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Receta A Dumpling By Any Other Name
by Shari, The Saucy Gourmet

Hello everyone, my name is Brie Fisher. My mom has been after me for a bit to do a guest blog post, so here we go! It goes without saying that while living 18 years at home with the Saucy Gourmet herself, it was inevitable that I’d pick up some skills in the kitchen here and there. I don’t even pretend to put myself in the same league as my mom, but I’d like to think I’m a pretty decent cook. My husband Rich says I’m a great one, but I think the driving force behind that praise is the fear that he might not get fed if he says otherwise. Anyways, on with the blog post!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Asian cuisine, and my husband goes nuts for potstickers at the restaurants we frequent, so when I took a day off from work last week I figured why not try my hand at making some. Potstickers are the Chinese version of dumplings. The wrappers are stuffed with a mixture of ground meat (usually pork, chicken, or shrimp and veggies) and sealed by hand. The dumplings can then be prepared boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. The Japanese version of potstickers, called gyoza (pronounced gee-YOH-zah), differ most noticeably from the Chinese potstickers in that they are normally have a much richer garlic flavor and a thinner wrapper. Since my husband and I are big garlic lovers, I decided to go with the gyoza.

The recipe that I found contained a recipe for making the gyoza wrappers from scratch, but since I didn’t have quite that much time or desire to make them, I decided to look up some alternatives to the made-from-scratch route. Several sites that I found suggested purchasing ready-made gyoza wrappers, but since there aren’t any Asian groceries near me, I figured that would be a long shot. I finally settled on the suggestion of using wonton wrappers as a substitute to the gyoza wrappers. After a quick trip to Publix, I had all of my ingredients gathered and I was ready to get cooking.

My first task was deciding how to best make a square into a circle. The wonton wrappers were sold precut into squares, but in order to make the potstickers, I needed circles. As fate would have it, Publix was out of cookie cutters, and I didn’t have any at home. But what I did have were my metal measuring cups. I was able to cut several wonton sheets at once with my makeshift cookie cutter, making quick work of the 40 sheets. They weren’t perfect, but were close enough for the job.

I moved on to mincing the cabbage, tossing it with salt to help leech out the water, and letting it wilt for about 20 minutes. While the cabbage was wilting, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. My husband always teases me about watching the Food Network, but you can pick up some really great tips from their shows! One of my favorite came from Alton Brown's "Good Eats". I always had an issue when I grated fresh ginger because it would stick in the grater and I would cut my fingers to a bloody mess trying to get it out. His solution? Tightly cover the smallest holes with plastic wrap and then grate over it. Once you're done, simply remove the wrap, brush off any remaining bits, and voila! Perfectly grated ginger with none of the mess or blood! After squeezing out as much water as I could, I mixed the cabbage with the other filling ingredients, covered the bowl, and let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then it was time for the fun part!

I scooped out a small amount of the filling and placed it in the middle of the wonton circle. After lightly wetting the edges of the circle with a wet finger, I pinched the sides of the wrapper together and began making small pleats on one side, working from the center to one edge. When I got to the end of the first side, I pushed in the end of the opening with my finger and pressed the two resulting pleats together.

After finishing the one side, I went to work on the other, making sure to press along the seam again when I was finished. After working my way through the rest of the wrappers, I was left with a nice plateful of raw potstickers. My makeshift wrappers were a bit smaller than a normal gyoza wrapper, so I ended up with much more filling than I needed. Next time I’ll remember to buy another pack of wontons! Also, since they were smaller, I didn’t wind up with normal sized gyoza, but instead got closer to bite-sized ones, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing since they looked so cute! After each potsticker was completed, I dipped the bottom lightly in flour to help keep them from sticking on the plate while I finished making the rest of them.

I put a small amount of oil in a tall-sided pan and arranged some of the potstickers in a circle and put it over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes, trying as hard as possible not to move them, until the bottoms were a crispy dark golden brown. After dumping in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and popping on a lid, and steamed them for about another 4-5 minutes until the water evaporated. After taking off the lid, I let them the bottoms crisp back up a bit for about a minute or two (the recipe didn't call for this, but I thought it'd be a good idea) and then arranged them on a plate with my dipping sauce in the center.

I put the remaining uncooked potstickers on a cookie sheet, careful to keep them from touching, and placed them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes until they were no longer sticky. Then I dumped them in a freezer bag and popped them back in the freezer to enjoy another day. I haven't tried a frozen one yet, but from what I've read, they should taste just fine. The frozen gyoza can be put in the pan straight from the freezer, they'll just need to cook longer for each stage. Hope you enjoy! Itadakimasu! (Let's eat!)

Gyoza (recipe from Wasabibratwurst.com)

Yield- about 50 gyoza

Toss cabbage and salt in colander and place inside a medium bowl. After about 20 minutes the cabbage will begin to wilt. Remove the remaining excess water from the cabbage (I squeezed handfuls in paper towels to do so). Toss the cabbage to separate and fluff. Combine with other filling ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold (minimum of 30 minutes, no more than 24 hours).

When working with the wrappers, keep them covered with a damp cloth until they are ready for use to avoid letting them dry out. Place one wrapper in your palm and put a small spoonful of filling in the center. Use enough of the mixture to fill out the wrapper completely without overstuffing it, keeping the edges clean. Place your index finger of your opposite hand into the water and use it to wet the edges of the gyoza skin. Fold the bottom half of the wrapper to meet the top half and pinch together. Work from one edge of the skin to the other, making pleats by crimping the bottom half of the wrapper to meet the top half. Once you get to the end of one side, you're left with a roughly teardrop-shaped opening. Push the end of the opening towards the middle and pinch together. Continue making pleats on the other side in the same manner, keeping the pleats all on the same side, until the filling is completely encased. You should have about 5-6 pleats total (I got a little pleat-happy, so I wound up with more). The gyoza should naturally curve as you’re working. Press along the pleats to ensure a good seal, dip the bottom of the finished gyoza in flour and set aside. Continue until all the wrappers have been used.

Lightly grease bottom of a 12-inch nonstick skillet with vegetable oil. Add gyoza to the skillet pleat-side up, being sure not to crowd. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook for 4-5 minutes without moving, until the bottoms are golden brown. At this point, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet and cover with a tight fitting lid. The intention is to steam the dumplings, so you don't need a lot of water. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Serve with gyoza dipping sauce and eat while hot!

Gyoza Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

chili oil to taste (sesame oil and hot sauce can be used as substitute)

Dash of white pepper

Minced scallions (green parts only)