Who doesn’t love potstickers? I’ve always loved them. I’d always order them from the local chinese restaurant. But, they’re usually flabby and greasy. Neither of which I find to be an appealing trait. So, a few years ago I decided to try to make them at home. My first few attempts I found to be very frustrating, and more or less fruitless. I used the packaged round wontons, and they just wouldn’t cooperate for me. I ended up throwing them all away in disgust.
So, when this dish came up in cooking class last fall, I must admit that I was a bit nervous. Visions of balled up dough and bits of ground pork all over the kitchen came flooding back to me. Thankfully, these were a breeze to make. The homemade gyoza wrappers were so much easier to work with than the store-bought variety. ‘Round these parts we like pan-fried dumplings, but feel free to steam, or (Heaven forbid!) deep fry them as well. If you think this batch will make too many for your needs, no worries. They freeze beautifully! Just quick-freeze them on a baking sheet, then place them in a Ziploc bag for storage. Good for up to 3 months. Cook as directed, but add about 7 minutes of cooking time when covered.
Pork Potstickers
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb ground pork
Stir together flour and 1/2 cup lukewarm water in a bowl until a dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until just smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes.
While dough stands, halve ginger, then finely chop 1 half and cut remaining half into very thin matchsticks (less than 1/8 inch thick).
Combine 5 tablespoons soy sauce with ginger matchsticks in a small bowl.
Reserve 2 tablespoons scallions to add to the ginger soy dipping sauce. Then finely chop remainder and put in a bowl along with pork, finely chopped ginger, garlic, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Gently knead with your hands in bowl until just combined. Chill, covered, 10 minutes.
While pork mixture chills, line a large baking sheet with paper towels and dust lightly with flour, then lightly dust a work surface with flour. Halve dough and rewrap 1 half. Pat remaining half into a flat square. Roll out dough into a 13-inch square (less than 1/8 inch thick) with a lightly floured rolling pin, dusting work surface with additional flour as needed, then cut out 12 rounds (very close together) using round cookie cutter. (If dough is sticking to cutter, lightly dip cutter in flour and shake off excess before cutting out each round.) Reserve scraps.
Transfer rounds to lined baking sheet and cover loosely with another layer of paper towels lightly dusted (on top) with flour. Roll out remaining half of dough and cut out 12 more rounds in same manner, then transfer rounds to lined baking sheet. Combine scraps of dough and wrap in plastic wrap, then let stand at least 10 minutes.
While scraps are standing, begin forming dumplings. Line another large baking sheet with paper towels and dust lightly with flour. Put 1 dough round on fingers of 1 hand near palm and put 2 slightly rounded teaspoons pork mixture in center of round. Fold round in half, enclosing filling, and pinch edges together to seal. Put dumpling on lined baking sheet and form 23 more dumplings in same manner (you may have some filling left over). Cover dumplings loosely with more paper towels. Roll out scraps into a 10-inch square (less than 1/8 inch thick) and cut out 8 more rounds. Form 8 more dumplings for a total of 32. Discard remaining scrap
Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place dumplings in pan and cover, cooking for 7 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking for an additional 3-5 minutes, until bottom of dumplings are nice and golden brown on the bottom. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel lined plate. Serve with ginger dipping sauce.
Source: adapted from Gourmet
