Vegetable Potstickers

 

I was introduced to the pot stickers in late 90s/early 2000. A friend who was originally from Minneapolis would rave about a place called Leeann Chin. According to her, it was the best Chinese food ever. So when I got a chance to visit Minneapolis later, I visited Leeann Chin and tried their signature pot stickers. They were delicious. I loved the technique of making Pot stickers where they are shallow fried as well as steamed and in the process they literally stick to the pot and hence the name!

I had bookmarked chef Ming Tsai's recipe eons ago. I couldn't find the round Gyoza wrappers around so I had to make that special trip to the Chinatown. When I was actually assembling the pot stickers, I was too occupied to go to the bookmarked site and actually read the recipe and follow it. So I proceeded with my interpretation.

Vegetable Potstickers
Ingredients
30 Round Spring Roll Wrappers/Gyoza

For the stuffing
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp. ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
2 tbsp. minced scallions/green onion
2 tbsp. minced red bell pepper
2 tbsp. mined green bell pepper
1 cup grated cabbage
1/2 cup grated carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Few drops of Soy Sauce
Salt to taste
Few drops of sesame oil

Oil for sautéing

Method
1. Thaw the spring roll wrappers in the fridge if they are frozen.

2. Make your stuffing ahead of time. Heat oil in a wok. Sauté ginger and garlic pastes.
3. Add scallions and the remaining vegetables. Sauté for about 5 minutes.
4. Add soy sauce, salt as needed and a few drops of Asian sesame oil.
5. Let the mixture cool down. Adjust for seasoning.
6. Keep the mixture in a huge sieve or colander so excess moisture will drain out.

 Keep this way at least for an hour.

7. Now let's assemble the wrappers. Take about 6 round wrappers at a time.

Meanwhile, keep a pot ready. Add a spoonful of oil, swirl around and keep it moderately hot.

8. Add a spoonful of stuffing in the center. And fold like a half-moon dumpling.
9. Use water around the circumference of the wrapper so it folds easily.
10. Using a fork, make markings.

11. Now, place those dumplings in a single layer on the hot pot.

12. As they crisp up, flip them. Let them get little crispy on the other side. Add 1/4 cup water. Switch gas to high. Cover and let them steam.

13. As the water evaporates, the dumplings will stick to the pot.  They should be soft but look crispy.

14. Proceed with remaining dumplings.

Note -
1. Do not shred the carrots or cabbage. Grate them so they have finer threads.
2. As the dumplings are getting steamed, you can make next batch of dumplings ready by stuffing, folding, using fork etc. But keep them covered with a moist towel till they go into the pot.

Recipe Inspiration/Credits
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-pot-stickers-recipe.html


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