Veggie Potstickers

Today I am proud of my country (even though the House of Commons has lost confidence in the government and an election is on the way).  Neil Young helps a lot.  That man is so cool.  Last night I nestled in to watch the 40th annual Juno Awards where Neil was honoured with a humanitarian award and won two statues.  If the godfather of grunge isn't enough Canadian credit, the awards show also saw appearances by City and Colour (singing Neil Young's Old Man!!), Metric, Broken Social Scene, Schad, Blue Rodeo, Shania Twain, K'Naan, Arcade Fire, Sarah Mclachlan, Chromeo and more, and all of it hosted by one of my faves, Drake.  Hey, at least it's Drake that makes me swoon and not the young Biebs.  My Hubby (he knows about the crush) and I watched the awards and feasted on one of our favorites, Veggie Potstickers. 
The potstickers were prepared on Saturday night by a group of lovely ladies.  It was our monthly girl's night, a supper club of sorts.  Along with cooking up several gorgeous fresh Asian dishes, we set up a mini potsticker factory and pumped out dozens of these beauties whilst chatting, listening to music and *hic* drinking wine.  This somewhat tedious process whizzed by due to the group effort and the fun we were having.  But the quality of the output from our little factory did not suffer one bit from our festivities.  Each bite had a crispy fried bottom and a pillowy, flavourful top.  With a quick, awesome little dipping sauce these are the best meatless dumplings ever...if I do say so myself. 

Veggie Potstickers
Origin: Jaime, Impeccable Taste

Notes:  Filling and wrapping the dumplings is a little tedious, as mentioned above.  You can split up the work by making the filling the day before.  Once the potstickers are prepped the actual cooking time is about 5 minutes.  They are worth the effort!  This recipe makes a lot of filling, enough for about 6-8 dozen potstickers. 

Ingredients:

Potstickers
vegetable oil (safflower, sunflower, canola etc.)
3 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 head Napa cabbage, finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced or finely grated
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, or chili garlic paste
2 large carrots, grated
2 packages wonton wrappers (small, double packs)

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon, Sriracha sauce (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons green onion, finely sliced


Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a very large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  The mushrooms should release all their juices (due to the salt), then the juices will evaporate and the mushrooms will start to brown.  When the mushrooms are begginning to brown, add the shallots and a knob of butter.  Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes until the shallots and the mushrooms are browned.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and fry for about 3 minutes until they soften.  Add the cabbage, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce and Sriracha and cook for about 5 minutes until the cabbage and leeks are soft and cooked through.  Turn off the heat and add in the reserved mushrooms and the grated carrot.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste the filling and add another tablespoon or so of soy sauce and/or rice vinegar if it needs a little more umph.  Cool the filling.  At this point you can refrigerate the filling for a day or two.

To make the potstickers, (I like to do this in groups of 3) lay 3 wonton wrappers on a cutting board or a clean work surface. Have a small bowl of water close by.  Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper.  Dip your finger in the water and lightly wet all 4 edges of the wrappers.  Pick up the 4 corners of a wrapper, bring them over the filling and press them together in the middle to form a pouch, seal all of the open seams.  The wet edges should seal with a light pinch.  Place the finished potstickers on a cookie sheet and cover with a lightly dampened paper towel or tea towel until you are ready to cook.

To make the dipping sauce, whisk together the soy sauce, Dijon and Sriracha in a small bowl, stir in the green onions.  Adjust seasoning to your liking, you may want to add more Dijon or Sriracha.

When you are ready to cook the potstickers, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large flat bottomed pan over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the potstickers in a single layer and do not disturb them.  Cook the potstickers for 1-2 minutes until a brown crust forms on the bottoms.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the hot pan and cover immediately, be careful of the steam/splattering.  Steam the potstickers for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until the water has evaporated.  Remove the cooked potstickers to a platter and continue this process with the remaining potstickers.

Serve hot with the dipping sauce.  Makes at least 6 dozen potstickers.