My father had a great influence on me in many ways, not the least of which was stirring up a passion for Chinese food and cooking. My earliest memory of using a knife to chop vegetables in our kitchen was while I was helping Dad prepare one of the many multi-course Chinese feasts that he did for friends and family. Of all the dishes that I learned back then, my favorite Chinese dish was, and still is, Potstickers. When done right, they are soft on the top, crispy on the bottom, and when combined with the dipping sauce, Potstickers is one of life’s greatest pleasures! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

Dumpling Dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water

Filling:

• 8 ounces Napa cabbage
• 1 oz. peeled, fresh ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pound boneless pork loin
• ¼ cup finely chopped green onions, with tops
• 1 TB white wine
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Dash white pepper

Dipping Sauce:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce or Chinese Mustard (optional)

PREPARATION

Cut the ginger into ¼-inch pieces. Cut the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Put ginger in food processor and pulse until very fine. Add cabbage and pulse until cabbage is very fine and mixed with ginger. Place cabbage/ginger mixture in large bowl. Cut pork into cubes and place in processor. Pulse until pork is very finely chopped. Add pork to bowl with cabbage. Add the green onions, wine, cornstarch, salt, sesame oil, white pepper to the pork and cabbage mixture. Mix well.

In another bowl, mix the flour and 1 cup boiling water until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly flour surface for about 5 minutes or until smooth.

Divide the dough in half. Roll dough out on a floured surface until thin, but not transparent. Cut 3-inch circles out of dough and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of each circle. Wet the edge of the dough and fold the dough over the meat mixture and then pinch dough closed around meat. Press edges with a fork to seal dumpling. Place on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook. Repeat with the remaining circles of dough and filling. The scrap dough can be reworked and cut.

Heat a nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to pan. Place as many dumplings in the pan as will comfortably fit and cook until the bottoms are golden brown.

Add ½ cup water to pan. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, remove lid and continue cooking until the water is evaporated and dumplings begin to get crisp on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce with sesame oil, vinegar, and hot sauce. There are many variations of dipping sauces. Don’t be afraid to try some different combinations of ingredients. Serve with the dumplings.