Web Exclusive Round 2 Recipe Pork Pot Stickers

PORK AND GINGER POT STICKERS

Steps:

• Sprinkle cabbage with the 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the cabbage on a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth and squeeze out any water. The dryer the cabbage the better. In a large bowl thoroughly mix the cabbage with all of the other ingredients, except the chicken stock. Cook a tester to check the seasoning.;
• GUEST CHEF: MING'S MOM (IRIS LEE TSAI) .
• In a stainless steel bowl mix flour and salt. Slowly add hot water to flour in 1/4 cup increments. Mix with chopsticks until a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle. On a floured surface, knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Place back in bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour. Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out dough to form a long 'noodle', 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter.
• MAKING THE DUMPLINGS: Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Be very careful not to touch the edges with the filling as this will impede proper sealing of the dumplings. Nothing is worse than dumplings breaking during cooking.) Fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape. Starting on one end fold/pinch the wrapper tightly together. Proceed with this fold/pinch method until the dumpling is completely sealed. There will be approximately 10 to 14 folds per dumpling. Rest the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.
• COOKING THE DUMPLINGS: In a hot saute pan coated well with oil, place pot stickers flat side down and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready and add 1 cup of chicken stock, cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The stock will steam the pot stickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more stock may be needed. The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again.
• Combine all and serve in a small bowl.
• PLATING: Serve pot stickers on a large platter lined with lettuce with a bowl of dipping sauce on the side.

ROUND 2 RECIPE - CHICKEN POT STICKERS

Steps:

• Chop the chicken into small pieces. Slice the 2 grilled scallions and combine them with the chopped chicken. Slice the uncooked scallion and set aside for garnish.
• Put the wrappers onto a clean work surface and put 1 teaspoon of the chicken into the center. Dip a finger into some water and moisten the edges of the wonton. Fold the wrapper over and pinch the edges together, making 3 or 4 pleats. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet with canola oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the wontons in 1 layer. Let cook until the bottoms are browned, about 2 to 3 minutes, then add 2 tablespoons water. Quickly cover and cook until the wrappers are tender, about 3 minutes.
• Whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
• Arrange the pot stickers on a serving platter, garnish with the reserved sliced scallions and serve with the dipping sauce.

PERFECT POT STICKERS

Steps:

• Place ground pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and cayenne in a mixing bowl. Top with chopped green cabbage. Mix with fork until thoroughly combined. Tamp down lightly; cover with plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.
• Place flour and kosher salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in hot water. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a shaggy dough. Flour your hands and transfer dough to a work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. If dough seems too sticky, sprinkle with a bit more flour, about 3 to 5 minutes. Wrap dough ball in plastic, and let it rest about 30 minutes.
• When dough has rested, divide into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with a dish cloth while you work the first piece. Roll into a small log about the thickness of a thumb, about 3/4 inch. Divide each log into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin 3 1/2-inch circle on a lightly floured surface to form the pot sticker wrappers. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
• Lightly moisten the edges of a wrapper with your wet finger. Place a small scoop of the ground pork mixture onto the center of a wrapper. Fold up the 2 sides and pinch together in the center. Pinch together the remaining edges, forming "pleats" along one side. Tap the pot sticker on the work surface to slightly flatten the bottom; form a slight curve in it so it stands upright in the pan. Transfer to a well-floured plate. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Mix together seasoned rice vinegar and soy sauce in a small mixing bowl for the dipping sauce.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Place about 6 or 7 pot stickers in the hot oil, flat side down. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drizzle in water and quickly cover the pan; steam for 3 minutes. Uncover; reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until water evaporates and bottoms are browned and crunchy, 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish. Repeat with remaining pot stickers. Serve with dipping sauce.

PORK & CHIVE POT STICKERS

Steps:

• 7In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Add pork; mix lightly but thoroughly. Place a scant tablespoon filling in center of each wrapper. (Cover remaining wrappers with a damp paper towel until ready to use.), Moisten wrapper edges with water. Fold wrapper over filling; seal edges, pleating the front side several times to form a pleated pouch. Stand pot stickers on a work surface to flatten bottoms; curve slightly to form crescent shapes, if desired., In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Arrange a third of the pot stickers in concentric circles in pan, flat side down; cook 1-2 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Carefully add 1/3 cup broth (broth may splatter); reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, 2-3 minutes or until broth is almost absorbed and filling is cooked through., Cook, uncovered, until bottoms are crisp and broth is completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining oil, pot stickers and broth. If desired, serve with additional soy sauce. Freeze option: Place uncooked pot stickers on waxed paper-lined baking sheets; freeze until firm. Transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags; return to freezer. To use, cook frozen pot stickers as directed, increasing broth to 1/2 cup and simmering time to 4-6 minutes when cooking each batch.