The Potsticker, Part II

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post about potstickers, which a faithful commenter called the "walk version." Since then, I have made a lot of them, and learned quite a bit from the experience, and we're ready to "run." The entire process is now done from scratch, from dough to filling, to sauce.

The shaft of light clearly shows divine inspiration at work

Dough

At the time of my initial post, I was content with buying frozen wrappings. These are easily available at any Chinese grocery or even many general supermarkets. While these do work and let you save a lot of time, you can bring these to a whole new level with homemade dough. I also felt there was something a little off about them, but never bothered to try it. It was Ariel who put her foot down and declared the frozen wrappers unfit for use. We tried making our own, and never went back. Like chive pancakes, potstickers employ a hot water dough. In fact, I first started out using the pancake dough, but found it a bit too wet to handle. The recipe here is my adjustment. I make about two of these for a big batch.

Potsticker Wrapper Dough

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1/3 cup cold water

Mix the flour and boiling water, and let stand for 3 minutes. Add cold water and knead into a smooth dough. Roll out on a floured surface. To work as a wrapper, the dough needs to be very thin. Cut the dough into circles using a glass. I find a standard pint glass or similar glassware does the job well. Closing the dumplings requires only water around the edge of the wrapper, and I don't find an egg wash necessary.

Filling

Over the years, my grandparents always have seemed to regard the filling as an afterthought, as if it was just meat and that was it. This is certainly not the case. Properly proportioned and seasoned filling can make or break your potstickers. 

The base will always be some kind of ground meat. Pork is the standard, but this can certainly be swapped or mixed with beef, lamb, or anything else. You can certainly add some chopped shrimp to the mix, as well. A good amount of vegetables is important to prevent the filling from becoming too dense. My usual choice is green cabbage. For additional flavoring, I add either green onions or chives plus soy sauce, black pepper, a touch of sesame oil and salt to taste. Minced garlic is another good option. Finally, add an egg to tie it all together. As with any meat mixture (as for burgers, meatballs, and the like), mix gently and avoid overworking. 

You can test out your filling without much commitment by forming a small patty and frying it. 

Sauce

My go-to sauce formula is about half soy sauce and half Chinese black vinegar. This is another somewhat "exotic ingredient" that I honestly don't know any other use for. However, if you make a lot of potstickers, it's definitely worth picking up a bottle. 

This basic sauce works very well, but you can always experiment with variations. A drop of sesame oil (don't overdo it), grated ginger, garlic powder, or a bit of mustard can work. Adventurous sorts might try some chili oil.

Cooking

The first thing you need is the right pan. The pan should fulfill four criteria: broad size, non-stick, flat bottom, and a good lid. I've found this in our trusty nonstick pan from IKEA (see photo). It didn't come with a lid, but the one from one of my other pans fits perfectly. 

The all-important second frying

It was not until reading Pei-Mei's technique for cooking potstickers that I feel I really nailed the crunchy texture on the bottoms. Here's how it's done: First, on medium heat, heat up vegetable oil in the pan. Add the potstickers and briefly brown the bottoms. Next, add water and cover. Let them steam until the meat is cooked. Carefully drain out any water that did not absorb. Finally, splash some more oil into the pan and fry until the bottoms are well browned and crisp. To serve, you can line up an inverted plate on top of the pan and then flip the whole thing so the dumplings fall onto the plate. I have found that you can cook potstickers just fine either freshly made or frozen. Frozen dumplings will, of course, require a longer steaming time.

Emerald Fried Rice

I have been making fried rice for a long time. Not only was it my first-ever blog post, it was one of the first dishes I taught myself how to make. So why are we here now, looking at the fourth fried rice recipe on No Free Lunch? Not long ago, I realized my fried rice was getting increasingly complex, usually incorporating lots of soy sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire into the cooking process. When I looked at Pei-Mei's standard fried rice recipe, it had none of that. Just rice, vegetables, ham, egg, and regular old vegetable oil. This prompted a back-to-basics approach one night that had excellent results.

Today's dish is based on Pei-Mei's second fried rice recipe, "emerald fried rice." This does something I had never considered -- adding lots of cabbage to the dish. This was immediately appealing to me. I buy cabbage frequently, for use in fish tacos, potsticker filling, "tongue depressors," and more, but I always end up throwing some away. Emerald fried rice is the answer to all your leftover rice and cabbage woes. After years of making and eating fried rice, new ideas continue to surprise and excite me -- this recipe was quite a hit!

Ingredients

• 1 lb green cabbage
• 1/2 Tbs salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined (equivalent of 10 U-15 shrimp)
• 5 Tbs green onions, finely chopped
• 5-6 cups cooked rice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Chop up the cabbage into small pieces and combine with 1/2 Tbs salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat and let stand for 15 minutes. This will draw water out of the cabbage. 

Cabbage after the first chopping

Next, squeeze the water out. I used paper towels to do this. Finally, chop the cabbage again and set aside.

Cabbage after the second chopping

Beat the eggs and lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of oil in a wok or large frying pan on high heat. Cook the eggs and set aside. Add more oil to the pan and stir fry the cabbage for about 1 minute. Set the cabbage aside. If using larger shrimp, chop these into smaller pieces. Toss with a bit of salt and pepper, add more oil and fry these briefly, until just cooked through. Be careful not to overcook.

This blog clearly needed another picture of rice frying

Put more oil to the pan and add the green onions and rice. Stir fry until heated through and salt to taste. Add the cabbage, eggs, and shrimp. Toss a few times to combine and serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe is essentially a 1.5 times scale-up of Pei-Mei's original, though with some changes. I have  also increased the proportions of both egg and green onion and used shrimp instead of ham. I am confident this dish will work just fine with whatever protein you like.

As a final note, I want to mention that Pei-Mei's instructions on the cabbage simply say to pickle the cabbage in the salt. I was really not familiar with this technique and found little on the internet. The closest thing I could find was a Japanese dish called tsukemono. I think what I did was correct, but if anyone knows otherwise, let me know in the comments!