Tag Archives | cabbage

Chinese Dumplings and Potstickers with Cabbage Slaw

By on January 18, 2010 in Main Dishes, Recipes

Uncultured as I am, I had to do a bit of research to determine the differences between dumplings and potstickers. Turns out that dumplings are steamed or boiled, while potstickers are pan-fried. Ah! I decided to try my hand at both.

I was so pleased with the way these turned out! My pleating technique was terrible at first, and really took some practice to get the hang of it. The filling was moist and flavorful, and the ginger and soy in the dipping sauce really brought out those flavors in the filling. I liked the light, chewy texture of the dumplings, where my husband liked the crunchy bottoms of the potstickers (let’s face it, did anyone think he wouldn’t prefer the fried option?). The slaw was light and refreshing, and a good way to make dumplings a full meal. The dough is a great base and I’m looking forward to experimenting with lots of different fillings, including dessert ones (peach with caramel? raspberry with chocolate ganache?).

The recipe as written below yields ~30 dumplings. The amount of dough only uses 1/2 of the filling yielded in this recipe, so if you don’t want to have filling left over, double the dough recipe. Since we didn’t really need 60 dumplings, I sauteed the filling by itself while the dumplings/potstickers were cooking and we ate it in lettuce wraps.

Adapted from Use Real Butter

Ingredients:

For the dough, go to Use Real Butter. I used the same exact recipe, only mine needed a bit more water (~1/4 c.)

For the filling:

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1/2 small head green cabbage, chopped finely (Note that if you’re planning on steaming the dumplings, reserve a few of the outer leaves to lay in the bottom of the steamer basket to prevent the dumplings from sticking.)
  • 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped finely
  • 1-8 oz. can water chestnuts, chopped finely
  • 1.5″ fresh ginger, chopped finely
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
  • 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch

For my version of the dipping sauce:

  • 2 Tbsp. sake
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp. ginger, grated

Directions:

  • Check out Use Real Butter for instructions on how to make the dough and pleat it correctly.
  • With a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a circle. They should be ~1/8″ thick and the center of the circles should be a bit thicker than the edges.
  • Once you’ve got the dough made and rolled out into small circles, put ~1 Tbsp. of the filling in the middle of the circle and fold the circle in half. Close the dough pocket by pleating the edges.
  • Food safety tip: assembling the dumplings takes a bit of time, so you want to make sure the raw filling stays cool. To do so, store the bowl of filling inside of a larger bowl filled with ice. Work in batches of dumplings, so as you finish 5 or so, put them on a plate and store them in the fridge.
  • To steam the dumplings, lay cabbage leaves in the bottom of a steamer basket and steam them for ~6 minutes, then serve immediately.

  • To pan-fry the potstickers, heat ~2-3 Tbsp. canola oil over high heat in a frying pan. Add the potstickers so that the pleated edge is facing up. Fry the potstickers in the oil for a few minutes until the bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 c. water to the pan and cover immediately (please be careful while doing this — it makes a ton of steam and is downright scary!). Cook until the water has boiled off, then remove the cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Let the potstickers cook for another 2 minutes, then serve immediately.

  • Combine all of the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and serve with the dumplings/potstickers.

I served these with an asian-esque cabbage slaw made with the rest of the cabbage (sliced finely), 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar, 2 Tsbp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 stalks green onions (chopped finely), 1/2 c. cilantro (chopped finely), ~1/2″ grated fresh ginger, and 1 tsp. sesame seeds. Combine the ingredients and let sit for 1 hour before serving.

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Vegetarian Baked Egg Rolls with Duck Sauce

By on August 5, 2009 in Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan

[Printable Recipe]

In our house, salads are very much an afterthought. If I actually want people to eat them, I serve them as a first course, and we rarely eat multi-course meals. When we had friends over last weekend for dinner, Cory suggested that in lieu of salad, perhaps I could incorporate veggies elsewhere. “Like egg rolls?” he asked. I kind of rolled my eyes at first (only he would suggest replacing salad with fried food), but given that I found what looked like a fantastic recipe for baked egg rolls, I thought I would give it a try.

I made the filling in the morning and let it cool completely, then assembled the egg rolls in the afternoon. Since they only took a few minutes to bake up and are really best when eaten immediately, I baked them up right before dinner. If you’re waiting a while (more than a half hour or so) between assembling the egg rolls and serving them, cover the assembled egg rolls with a damp kitchen towel and keep them in the fridge (the wonton wrappers will dry out fairly quickly).

Adapted from Imperrfections

Ingredients:
For the egg rolls:

  • 1/2 Napa cabbage, shredded (I used the food processor for both the cabbage and the carrots.)
  • 3 large carrots, shredded
  • 8 large crimini mushrooms, minced (I used both the caps and stems.)
  • 3 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
  • 1 tsp. canola oil, plus a bit more for brushing on top of the egg rolls
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 1/3 c. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 package (16) wonton wrappers

For the duck sauce:

  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1/3 c. sugar
  • 1/2 c. mango jam
  • 1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

  • Combine the cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and green onions in a bowl.
  • Heat the canola oil in a pan and saute the garlic and ginger in the hot oil. Add the vegetable mixture, soy sauce and sesame oil and saute for ~4 minutes until the moisture in the veggies is cooked out.
  • Remove the veggies from the pan and let cool.
  • Combine the ingredients for the duck sauce in a small saucepan and simmer for 5-10 minutes until it’s thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool (you want this to be at room temperature when it’s served, not hot).
  • When the veggie mixture has cooled, assemble the egg rolls and set them aside on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat:

Put about 1 Tbsp. of the veggie mixture in the bottom corner of the square wonton wrapper.

Roll up the wonton wrapper, pinching it tightly as it’s rolled, until the wrapper is in the shape of a triangle.

Fold the right and left sides of the triangle in so that it looks like an envelope.

Wet the edges, then roll up the wonton wrapper the rest of the way. The outer edge of the triangle should be face-down. Continue rolling the rest of the egg rolls until you’ve exhausted your supply of either wonton wrappers or filling (for me, the wonton wrappers went first).

  • Brush the tops of the egg rolls with canola oil, then bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. (Mine weren’t quite brown enough after 12 minutes, so I broiled them for an additional 2 minutes.)
  • Serve immediately with the cooled duck sauce.

Verdict:
I’ll be honest — I never expected these to be as crunchy as traditional fried egg rolls, but was I wrong! We all really liked the combination of textures. The criminis (beautiful ones from Greenling!) added a heartier flavor and consistency to the filling, and the saltiness of the soy sauce and sweetness of the carrot played off each other nicely. Traditionally made with apricot, the duck sauce made with the mango jam was a nice change. It had the same sour-sweet flavor as the stuff that comes in plastic packets, but tasted so much fresher and brighter.

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