A Thousand Miles From The Place I Was Born

Hello, everyone! There is so much I have to tell you — from details about Tyler popping the question, to Lauren’s amazing and surprising Spelling Bee Championship win, to our quarantine with the Swine Flu. Yes, I said Swine Flu. I have actual laboratory confirmation that I am indeed harboring the H1N1 virus in my body at this very moment. It’s been fun, let me just tell you. I promise that I will write about all these fun/surprising/exciting topics as soon as I feel up to it. In the meantime, however, today is “Posting Day” for the Daring Cooks and Swine Flu or not, I am obligated to post on time.

The sacrifices I make for you people. Sheesh.

So this month’s Daring Cooks challenge was Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers and was brought to us by Jen at use real butter. I do love Potstickers, so I was excited to give it a try.

One of the requirements of this month’s challenge was that we were supposed to make our own dumpling wrappers by hand. Apparently they are so much more delicious than the ones you can purchase at the store. I found that this was a relatively simple process, believe it or not, and although my potstickers didn’t look as professional as I would have liked, I thought they turned out pretty nice. So here is the recipe. My notes are in bold.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

Pork/Shrimp Filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped (I bought mine pre-peeled and deveined to save time. It was more expensive, but well worth it!)
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced (This has GOT to be a typo. It was WAY too much ginger for my taste. I would recommend going with 1-2 tablespoons MAX!)
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

Dough:
4 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (113g) warm water (I needed about 1/2 cup additional water to bring it to the consistency mentioned in the recipe.)
flour for worksurface

Dipping Sauce: (I tried this sauce but honestly, I liked mine dipped in just plain soy sauce.)
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: (This is the method that I used.) Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2: In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations. Yum!!