Shrimp Potstickers

One of my special talents is being able to make amazing food without ever having tasted it. As long as I can hear a description from someone who has tasted a food, I can make it. That’s what began my journey with cooking potstickers. Although many restaurants sell potstickers, they are usually filled with pork, which I do not eat. My fiancé, however, loves potstickers, so I decided to make them for us during one of our weekend “junk food nights”. On those nights, usually a Friday or Saturday, I make a collection of finger foods and appetizers for us as a meal. I initially did not make this particular type of potsticker but was so happy with the results of my first go-round (plus having a lot of excess Gyoza wrappers) I decided to make a more “traditional” potsticker.

The technique and principles of making these potstickers (eliminating excess moisture, making a flavorful filling) are very similar to those used when making egg/spring rolls. My favorite thing about potstickers are the crispy bottoms and the (relatively) simple cooking technique. It is so easy to make these delicious treats. These are great as appetizers for groups of friends, or even a nice activity to do with your kids. Feel free to use unconventional fillings for these potstickers as well!

Yield: about 25 potstickers 

Prep time: 45 minutes

Total time: 1 hr

Ingredients

½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ head napa cabbage
¼ jalapeno
2 green onions
2 cloves garlic
¼ in piece ginger, peeled
½ cup shitake mushrooms
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp Chicken seasoning
2/3 cup chicken stock (or water)
2 tbsp oil
Gyoza wrappers
Black pepper

Directions

1. In a food processor (or using a grater) finely chop/grate cabbage. 
2. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Place the cabbage in the sieve, and sprinkle about 1 tsp salt over lettuce. The salt will draw excess water out of the cabbage, which is essential when making potstickers. Allow water to drain about 20 minutes, occasionally pressing water out with a spoon or rubber spatula. You can also use a strainer or cheese cloth if you do not have a fine mesh sieve.  
3. Finely chop veggies (jalapeno, green onions, garlic, mushrooms, ginger) and place in a large bowl. I used my food processor for this step, but you can also do this by hand.
4. Finely chop shrimp and place in the large bowl. I used my food processor for this step, but you can also do this by hand.
5. Add cabbage to the large bowl and mix the ingredients together.
6. Add in seasonings (white pepper, cayenne pepper, chicken seasoning, pepper to taste) and liquids (Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil) and mix well.
7. Let mixture chill in freezer for 15 minutes. If you are planning on cooking your potstickers more than 30 minutes later than this point, place mixture in the fridge. The mixture can sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
8. Remove mixture from fridge and begin filling potstickers. To fill: you will need your Gyoza wrappers and a small bowl of water (not included in recipe ingredients above). Take a wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a small spoonful of filling in the middle of the wrapper. On the edges of one half of the gyoza wrapper, use your finger to wet with water; you will notice that when the gyoza wrapper gets wet it will get a bit sticky. Fold the wrapper up and press the edges together. Using a fork, firmly press around the wrapper to completely seal the wrapper together. Fill the wrappers until you have no more filling (if working with a fresh pack of Gyoza wrappers, you will have way more wrappers than filling). 
9. In a large nonstick pan, begin cooking your potstickers. You will cook them in at least 2 batches (about 10-12 potstickers per batch). Heat 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, place the potstickers in on one side and let them get golden brown on the bottom. When they are a nice color, pour in 1/3 cup chicken broth. Be careful of popping oil as you are introducing the liquid into the pan. After adding in the liquid, immediately top the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let the potstickers steam until there is little to no liquid left in the bottom of the pan. 
10. When the potstickers are done, carefully remove (I use a rubber spatula). Wipe out your pan and repeat the above step with your remaining oil, chicken broth, and potstickers. Serve the potstickers immediately.

Recipe Tips

• Substitute any type of meat in place of shrimp. If using a ground meat, add ½ of an egg to your mixture to help hold it together.
• The key to making great potstickers is to make sure your mixture has as little excess moisture as possible. When cleaning your veggies, use a wet paper towel to wipe off debris as opposed to rinsing under water. In addition, try to get as much water out the cabbage as possible during step 2.
• I did not remove the flesh and seeds from the jalapeno when making this recipe. If you do not like a lot of heat, I would suggest removing them. You can also substitute ¼- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes in place of the jalapeno. 
• When steaming the potstickers, you can use water instead of the chicken broth. You can also use chicken stock instead of chicken broth.
• I recommend using a flavorless oil to brown the potstickers. I used grapeseed oil but vegetable or canola oil will work fine as well.