HOME MADE POTSTICKERS? NO SWEAT!

Everybody I know loves potstickers. Those crispy/soft delicious two-bite morsels always disappear quickly from the Chinese buffet or snack table. But most people have only experienced what passes for potstickers at their favorite Chinese restaurant or out of the freezer at the local "Shop n Drop". In both cases, they are probably made in bulk somewhere in New Jersey, shipped frozen and heated up in a microwave! The result? The dough's too thick, the filling has probably experienced a nuclear transformation and you get none of the light, crispy goodness that the genuine article is suppose to have. Please!!!!

We all know (or we should) that any dish that we cook, correctly, at home tastes better than at your average restaurant. Okay, okay, there are a few exceptions. And, as the bill goes up the chances are usually better that at some point the quality of the food may meet or exceed homemade goodness. But, in general, if you don't skimp on quality ingredients and you take all the steps to do it right, your homemade versions will almost always be more flavorful than your average beanery.

OK, so what the hell do I know about making potstickers? Well, I learned a bit about Chinese dumplings, in general, during my two years wandering around Hong Kong and from our little 80+ ( at the time) amah named Fi. (Although, since we had two Americans and two British blokes living in our house, Fi would always try to feed us pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas! We would play hell getting her to cook anything Chinese.) But, I have to give the majority of the credit to Irene Kuo and her excellent Chinese cook book, "The Key To Chinese Cooking". And then, of course, I played with the cooking technique to eliminate some of the "land mines" and simplify the process.

They aren't called Potstickers for nothing. I learned that lesson the hard way. For several years, I would get together with a couple of friends and we would serve a six-eight course Chinese extravaganza for a dozen or so people on New Years Eve. Only one year did I dare to try potstickers. The original technique calls for browning the dumplings in a large skillet, then adding oiled water and covering the pan to let them steam cook. Then removing the lid and continue cooking until the water was mostly gone. Finally, you turn up the heat and brown one side and serve. Sounds easy, right? POTSTICKER HASH! It was embarrassing. (Almost as bad as the raw Sweet and Sour Sea Bass I tried to serve one year.) And, it was years before I tried it again. I finally came across a Fail Safe method that cooks the potstickers perfectly, virtually every time. And it even allows you to do most of the prep well ahead of time so you can just finish them and serve at your leisure.

So, enough of this prattling on. Let's get to it. There are three distinct parts you need to know about. (A) Making the filling and filling the dough (B) Cooking the potstickers properly (C) Making the all-important dipping sauce.

THE ABC'S OF POTSTICKERS

(A) Even I'm not crazy enough to try to produce dough from scratch for this or any other need. I found perfectly adequate "skins" in the freezer section of my local oriental grocery. The kind I like are called "Gyozo Wrappers" made by Fortune Brand. I'm sure there are a number of versions of these. They are usually in the freezer section, are round and about 2" to 3" in diameter. I think you get about 100 for under $2. (The best deal in town) Make sure to thaw them out and if they say "thick" on the outside, I usually use a rolling pin and roll them out a bit thinner.

FILLING

1 lb of ground pork

3 tblsp soy sauce

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

sprinkle of black pepper

4 quarter-sized slices peeled ginger, minced

4 small whole green onions, finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped celery cabbage (Napa cabbage)

2 tblsp corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup water

2 tblsp sesame oil

March chop the pork several times to loosen the formation. Scrape into a large mixing bowl and add soy sauce, teaspoon of salt, sugar, black pepper, ginger and green onion.

Rinse and drain the celery cabbage stalks. Cut them lengthwise into narrow strips, then chop them crosswise finely. Scrape into a separate bowl and sprinkle with tsp of salt. Toss and let it macerate (pulling the water out of the cabbage) for 5 or 10 minutes. Squeeze the cabbage to get all the excess moisture out and add to the meat mixture. Add the dissolved cornstarch and the sesame oil and mix well. Refrigerate for about 1/2 an hour to let it firm up.

Assembly

Ok, so now you're ready to assemble your masterpiece dumplings. Years of trial and error tell me that you are better off to get everything you need arranged properly ahead of time. Especially if you are making a large batch ...say 30-40. Here's what I do. Spread out newspaper on the kitchen table. Get a nice sized cutting board dusted with flour for the assembly surface. (Really, any flat, hard surface will do.) Dust a large cookie sheet with flour. That's where you'll put the finished product. Put a small dish of water just above you assembly area. Put the filling mixture and the thawed skins to your right. Make sure you have a small spoon (smaller than a teaspoon if you have it) and the smallest three-pronged fork you have. Whew! Ok you're ready to go. Put one of the skins on the assembly surface. With your finger, wet the edge all the way around. Now, put a teaspoon (or so) of the filling in the middle. Fold the skin in half, making sure that none of the filling is squeezing out the sides. Seal the edges with your fingers, then press the fork down firmly along the edge to further seal and create a nice, fluted edge. Voila! IMPORTANT HINT! If you are going to keep these for awhile before you cook them, DO NOT COVER THEM! I made that mistake only once and was left with a slimy mess. Just make sure there's plenty of flour on the surface and you can store them in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a little while.

(B) Here's where I make a radical departure from the original recipe. I have learned that if you steam the potstickers first, you can save yourself a lot of hassle and potential agony later. (see the aforementioned "potsticker hash" incident). Heat the water to boiling under a metal or bamboo steamer basket. Spray the basket with Pam to keep the potstickers (there's that word again) from sticking. Load the basket with as many dumplings as you can, but make sure THEY DO NOT TOUCH! Steam them for ten minutes then move them to a large sheet of foil that you've previously sprayed with Pam. (I promise I'm not getting a kickback from the Pam people.)

The final step is easy. Just heat up a little oil ( any kind will do, canola, peanut, corn.) in a large skillet. Pop the dumplings in and fry one side until it's crispy. Then drain on a paper towel and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

(C) When I first learned about potstickers, they were always served with three small bowls for dipping. Soy sauce, vinegar and hot chili oil. You would pour a little of each on your plate and drag the potstickers through the "mess". Over the years, I've come to prefer a dipping sauce that combines several. The result is less mess and more flavor. There are lots of choices, but you can experiment to find the combination that you like best. Usually, I will start with a base of soy sauce then add rice wine vinegar, a little cooking sherry, a bit of Sambol (hot chili paste ...incorporates with the other liquids better than chili oil. Be careful, though, it can be pretty fiery.) and sesame oil. I finish it off with chopped green onions. You might also like some ginger, garlic, peanut butter, chicken stock, sweet chili paste etc. etc. etc. Experiment until you find the one that "rings your bell".

CARIBBEAN FISH STEW - LET THE EXPERIMENT BEGIN!

Okay, I admit it. I did it again. Was thumbing through the paper one morning, just before getting my daily crossword fix, and came across a recipe for Caribbean Shrimp Soup. It came from, of all places, the Kansas City Star. Now, what they know about anything having to do with Caribbean cooking in Kansas City, beats the hell out of me. But there was something there that caught my eye. The liquid base for this interesting concoction was ..... "tomato vegetable juice and vegetable stock".


Ok, so that was interesting, but I was immediately thinking, more flavor! Of course, I never met a recipe that didn't need changing. So, I immediately took a gustatory leap and thought, aha..... V-8 and chicken stock. And, I was off. I doubled the liquid (my brain keeps saying "more is better, more is better". You would think I was starved as a child.) Added firm white fish (I used true cod) to the shrimp. Dramatically increased the onions, garlic and ginger. (of course) I was on a roll, now. (More heat, more heat!) Added two cans of chopped green chilis, a second jalapeno, Tabasco and some Penzey's cajun spice. (now we'recookin!) Increased the carrots, added celery and doubled the cumin and the lime.(Whew! This creative cooking takes a lot of energy) Now just one last touch ... wouldn't be Caribbean without black beans. But not just any black beans. SW Caribbean style black beans! OF COURSE!


Wow, that was fun. I wonder if it will work? Well, it's basically no longer a soup...more of a stew, really. And, if you follow my recipe it makes a helluva lot. (Filled my cast iron dutch oven right to the brim.) So you might want to cut the recipe in 1/2 if you're feeding fewer that six hearty eaters. Of course, I would recommend you serve it with a nice mound of aromatic rice (maybe put some toasted pine nuts in it to give it a little crunch) or some warm flat bread for dipping. Although, not very Caribbean, some crispy cheese quesadillas would work well, too.

So, there it is. Another perfectly good recipe mangled and manipulated, stretched and twisted by the Dr. Frankenstein of food ...The Kitchen Dwarf. (Oh, by the way ...it's delicious!)

CARIBBEAN SEAFOOD STEW

2 white onions, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped celery

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 tblsp finely minced ginger

2 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp, bite size

1 lb firm white fish, cut into bite-size pieces (cod works well)

1 tblsp cajun spice

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

Tabasco, dash or to taste

6 cups V-8 juice

4 cups chicken stock

2 large cans (3 oz?) chopped green chilis

2 cans (16 oz) SW Caribbean style black beans, with juice

1 can (16 oz) diced tomatos, drained

2 cups frozen corn

juice of 2 limes

chopped cilantro

In three tblsp of oil, sautee onions, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger and jalapeno in a large pot or Dutch Oven until soft. Add the green chilis and sprinkle in the Cajun spice. Sautee one minute more. Add corn and tomatos and stir to mix. Add V-8 and chicken stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook, stirring, about 15 minutes. Add the beans and juice from beans. Bring back to a simmer. Taste and correct seasonings. Add the fish and simmer until the fish flakes easily. (Do not overcook!) Add the shrimp and simmer until done. (This will only take a minute or two ... again, don't overcook!) Add the lime juice.

In a large, flat bowl put a mound of rice in the middle and spoon the stew around the rice. Sprinke with chopped cilantro for color.

Wierd and Wonderful

Greetings from the Kitchen Dwarf!

Occasionally, you run across a combination of ingredients in a recipe and you say to yourself, " I can't, for the life of me, imagine what that would taste like". Or perhaps you think, "That's just too wierd!" Well, this is one of those. Nobody, in their right mind, would combine A-1 sauce, sweet pickles, mustard and dry onion soup. But guess what ...this recipe is one of my favorites. And, the sauce it creates is so savory and delicious, you could eat in on a chevy bumper and be happy. But, just to maintain a certain level of sanity here, let's start with pork chops.

I would be happy to give credit for this recipe, if I had any idea where I got it. And, I've fiddled with it so much over the years, that it doesn't really resemble the original any way. (The Kitchen Dwarf never met a recipe he didn't want to mess with.) By the way, I have threatened to use this recipe with chicken breasts, but just never go around to it. I'm pretty sure it would be delicious. If you decide to try that, make sure you reduce the cooking time or you'll end up with "chicken leather".

So here it is .....wierd and wonderful, Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce.

PORK CHOPS WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

10-12 pork chops (I would really recommend the cheaper cuts with a bit more fat,

rather than the expensive, center cut beauties. More flavor & tenderer)

4 T butter

12 green onion, finely chopped

6 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 T flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup water w/ packet of dry onion soup dissolved in it

4 T A-1 Sauce

4 tsp prepared mustard (don't use Dijon. I tried it. It doesn't work as well)

4 T chopped, sweet pickles (just the garden variety. ..nothing fancy)

2 T sour cream.

Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on the chops. Melt half the butter in a large skillet and brown the chops over relatively high heat on both sides. Reduce heat and cook about five minutes a side. (you may need to cook them a little bit longer, depending on the thickness of the chops. I use relatively thin ones so 5 minutes a side is enough. Also, depending on your skillet, you may need to brown them in batches. The Kitchen Dwarf ALWAYS cooks for at least four people so there are plenty of leftovers.)

Remove the chops to a platter and keep warm. Throw the garlic and onions into the pan and cook until slightly wilted. (Don't burn the garlic, please) Sprinkle in the flour and keep stirring the roux until it is just slightly turning brownish. (If it is too dry, just add a little more butter) Add the broth, the water and the A-1 and stir until it is smooth. Add the chops back and cook 5 minutes a side.

Remove the chops and keep warm. (I know, this gets tiresome but believe me, it's worth it.) Add the mustard and pickles and stir to blend. Turn the pan to low and add the remaining 2 T of butter and the sour cream, stir to blend.

At this point you can just pour the sauce over the chops and serve or, as I like to do, add the chops back to the pan and make sure they are thoroughly coated with the sauce and then serve.

Serve this with the rice of your choice. (A nutty brown rice works really well.)

Please let me know how you enjoy this recipe. I'll be back with more later.

And Away We Go!

So I got this idea about a week ago .... right after we saw "Julie and Julia"... that I should write a blog. (jeez, I wonder where THAT came from) Since my passion is cooking and I have spent the better part of 40+ years as a frustrated writer, I figured that a blog about cooking and food might just ease my angst a bit and give me an outlet for some of the crazy ideas whackin' around in my head. Of course, along the way I might just impart an idea or two that could help those frustrated cooks out there cope with the every day chore of figuring out what they can cook that's nutritious, tasty and interesting without costing an "arm and a leg".

I admit, I have few credentials when it comes to "main-stream" culinary expertise. Of course, I've been the chief cook and bottle washer for a family of five for the better part of twenty five years. And, along the way, I wrote a BBQ sauce cook book, won several awards at regional chili cook-offs and even earned a couple of blue ribbons for my chutney at the local county fair. But, Emeril Lagasse
I am not!

So, if I can, occasionally, pass along to you an idea that makes your life a little easier or even marginally more interesting, that's reward enough for me. In the meantime, please excuse my rattling on ..... it will add a source of amusement to my day and help me sleep better. That's certainly more than enough for me.