Sunday, June 14, 2009

Daring Cooks #2: Chinese Dumplings



Round Two of Daring Cooks was hosted by Jen of use real butter. (urb is one of the most scenic and sassy blogs around. I tune in regularly to read what Jen has to say, but I'm usually too shy to comment.)


Jen challenged us to make Chinese Dumplings from scratch. Not just the filling, mind you, but the wrapper as well. No cheating by using wonton wrappers!


Well, after making the wrappers, which was an easy process, I probably won't return to my wayward wonton wrapper ways. I used method 1, weighing the ingredients and mixing them in the food processor. The resulting dough was smooth and satiny.

For the filling, I combined ground pork, green onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch.


I pre-shaped the meatballs, which made assembly much quicker.



Meatball on rolled-out wrapper.


Pleating was a breeze.




Step 1: place in hot oil for several minutes.



Step 2: pour in water, cover immediately, and steam-cook until liquid has evaporated.



Step 3: remove lid and cook until bottoms are brown and crusty.



Serve with a dipping sauce.


The potstickers disappeared before the camera could photograph the eating process. Way too delicious!



The dumplings can also be steamed or boiled. Check out the other Daring Cooks for some stupendous creations! And check Jen's blog for the recipe.

17 comments:

Heather B said...

Great job on your dumplings! They got a lovely brown on the bottom!

Jen Yu said...

My word, how delicious do THOSE look?! Great job on your challenge. Looks like you conquered it without any problems. They turned out beautifully!

Margie said...

Your potstickers look fabulous. It's obvious you're a natural at the pleating. I agree these were "way too delicious!"

Charli said...

mmm...those look fabulous! Beautifully golden bottoms and lovely pleats!

These were really tasty!

NKP said...

They look great! What a wonderful idea to preform the meat, that would be helpful. It might not be orthodox.. but I loved the crusty side so much I was wondering how to make them with two crusty sides.

Lisa said...

I love the meatball on the wrapper, perfect way to describe it when filling them :) Your dumplings turned out gorgeous!

Megan said...

Once again, I can only stand back and marvel at your cooking skills. You make the pleating sound like it's second nature - which to you, it probably is!

Audax said...

Meatball potstickers yumm!!!!! And what a great colour you got on your dumplings. Seems like you had no problems and the pleating looks fab. CHeers

Madam Chow said...

You did a fantastic job! I had to take a pass because I was out of town, but there's nothing like homemade potstickers made with homemade dough.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Wow you really got the fold down to the T-perfect there. Love that brown bottom on the potstickers.

Kayte said...

I know where I am going for lunch today...and I hope they look as good as yours. Very impressive...you made your own wrappers! Wow!

ice tea: sugar high said...

Great job! they look divine, and that crispy bottom looked gorgeous.

Lauren said...

Yum!! Your potstickers look amazing =D! awesome job on this challenge!!

Eva said...

I love pot stickers! Though I don't mind buying them frozen because they are so much work!

TeaLady said...

These were fun and easy - well, except for the pleating.

Yours look perfect.

ice tea: sugar high said...

I agree.. this recipe is delicious and definitely a keeper. Great job on your dumplings. They look fantastic

Anonymous said...

Your pleating looks excellent. I'm jealous. :)