Alaska News

Shannon Kuhn: When it comes to making pot stickers, the more the merrier

"Pass me a spoon," my cousin calls out. We are standing in the kitchen, huddled around the counter making Chinese pot stickers. Thin squares of dough the size of my hand receive a dollop of savory filling before being pinched and folded into packages ready to be fried and delivered to hungry stomachs. There is a pattern that emerges, and we soon fall into a comfortable rhythm, twisting the fragile dough beneath our fingers. We joke about how bad I am at making them; my aunt's turn out perfect every time. "It's all memory muscle," she explains. "You'll get it."

For my family, this is our team sport. We are an all-star dumpling team, making hundreds of pot stickers when we get together. That evening we would feast, or make a small batch as appetizers before dinner. The rest go straight into the freezer to be distributed for everyone to take home. My mom has been known to fly from Los Angeles back to Alaska with frozen pot stickers in her suitcase.

I have a dumpling-making tradition among friends as well. We gather every couple months for a marathon session to refill our freezers. Throughout the seasons, this is a fun way to celebrate local ingredients, such as greens from the garden, sweet spot shrimp from Prince William Sound or wild game like caribou or moose. This recipe uses ground pork from Alex Davis' A.D. Farm in Palmer, sold in Anchorage at the Center Market in the Sears Mall on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at the Palmer Train Depot on Mondays.

In case you need another reason to make these, the first day of the Lunar New Year was Feb. 19. 2015 is the Year of the Goat (or Sheep, depending on what country you live in and what language you speak). Representing prosperity, making and eating dumplings is considered auspicious because it will bring wealth into the new year.

So turn up the tunes, send out the invites and have a pot sticker making party. You'll be glad you did.

Pork and shrimp pot stickers

Makes about 2 dozen pot stickers

2 cups lightly packed, finely chopped Napa cabbage

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2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated or minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

6 oz. Alaska ground pork

1/3 pound wild Alaska shrimp, peeled, de-veined and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup cilantro

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 package of square wonton wrappers, thawed

1. Make the filling: In a large bowl, toss cabbage with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes to draw excess moisture out. Wrap cabbage in a double layer of paper towel or cheesecloth, and then firmly squeeze out liquid. Don't skip this step if you are using Napa cabbage or you will have soggy dumplings. Put the cabbage back into bowl and add the garlic, ginger, chives/scallions, raw pork and shrimp. Mix ingredients together. In another small bowl, mix together 1/4 teaspoon salt, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour over the filling mixture and then stir together.

2. Make the pot stickers: The trick is to get your stations organized first. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with cornstarch and set aside. Fill a small bowl or cup with water. Take a wonton wrapper and place a small spoonful of the filling in the center, leaving a 1/2- to 3/4-inch border. Dip your finger in the water and run it around the border like a paintbrush. Fold into a triangle shape and, using your fingers, firmly pinch the dumpling closed. Place onto the baking sheet and repeat to assemble dumplings until your filling runs out.

3. Cook the pot stickers: Use a nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame, olive or canola oil over medium-high heat. Arrange as many dumplings as will fit comfortably in the skillet with the flat side down, and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium-low and carefully add 1/2 cup of water, put the lid on, and steam until most of the water is absorbed and the dumplings are cooked through (5-8 minutes.) Remove the lid and cook a few more minutes until the bottoms of the pot stickers are well browned and crisp. Use a spatula to gently pry the dumpling from the pan (be careful not to tear the wrapper) and transfer to serving plate. Eat immediately with soy sauce, sweet mai ploy or your own concoction. Repeat until you have cooked your desired number of pot stickers.

Tip: If you don't want to cook the pot stickers immediately, you can freeze them on the tray and then store them in a container or Ziploc bag in the freezer. No need to defrost them before cooking.

Shannon Kuhn

Shannon Kuhn lives in Anchorage and is co-founder of the Anchorage Food Mosaic. She writes about food and culture and can be reached at play@alaskadispatch.com (subject line: Shannon Kuhn).

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