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Potstickers!
Chicken Potstickers
When the girls and I get together, we generally like to grab happy hour. I love appetizers! Happy hour is a great excuse to order several things and try them all. They are cheap and since your friends are there, you can share a few different things. I am the type of person that likes a little bit of everything so happy hour is perfect for me! Not to mention the terrific deals on my one of my favorite things…wine!
When I am not out with the girls, I like to recreate happy hour at my home. The last thing I want to do on a Friday night is go out and fight the crowds so I like to cook a couple of apps, pop open a bottle of wine, and abuse Netflix for a little while. Although I do love a good cheese and hummus plate, sometimes I like to kick it up a notch.
One staple dish on a lot of happy hour menus is potstickers. They seemed super complicated so I never thought about trying them at home. I was shocked to find that they are inexpensive, and really easy to make. The sauces are a little pricier but once you purchase them the first time, they will last for a couple of meals. Also, you can just pick your favorite and only use that one. I only like the ponzu sauce with these. Ponzu sauce is the sauce that is traditionally served with potstickers at restaurants. My husband prefers the hoisin and sweet and sour sauces. You can find all of the sauces in the International aisle at the store and they are roughly $2-3 each.
Now on to the cooking! The ground chicken is usually sold in 1lb packages so I put half of it in a zippy and put it straight in the freezer. It is always there when I decide to make these again and after you find out how easy and yummy they are, you will be making them again soon. Take the other half of ground chicken and put it in a bowl. I add a teaspoon each of Siracha and soy sauce. Mix and set aside. Now open up the package of wonton wrappers. Depending how much chicken you put in each of these, you will probably only use about half of the package. If you are making them for a big party, you could double the recipe. Once everyone tastes how good they are, they will go fast. This recipe makes about 18-24 good-sized potstickers. Place the stack of wrappers on a plate and cover with a damp cloth. I simply moisten a paper towel and lay it on top of them but please feel free to use a cloth towel if you prefer. You also want to fill a small bowl with water and set aside.
Get out two plates ( a small and a large plate) and a spoon for constructing. Take a wonton wrapper and lay it on one of the plates. Take about a teaspoon of the ground chicken and place it in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Wet only the edges of wonton wrapper with water. I just use my finger but if you have a pastry brush, you can use that too. Fold according to directions on wonton package. I like to make little half moon triangles the best but there is really no wrong way to do this. You just need to make sure that they are sealed. Be creative! The first time I made these I folded them two different ways so I could decide which I liked best.
Once you have constructed all of your potstickers, set aside and cover with a damp paper towel. You could also make these ahead of time if you needed to. If you are going to make them earlier in the day, I would suggest lining a Tupperware with damp paper towels and storing them in the fridge.
Now time to fry ‘em up! Grab a skillet, preferably one that has a fitted lid, and heat it to medium high. The first few times I made these I did not have a fitted lid for my skillet so I just used a pot lid. It did not fit perfectly but it was just a tad smaller so it would contain all of the heat. My mom was kind enough to buy me a new skillet for my birthday that had a lid. It is a beautiful pan from the Curtis Stone collection. Not only is it pretty, it works magnificently! Thanks mom!
After the skillet is heated to medium high, add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. You could use another type of oil if you prefer but I find that vegetable oil works best for this dish. One by one, place raw potstickers in the pan. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. They should not be touching. You will probably have to cook them in a few batches. It usually takes me 2 batches but it really depends on how big of a skillet you are using. Cook, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes until brown and crisp on the bottom. Once they have cooked for 4-5 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of water and cover immediately. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for another 5 minutes. Be careful when you add the water because it might splatter just a bit. This part of the cooking process is very important because this steams the potstickers and cooks the chicken inside. This is also when your kitchen starts to smell amazing and husbands come out of the woodwork so see what delicious goodness is going on in the kitchen!
Remove cooked potstickers and place on a serving plate or staging plate until you are ready to serve. I find that tongs are the easiest to use when taking them out of the pan. Once potstickers are removed, repeat the cooking directions with the second batch. You may need to add a little bit more oil in between batches so you get the nice crunchy crust on the bottom of each dumpling. The crunchy bottoms are my favorite part. This is why they are called potstickers for goodness sakes! Also, as you are making the second batch, I totally dare you not to eat one…or two. They just stare at me and it is only fair to make sure that they are safe for consumption, right?
Once they are all cooked, let them cool slightly and serve with dipping sauce. I love spice so I always add a few squirts of Siracha and a few pinches of red pepper flakes to my ponzu sauce. It just kicks the spice up a little bit. If you have guests over, they will be impressed. I mean, I am always super impressed with myself when I make these so you should be too. These are the types of appetizers you find in a restaurant my friend, be proud! You can make these for a party or if you are like me, you enjoy the whole plate of them with your husband for dinner. Enjoy!
Chicken Potstickers
½ lb of ground chicken or ground pork
20-24 Wonton wrappers
1 tsp Siracha (Rooster sauce)
1 tsp Soy Sauce
¼ cup Ponzu Sauce (other sauces your guest might like are sweet and sour and Hoisen)
2 Tbs Vegetable oil
2-4 Tbs Water
Mix together chicken, soy sauce, and Siracha. Set aside. Place wonton wrappers on plate and cover with damp towel. Place one wonton wrapper on a plate and spoon about 1 tsp of meat mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper. Fold and seal according to wonton wrapper directions on label. Set aside until all potstickers have been made. Heat skillet on medium high heat. Add 2 Tbs of oil to pan. Add potstickers making sure that they do not touch. Cook for 4 minutes. Add 2 Tbs of water to pan and cover immediately. Lower heat to medium low and cook another 4-5 minutes. Repeat until all potstickers are cooked. Serve with ponzu sauce for dipping.
***Adapted from Sandra Lee