It is true, no pain no game, I am sore all over. Yoga is definitely a great total body work out second to swimming (I'm biased because it is the only other workout/sport that I am good at). My Potsticker is coming back tonight around 7 PM right in time for dinner and he's got some good stuff in store for him.
Diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol run in my family. So it has become very important in making my food as simple and healthy as possible while still tasting yummy. I try to buy all natural and organic as often as possible and check the ingredients list for preservatives that I don't need to feed my body. The misconception is that eating Asian foods means high MSG, high sodium, high fat, high cholesterol, etc. but let me tell you, it doesn't have to be.
I bought these Shanghai Style Wrappers at my local Asian market and they're sold fresh not frozen so it does not contain any preservatives. The ingredients are simple and what you would expect to find in a wrapper - such as flour and water. The fish sauce I used to flavor the meat is the same and contains no MSG, preservatives, or food color. Ground pork can be a bit high in fat but you can, of course, try to find lean ground pork at your local organic grocery store.
I used to see my mother use this brand of fish sauce for cooking (not for making the dip) and I now also use it. It is pretty high in sodium so when I use this, I don't add salt to the dish.
Anyway, onto the fun stuff. A pound of ground pork. I'm playing around with smaller photos. What do you think?
A bunch of chives. Remember to cut the ends and toss them. Slice them finer than you would for a stir fry.
The ends (white part) of scallions. Yes, just that part. Trust me. Slice them as thin as you can.
Grab some oyster mushrooms. You can use other kinds too if you like. Remember, don't wash mushrooms just wipe off the dirt with a paper towel. Slice then mince them.
Now, throw all the chopped up ingredients in with the ground pork plus an egg. Then add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and mix well.
Doesn't it look so good already?!
Dust a plate with some flour. This way, when you're placing your dumplings on the plate, it won't stick.
In a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix well. You're going to use this mixture to seal your dumplings. Or you can just use an egg yolk.
Take a wrapper (I used Shanghai Style Wrappers, which are best for steaming but not so much boiling) and place it in your hand - just like the photo. :) Then use the measurement spoon to ball the meat into the center. You can use a spoon, a melon baller, whatever you like. I like my measurement spoons.
Then dip your finger into the flour mixture and lightly wet the edges of the wrapper. I find doing it halfway is good enough but you can wet the full circle, if you feel that's necessary.
Fold it in half. You can leave it like that or make pleats.
To give it a nice pleat, all you have to do is just fold in small areas of the edges of the dumplings. If it doesn't hold then just lightly wet the edges with some more of the flour mixture. How pretty?
Place it on your flour dusted plate but don't let them touch. They're pretty sensitive and will tear as you try to separate them once they stick together.
You can now set up your steamer. I usually steam them in a med-high heat like around a 7. It should take about 10 minutes. You can also always take one out and cut it half to see if the filling is cooked. I'm not cooking mine yet since I'm waiting for the Potsticker to get back. Just wrap them up airtight and freeze them! They freeze very well so feel free to make a ton, cook some, and freeze the rest.
I'll take a picture later after I steam them. Also, use any dipping sauce you like. Enjoy.
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