What I’m Reading
Aug
13
Chris and I watched with rapt attention the other day when Alton Brown made the perfect potstickers. I mean, we pretty much watch anything on the Food Network with rapt attention because it is like inhalants and you always need more, MORE!, but this time we paid special attention. I think the AB deserves that.
After the pressure of rolling out the dough for ravioli a few weeks ago almost cracked my usually composed kitchen demeanor I figured I would give these wonton wrappers a go. They certainly seemed easier than the pasta machine, AND they came already cut up into handy little squares. Thank goodness I live in modern times, when wonton wrappers come pre-sliced and even the most ghetto of grocery stores carries them for a paltry $2.49.
So here’s the skinny on AB’s potstickers: the recipe makes a LOT of filling, since each of the wonton wrappers only gets 1/2 teaspoon of the pork mixture. I don’t think I quite grasped just how much there was until an hour later when I still had half the bowl of filling and approximately eleventy million wrappers left. So if there are two of you to man the kitchen, the wrapping part would be twice as fast; otherwise I would suggest cutting the recipe in half unless you really want to spend some quality time with your kitchen counter.
First off, I gathered up all the ingredients. I improvised a bit, adding in ginger and substituting red pepper flakes for cayenne because I refused to buy cayenne at Whole Foods. Damn Whole Foods and their convenient location! Damn it to hell!
Very simple, I mixed the first eleven recipe ingredients in a mixing bowl.
I then grabbed a little bowl of water and my first wonton wrapper and got to the potsticking. At first I was very careful about how much filling I put in each one and spent time making each crease pretty.
By the end I was slopping in pork filling and folding the creases haphazardly, but they all turned out okay.
Make sure to get all the excess air out of the little pocket of filling.
Then, after filling and folding forever, I finally had a giant bunch of potstickers all piled up, with a wet cloth between each layer to keep them moist. You don’t want them to dry out!
This is like 112 layers. Just sayin’. I already froze the other half. Then Chris decided to take a shift on kitchen duty to give me a break. He sprayed a large frying pan with olive oil and heated it to medium high. When it was hot enough he added as many potstickers as he could fit evenly across the bottom and let them sear to the pan for two minutes.
Not to worry, they didn’t burn! They merely got a toasty brown on the bottom.
They did, however, stick to the bottom of the pan, which was the whole point. AFTER the two minutes of searing (and not before!), you then add a bunch of chicken stock to the pan so they lift cleanly up off the pan bottom. And then, ta da!
Yes, those are the little darlings.
We served with a side of soy sauce or hoisin and some steamed broccoli with garlic. Well, the ones Chris didn’t eat while he was making them, anyway.
Was the recipe easy to follow?
Indeed.
Did the dish taste good?
Yep.
Would you make it again?
The next time I have the urge to spend hours doing tedious, tedious things.
Recipe after the jump!
Alton Brown’s Perfect Potstickers
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
Water, for sealing wontons
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.
To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush 2 of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.
Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.
Comments
25 Responses to “Whip It Up #6: Perfect Potstickers”
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One of my good friends in college LOVED these and he’d throw “potsticker parties” where we’d make a massive massive batch of filling and then everyone would help assemble them. Also, we boiled them instead of frying them.
But doing it alone? Wow, that would take hours.
Haha Foodmaster! Love it. P.S. Those look delicious.
Why go to a restaurant saturday when you can spend the day cooking for us? I vote home cooking with mice as the dessert.
We loved these, too! But I followed the directions on my wonton wrapper package and they came out like cute little envelopes, instead of nice crescents. I was okay with that.
I think we used a pound of pork vs. the half pound from the recipe. That would explain the overwhelming quantity of filling.
I always feel the same way about trying recipes like this out again, because I’m never in the mood for “tedious tedious.”
And damn, I love those wonton wrappers, but I can never get them to look pretty.
[...] Yes, Nancy Pearl Wannabe and I tried the same recipe this week, but it was not planned, alas. Next time, we will have matching, puff-painted aprons, if [...]
This reminds me of the time that I went over to a friend’s house and her husband cooked us pot stickers in batches, and all we had to do was sit at the table eating as he kept bringing over more and more fresh ones for us to devour. God that was a great day.
I am with you about Food Network but AB bugs me. I don’t know why. I mean, he’s seriously knowledgeable and everything but sometimes I want to punch him. And that’s probably not what he’s going for.
But the potstickers are pretty and look way yummy so maybe I’ll try them some day.
Yet another recipe that looks and sounds delicious but that I will never have the patience to do myself. You do know you can just buy ready-made potstickers at the store, right?? (I kid; I kid.)
Wow that’s a LOT of ingredients!! Looks delicious though!
Wow! Foodmaster looks more ghetto than the ghetto Wegs (which is no longer).
I am seriously impressed by your mad cooking skills.
Those look pretty tasty. My fiance and I made some once but we steamed them, and they came out pretty good. We might have to try these next time.
They look lovely on your plate! Whenever I make something wrapped in dough, I’m always left with more filling and not enough dough. Why is that? WHY?!?
Yum! Now I’m hungry.
I watched one of those cook-off shows on The Food Network one time where a lady made ravioli using wonton wrappers. Certainly easier than making your own dough!
Ooh! That looks yummy. I’ve been craving Asian food since the Olympics started.
I’m with Courtney. I need to go find some Chinese food. Then again, I do have loads of time and a penchant for tedium…
Mr. A and I once made potstickers from Cooking Light. They were the most horrific things I have ever tasted. These look considerably more delicious.
Goddamn I love Alton Brown. That is all. Carry on.
I am LOVING the recipe challenges. Those look especially scrumptious!
[...] Pearl Wannabe and I both loved Alton Brown’s Perfect Potstickers, despite the [...]
Totally love Alton Brown, although he gets a little too science-y for me sometimes! And those look YUMMY! I’m impressed you didn’t throw in the towel after potsticker #2,157!
Mmmmmmmm. I wonder how these would be with tofu.
(I’m kinda crazy about tofu.)
Sounds delicious!! Will I ever have time to do tedious things again? (Other than assembling an apartment full of Ikea?)
This is right up my alley. I see a future cooking club experiment.