Perfect Pot Stickers Alton Brown Food

PERFECT POT STICKERS

Steps:

• Place ground pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and cayenne in a mixing bowl. Top with chopped green cabbage. Mix with fork until thoroughly combined. Tamp down lightly; cover with plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.
• Place flour and kosher salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in hot water. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a shaggy dough. Flour your hands and transfer dough to a work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. If dough seems too sticky, sprinkle with a bit more flour, about 3 to 5 minutes. Wrap dough ball in plastic, and let it rest about 30 minutes.
• When dough has rested, divide into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with a dish cloth while you work the first piece. Roll into a small log about the thickness of a thumb, about 3/4 inch. Divide each log into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin 3 1/2-inch circle on a lightly floured surface to form the pot sticker wrappers. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
• Lightly moisten the edges of a wrapper with your wet finger. Place a small scoop of the ground pork mixture onto the center of a wrapper. Fold up the 2 sides and pinch together in the center. Pinch together the remaining edges, forming "pleats" along one side. Tap the pot sticker on the work surface to slightly flatten the bottom; form a slight curve in it so it stands upright in the pan. Transfer to a well-floured plate. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Mix together seasoned rice vinegar and soy sauce in a small mixing bowl for the dipping sauce.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Place about 6 or 7 pot stickers in the hot oil, flat side down. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drizzle in water and quickly cover the pan; steam for 3 minutes. Uncover; reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until water evaporates and bottoms are browned and crunchy, 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish. Repeat with remaining pot stickers. Serve with dipping sauce.

PERFECT POT STICKERS (ALTON BROWN)

Steps:

• 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.

PERFECT POTSTICKERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200ºF.
• Combine the pork, scallions, bell pepper, egg, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined. 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 1 tablespoon of oil in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat, just until smoking. Add 10 to 12 potstickers to the pan and sauté until golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Gently add 1/4 cup of hot broth per pan of wontons, cover, and cook until liquid evaporates, approximately 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in warm oven. Wipe the pan of any excess liquid or debris and repeat until all wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.