Pork-and-Chive Pot Stickers...

Usually when I prepare homemade ravioli or other stuffed wonton dishes like these Pork-and-Chive Pot Stickers I made this evening, I tend to not set aside enough time and end up feeling rushed to get them finished. I don't know if I fell into a solid rhythm tonight or what, but it felt like I was able to crank these out in no time!

Since you don't get much more than a nugget of filling inside each of these, there are a variety of touches added to the ground pork to make it bit more potent. Fresh chives, soy sauce, dry sherry, fresh ginger and toasted sesame oil not only add a zesty punch, but some of those nuances will be echoed in the dipping sauce. I make filling them an assembly-style process, usually using three or four wrappers at a time, then keeping the rest covered, preventing them from drying out.

The recipe called for round wrappers, but since we already had a stack of squares in the freezer, I defrosted those and used them. I guess I could have plunged a biscuit cutter into the stack and have gotten the shape requested, but I admit I was feeling lazy and besides, why waste? It didn't matter to us if they ended up in triangles instead of half-moons! If you have extra time, these would be perfect to freeze in their raw state for quick dinners - just lay them out in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, freeze them solid and store in zip-loc bags. No need to defrost either - just add an extra minute or so when you boil them.

Once the stuffed wontons were gently slid into the pot of boiling water to cook through, they were drained and then browned in a separate skillet. This is a little more work than how we've made them in the past by searing one side of the pot stickers first, then adding water to the pan and let them steam away. I'm sure you could use either method, but Jeff commented that he liked the golden crust on both sides, which made having to wash an extra pot worth it. We used a simple, but snappy sauce to dunk these in made effortlessly from soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, a dash of sugar and a dribble or two from a bottle of toasted sesame oil.

Recipes
Pork-and-Chive Pot Stickers