Recipe: Pot Stickers

Friends invited us over for dinner last night and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make and bring homemade pot stickers.  I saw the recipe a few weeks ago and I thought they might be messy and complicated to make but could not get them out of my mind.  Turns out: they are not only simple to make; they are delicious, too!!

The recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.  I did a vegetarian version with tofu (and more of the veggies) and also followed the recipe with shrimp.  The dipping sauce is amazing and the cooking technique is pretty much fool-proof.

Shrimp Pot Stickers with Sriracha-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Serves 8 + Active Time: 25 min + Total Time 45 min

For Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce

5 tablespoon white vinegar

4 teaspoon Sriracha Sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

scallion greens (optional) for garnish

For the Pot Stickers: 

2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium carrot, diced medium

1 large egg white

1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined

36 wonton wrappers

nonstick cooking spray

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, sugar, ginger and sesame oil; set aside.  Make pot stickers: In a food processor, process scallions, carrot, egg white, and half of the shrimp (or tofu) until paste forms.  Transfer to medium bowl. Roughly chop remaining shrimp (or tofu) and add to bowl.  Stir in 3 tablespoons of dipping sauce.

2. Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place 1 scant tablespoon shrimp mixture in center.  With wet finger, moisten edge of wrapper, then fold over filling and press to seal. Cover filled dumplings with a kitchen towel while you work.  I used a fork to crimp edges but you can seal them by pressing down with fingers.

3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over high.  In batches, cook dumplings until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side.  Carefully add 1/2 cup water to skillet, cover, and cook until water has almost evaporated and dumplings are tender, 3 minutes.  Uncover and cook until remaining water evaporates (reduce heat to medium if dumplings are overbrowning.  Transfer pot stickers to a plate.  Wipe skillet clean between batches.  Add scallions greens to dipping sauce if desired and serve alongside pot stickers.