Little Purses of Love

I have been on a 'Sweets Streak' recently, baking lots of sugary, chocolately, sweet treats.  And while that is fun and friends have enjoyed receiving the goods, I am ready to move on.

Last night I climbed up on my counter to get to my recipe cabinet to retrieve the Food Section from October 14, 2009, so I could once again make these:

Japanese Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers (or Gyoza)

I had made them last fall (still have the almost full bottle of sake in my fridge) and remember absolutely loving them.  I also remembered that they were a little labor intensive, so summer is the perfect time to make them again.  But don't let that scare you... it's just the wrapper folding that takes a little practice, every other part is ridiculously easy.

The recipe I followed was from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen and published in the Houston Chronicle on 10/14/2009.  (See link for full recipe)

The filling is incredibly easy to assemble and includes some Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions, ground pork, chopped shrimp... 

Along with a little sugar, some soy sauce, a healthy glug of sake and some good ol' S&P.

I used some already made Gyoza Wrappers.  I'm pretty adventurous, but doughs and I don't always get along and I did not want to stress about it.  Plus, theses commercial wrappers are pretty darn good, although only one of my local stores carries them.  (I stockpile them in my freezer)

Here is my setup, complete with a "how-to" cheat sheet.

About 1 tablespoon of the filling goes in the middle of each wrapper. 

After moistening the edge of the wrapper you do this pleating and pressing routine again and again and again until you you have this crescent-shaped little purse of flavor. 

And then repeat that process.

Again and again and again... until you have about 32 of these little guys.

Cooking them is super simple.  Arrange them (artfully) in your pan and cook in a mix of canola and sesame oil for about 2 minutes.

Add a little water, cover and cook another 8 minutes.  Uncover and then let them sizzle a few more minutes, until you get that lovely, flavorful brown (and slightly crunchy) bottom.

(They puff up a little bit when they steam, but they deflate as they cool)

They are fabulous when served with a simple dipping sauce made of soy sauce and seasoned rice vingar. 

Once you start eating these, you just can't stop.  They are completely worth every bit of work!

But if you don't have time for all of that fancy folding business (say, on a hectic weeknight), check out this idea for Gyoza Quesadillas.  Brilliant!