Pork and Shrimp Potstickers
I love the potstickers/pan fried dumplings/gyoza on the dim sum menu and have wanted to make them for ages, but I've always been afraid of the steaming and frying process. And the pleating, of course. I had great intentions of trying the pleating today but at the end I decided to leave the fancy stuff for another day. Especially as I could only find 3 - 3 1/4" square wonton wrappers that I ended up cutting down with a 3" round cutter which was fiddly enough for me.
The filling ended up being a breeze to throw together. I usually buy pre-cooked frozen shrimp but I went all out and bought a bag of the raw stuff. Deveined and beheaded though. Cause there ARE limits to making things from scratch.
I have another half pound of ground pork thawed in my fridge which I have to do something with in the next couple of days. Haven't quite decided what yet, though. Maybe more potstickers. Maybe something else. Stay tuned.
By the way, there's NOTHING as good as freshly made potstickers. Nothing. :)
I'm too tired to track down where I found the recipe I used below so I am including my archived copy, with some small technique adjustments.
Pork and Shrimp Potstickers (Serves 6-8)
2 - 2 1/2 cups bagged coleslaw mix
1 package 3" wonton wrappers (2 stacks of 28 squares)
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound ground pork
3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch sections
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots (optional)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry or mirin**)
For the slurry: 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl
~1 cup water or chicken broth
cooking oil
Dipping Sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce, Sriracha or sambal oelek**
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
** What I used
Wash the shrimp and pat very dry. In a food processor, add the coleslaw, shrimp, green onions, bamboo shoots and pulse several times until the shrimp is chopped to about 1/4 inch. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp mixture with ground pork, soy sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger, rice wine. Mix well.
Check for seasonings: In a small non-stick frying pan, place a teaspoon of the filling and fry at medium heat, turning after a minute or so until both sides are golden brown. Taste. Adjust seasonings, if needed, by adding more salt and pepper or soy sauce.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling onto the dumpling skin. Brush a bit of the cornstarch slurry all around the edge of the dumpling skin. Fold over and press to secure edges. Make sure the edges are sealed tightly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out.
When ready to cook, heat a large nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium or medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the dumplings, flat side down, not touching, to the pan. Let fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown. Pour 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water/broth into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat down to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3 minutes. Open the lid and let the remaining liquid cook off if necessary (another minute). Cut into a dumpling to make sure that the filling is cooked through. Remove to plate, wipe the pan clean with paper towels (or wash) and repeat with the remaining dumplings.
Serve with dipping sauce.
Note: I ran out of filling for the last 6 potstickers so I increased the coleslaw amount listed above to 2 1/2 cups.
Assembly Area - I ended up throwing away the trimmed edges from the wontons which seemed wasteful but I couldn't think of anything to do with them at the time. :)
Assortment of shapes - half moons, triangles and some tortellini (frozen for soup). If you make a variety of fillings, you can use the different shapes as an indication of the different fillings ie. all pork, vegetarian, or shrimp and chicken. Of course you'd have to post a KEY to inform them of the contents. :)
Fried and Steamed Potstickers ( top view) - You should be able to see the filling through the wrapper when they're done.
Fried and Steamed Potstickers (bottom view)
The filling ended up being a breeze to throw together. I usually buy pre-cooked frozen shrimp but I went all out and bought a bag of the raw stuff. Deveined and beheaded though. Cause there ARE limits to making things from scratch.
I have another half pound of ground pork thawed in my fridge which I have to do something with in the next couple of days. Haven't quite decided what yet, though. Maybe more potstickers. Maybe something else. Stay tuned.
By the way, there's NOTHING as good as freshly made potstickers. Nothing. :)
I'm too tired to track down where I found the recipe I used below so I am including my archived copy, with some small technique adjustments.
Pork and Shrimp Potstickers (Serves 6-8)
2 - 2 1/2 cups bagged coleslaw mix
1 package 3" wonton wrappers (2 stacks of 28 squares)
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound ground pork
3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch sections
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots (optional)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry or mirin**)
For the slurry: 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl
~1 cup water or chicken broth
cooking oil
Dipping Sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce, Sriracha or sambal oelek**
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
** What I used
Wash the shrimp and pat very dry. In a food processor, add the coleslaw, shrimp, green onions, bamboo shoots and pulse several times until the shrimp is chopped to about 1/4 inch. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp mixture with ground pork, soy sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger, rice wine. Mix well.
Check for seasonings: In a small non-stick frying pan, place a teaspoon of the filling and fry at medium heat, turning after a minute or so until both sides are golden brown. Taste. Adjust seasonings, if needed, by adding more salt and pepper or soy sauce.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling onto the dumpling skin. Brush a bit of the cornstarch slurry all around the edge of the dumpling skin. Fold over and press to secure edges. Make sure the edges are sealed tightly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out.
When ready to cook, heat a large nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium or medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the dumplings, flat side down, not touching, to the pan. Let fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown. Pour 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water/broth into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat down to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3 minutes. Open the lid and let the remaining liquid cook off if necessary (another minute). Cut into a dumpling to make sure that the filling is cooked through. Remove to plate, wipe the pan clean with paper towels (or wash) and repeat with the remaining dumplings.
Serve with dipping sauce.
Note: I ran out of filling for the last 6 potstickers so I increased the coleslaw amount listed above to 2 1/2 cups.
Assembly Area - I ended up throwing away the trimmed edges from the wontons which seemed wasteful but I couldn't think of anything to do with them at the time. :)
Assortment of shapes - half moons, triangles and some tortellini (frozen for soup). If you make a variety of fillings, you can use the different shapes as an indication of the different fillings ie. all pork, vegetarian, or shrimp and chicken. Of course you'd have to post a KEY to inform them of the contents. :)
Fried and Steamed Potstickers ( top view) - You should be able to see the filling through the wrapper when they're done.
Fried and Steamed Potstickers (bottom view)
