Not too shabby...

DIY asian potstickers!



So the other day when my good friend was over I was perusing the isles of a local natural foods store for quick dinner ideas when a bag of frozen pot stickers caught my eye. $2.50 for fifteen potstickers, which boasted tasy ingredients such as ginger and mushrooms. The price seemed acceptable (though obviously not as cheap as making them at home), but when I flipped the package over I found there was 750mg of sodium PER SERVING. Uck!



But homemade potstickers must be super complicated and take LOADS of time, right? All that dicing and frying. Well....yes. You're right. Unless you make them my cheating way.



DIY Asian Potstickers

1 c broccoli slaw OR any of the following, diced: peppers, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cabbage $.85

2 green onions, snipped $.10

1/2 block of tofu $.75

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp grated fresh or ground dried ginger

1 tsp Thai fish sauce (optional)

1tsp Mirin (sweet Japanese wine) OR maple syrup OR honey

2 c flour $.20

1/2 c warm water

Total cost: $1.90 - with sides of rice ($.40) and steamed veggies ($1) - $3.30

Number of Servings: 4 generous

Cost Per Serving: $.83

To Make:

1. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the water. Combine roughly using a flat spatula, then wash your hands and knead the dough by hand until it forms a non-flakey ball. This may take up to 5 mins of continuous kneading. If it still seems too dry, add a tsp of water, then re-knead for another minute or two. Likewise, if it seems too wet, add a dash of flour and re-knead. When the dough has formed a coherent ball, cover it with a damp paper towel (or kitchen towel, if you prefer) and allow it to sit at room temperature.
2. To prepare the dumpling filling, place the broccoli slaw or the diced veggies of choice in a microwavable bowl. Add the tofu (diced) soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, and mirin/honey/maple syrup. cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a microwave-safe plate and microwave 2-3 min on high (depending on the oomph of your machine).
3. To make the dumplings: remove the dough from its resting place beneath the towel and knead it once more for good measure. It should have a texture similar to firm molding clay. Speaking of molding clay, use your hands to roll out the dough into that so familiar "this child is not destined to be an artist" shape - a "snake." Your snake should be about 10" long and 2-3" in diameter. Cover again with the damp towel.
4. Lightly flour the working surface and slice a 1" thick round off the end of the dough "snake." Using a rolling pin or heavy glass (or, if you're lazy like me, your fingers), roll the dough out into a circle about 4-5" in diameter. Then take a SMALL spoonfull of filling and place it in the middle of the dough, pushed to one side. What you want to be able to do is fold the dough in half over the filling - like a taco - and still have borders of the circle to press together. THE KEY TO GETTING DUMPLINGS TO STICK TOGETHER is to get the dough edges you are trying to join together only slightly wet. That's why I use a spoon to get the filling into the middle, so that my hands are dry when I pull the dumpling together. Here's a step by step using square wonton wrappers, but you get the idea: http://indirectheat.blogspot.com/2009/12/chinese-pork-dumplings.html
5. To cook the dumplings you can do one of 3 things: Boil them (Chinese way), steam them (Japanese way), or fry them (the "I have a lot of time and/or am not too hungry" way). I chose to steam them, because I have a vegetable steamer and why the heck not! If you use a steamer, take a piece of paper towel soaked in oil and rub it over the steamer surface, because these dumplings can be sticky. Steam, boil, or fry in oil until the skin appears translucent rather than white - about 5 mins.
6. To serve, mix soy sauce with honey or maple syrup. Possible sides are white rice and steamed veggies (bok choy, broccoli, spinach, whatever's on sale).

Don't be afraid - this recipe looks complicated, but once you've tried it you'll get the idea of how to adapt it to your ingredients and your kitchen. It took about 1hr the first time I did it, but it now only takes me 40 mins. 40 mins for healthy, cheap, homemade asian food?! I'll take it! I'll take two! ;-) Good luck.