Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
MAKES ABOUT 25
Sauce
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Potstickers
½ pound ground pork
2 cups chopped napa or Chinese cabbage
¼ cup bamboo shoots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
½ tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce or hoisin sauce
1 scallion (green onions), chopped
Round dumpling or wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking
In a small pan combine soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and sugar. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and pour into a small serving dish and set aside.
In a large bowl thoroughly mix together pork, cabbage, bamboo shoots, ginger, cornstarch, oil, soy sauce and onions. Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours to allow flavors to meld. This can be made a day ahead.
To assemble, place the wrappers, flour-side up, on a clean, flat surface. Have a small bowl of water standing by. Using a teaspoon, scoop a healthy portion of the pork mixture onto each wrapper. Using fingers or a small pastry brush, brush a little water around the edges of the wrappers to help them seal better. Fold the wrapper over the filling forming a half-moon and press all the way around to seal the edges.
In a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat, heat oil. Arrange potstickers in pan and add just enough water to cover the bottom of skillet, approximately ¼ cup. Be careful as the oil will splatter when the water is added. Cover the skillet and cook 5–6 minutes until the bottoms of potstickers are brown. Remove lid and cook until water is evaporated, 2–3 minutes longer. Shake pan to loosen—they’re called potstickers for a reason—and invert onto a serving dish, brown side up. Serve with sauce.
Cooking Tip
What if you can only find square dumpling wrappers? Trim off the corners with a cookie cutter. Typical wonton wrappers are 3½ inches square. A 3½-inch-round cookie cutter will produce perfectly round wrappers in no time.
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