Posted on 06/18/2015 3:41:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
One Christmas season many years ago, I was invited to a friend's home for her family's annual holiday party. Her son greeted me by saying what sounded like "We have Jowzas!"
That was my first experience with the little dumplings called 'potstickers', 'Jiaozi' or, in Japanese flavor, 'Gyoza'.
My friend, who is partially of Chinese descent and comes from a family of restaurant owners/managers, was busy at her small cast-iron wok in the kitchen, frying these wonderful little dumplings as quickly as they were consumed by the guests.
Several years later when I was planning my own Christmas party I searched the Internet for a potsticker recipe, and found one on a website called 'Outlaw Cook'.
My husband and I made these at the kitchen table (big project!), froze them, and then thawed and deep-fried them the night of our party. My brother, who had never been a very experimental eater, especially liked them; and afterward, making a batch of them for his Christmas gift became one of our holiday traditions.
I tried to find for you a link to the original recipe on the Web, and couldn't; but as I searched, I certainly learned a lot more about John Thorne, the developer of the Outlaw Cook website. I had not realized that he was such an interesting, prolific, and well-loved food writer.
Thorne created an amazing newsletter before the WWW, and when the Web came along, he offered it electronically as well. (Back issues of the newsletter can be purchased on his website.) Anyone interested in really thoughtful writing on all things 'food' should look into his books; he seems to be one of the best contemporary food writers in the U.S., but one that few today have heard about.
His website (unfortunately, no longer updated):
Here is his Amazon page:
http://www.amazon.com/John-Thorne/e/B000AQ1J0Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1434494261&sr=8-1
And a 2009 article about him:
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/simple-cooking/Content?oid=2129904
This potsticker recipe is adapted from one that I'm pretty sure came from his site about 15 years ago. Back then, I had to get the more exotic ingredients at an ethnic store; but now most big supermarket chains carry them.
Spicy Pork Potstickers
(This will make about 100)
2-1/4 pounds Ground Pork
2 cups finely chopped Scallions
6 T. Soy Sauce
2 T. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Hot Chili Oil
2 T. grated Ginger Root
3 large Garlic Cloves, smashed/chopped fine
1 lb. Napa Cabbage, grated fine
2 tsp. Salt
3 packages of round dumpling wrappers (If we can't find round ones, we make these with square wonton wrappers and fold them into triangles.)
Toss cabbage and salt together in a colander. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 15 minutes. Rinse the cabbage and squeeze it dry.
Note: it's important to do the mixing exactly in the following order, to get the flavor correct.
Mix all of the ingredients together EXCEPT the pork and cabbage. Then add the pork and mix well.
Add the cabbage and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to make the potstickers.
If you are planning to freeze these for cooking later, line baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper before starting to assemble.
Place a scant tablespoon of filling in the middle of each wrapper. Moisten the edges with water and fold them into a half-moon shape. Pinch to seal.
Place on the baking sheets, making sure that they do not touch, and freeze until solid.
Then, you can bag or box them in portions for future use. We usually freeze them solid on the sheets, and then quickly vacuum pack them in portions of 10 or 12.
To cook, thaw the potstickers, and deep fry until browned and crispy. (These can also be steamed, but consult instructions, as I've never done them that way.)
For the Dipping Sauce, mix together:
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 T. Sugar
1/2 minced Scallion
2 tsps. shredded fresh Ginger
1/2 tsp. Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp. Chili Oil
(I have tried using the little dumpling-crimpers that you find in Asian grocery stores, but I've had no luck with them. Someday I'll give it another go.)
This week, Potstickers!
(My favorite Korean dish is Mandu Guk, a fabulous soup made with dumplings similar to these. I look for it on the menu of every Korean restaurant, but I’ve never made it myself. I’ll post it when I finally do; in the meantime, check out the many videos and recipes for it on the Web.)
If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread, please send a private message.
-JT
Thanks for that - we love potstickers! Between mr. a and myself, we could probably eat all 100.
I happened to look up Joyce Chen last week, and Wikipedia said she’s credited with coining the name “Peking Ravioli” for potstickers/dumplings.
Shrimp potstickers....yum.
Well, that makes sense in that they’re both little packets of stuffed dough; but they’re very different critters...
I’ve never made ravioli, but when we married my Italian husband brought, among the rest of his ‘dowry’, a pasta machine. We should try ravioli sometime!
-JT
There are lots of ways to make these; you can use all kinds of meats and ingredients. The Koreans sometimes use Kimchi instead of the plain cabbage :-)
-JT
My husband loves Kimchi. :)
I’m near one of those huge H-Markets owned by Koreans. I’m amazed at what I’m seeing - although I don’t know Mandu Guk. I just bought some kinchi but I think it’s an acquired taste!
I don’t think Mandu Guk is something you can buy in a can - at least I hope they never go there! It’s home-made, or in a restaurant. (I worked one summer at Gallaudet University - though I think it was a College back then - and it’s right near the Florida Ave. market, in D.C. It was a rough time in my life - the most important person in my life had died, and I was ‘neither here nor there’. I found a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant at the Market, run by a little old Korean lady who made the most wonderful Mandu Guk - probably the best I’ve ever had. It was absolutely soul-warming :-)
Try the kimchi with some plain white rice, first. (Good fermented kimchi is one of those healthy probiotic foods, like sauerkraut.)
My first Korean meal was home-made bulgogi, chap chae, kimchi and rice. My friends had to tell me to slow down on the kimchi, or I might get sick; but that has Never happened!
(When you go to a good Korean restaurant, they put lots of little bowls of different kinds of salads, including several types of Kimchi, on the table - these side-dishes are all called ‘Banchan’. It’s wonderfulness!)
-JT
The kimchi they sell at H-Mart comes in these huge containers - it looks pretty gross, actually, no matter how good is tastes. I think it’s all that red pepper paste that makes it look like worms soaked in blood! I happen to live in a very diverse part of the northeast. Since I’m crazy for Indian food, I use all of our huge cash ‘n carry Indian markets for my inexpensive spices, rice and British chocolate and cookies. I’ve just found out we have a Japanese and Chinese market near by.
What temp do you fry at to make sure innerds are cooked through since it looks like pork is put in wrapper raw?
Our fryer is an electric one, and goes up to 350. We run it full-tilt for the potstickers. We’ve also made this with ground turkey, or a mixture, and have never had a problem.
You need to do one or two, and cut them open and test, to get the timing down. Don’t do too many at a time, and let the oil come back up to heat before doing more. As noted in the original post, my friend does them in a cast-iron wok on the stove, a few at a time. You can probably get the temp up a lot higher that way.
-JT, not a scientist :-)
You have to find a good kimchi. Some of them are too fishy for me - I look at the ingredients before I buy, and preferably buy the ones with little or no fishy ingredients.
(The turn this thread has taken is sort of breaking my heart: over last weekend, my husband and I discovered that our favorite Korean-run Asian grocery had gone out of business since our last visit. So, I have to find another kimchi seller. Occasionally we find kimchi in supermarkets, and those are usually milder, less fishy.)
-JT
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What a shame! I'm sorry to hear that.
I don’t eat kimchi, so I can’t tell you if it’s any good. But I have seen it sold in the produce area in small glass jars at Whole Foods.
Frying is very intimidating to me because of the whole temp thing. My mom visited with us a few months ago and we fried some shrimp on a propane burner outside in my cast iron dutch oven. It took FOREVER to get to correct temp, cook a batch, get it back to correct temp, etc. etc. They were delicious, but what a pain.
Yes, most of the time when it’s sold in mainstream places, it’s sold in smaller jars. That’s the best way for beginners to try it.
-JT
Well, maybe it’s just time for me to make my own!
I did it once, years ago, and it turned out pretty good. But I don’t have much experience with fermented stuff.
My Korean girlfriend also taught me how to make what she called in English ‘fresh kimchi’. It was just regular cabbage, with all the other kimchi ingredients; very fresh-tasting and refreshing, but not all of the depth of flavor and health benefits of the fermented stuff.
Another Korean friend told me once that in Korea, the equivalent of the iconic Currier and Ives winter paintings that we so often see on Christmas cards, is a picture of the urns of kinchi sitting in the snow, in the backyard of a traditional Korean home. That image has always stuck with me.
I recommend using a thermometer, even if you have an electric fryer. You never really know the temperature of your oil unless you can test the temp.
After a while, you get a sense of how things sizzle, how long different things take, etc. Smell and color tell you things, as well. All senses are involved in cooking; that’s what makes it such an interesting, visceral art.
(One thing I’ve never made is pan-fried chicken - the picnic-favorite kind. But I guess it’s the same as everything - trial and testing and experience makes perfect.)
-JT
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