear boiling water...they will sink....when they rise they are hot...scoop them out and allow your family to add as much broth as they wish....

Do not boil the won-tons in the broth...it will get all cloudy and yucky looking from the cornstarch that the wrappers are coated with.

I fry carrots, onions, and cabbage to add to the soup...but the kids usually just add plain rice in addition.
The broth is from a bouillon pack that I buy at the Chinese food store...probably loaded w/ bad stuff, but I haven't been able to identify the flavorings of won-ton broth in order to recreate it.