Appropriate Icon Is Appropriate
Jan. 21st, 2011 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
masterofmidgetsIt's Friday, and that means it's Fun Cooking Day!
Okay, for the record, I am very pro-quick and pro-easy when it comes to cooking, since I am both busy and incredibly lazy. If it takes more than an hour to make, or I'm going to have to use more than one or two pans, it doesn't matter how awesome it sounds, I'm going to say fuck that and just make stir-fry again (I...make a lot of stir-fry). I feel like it's a decent trade-off - the food I make is mostly easy, simple recipes, but it's also mostly made-from-scratch, and I don't eat a lot of processed stuff. Occasionally I am jealous of the many awesome food bloggers making five-tier cakes and six-course French dinners in their afternoons off! But then I weigh how much I wish I cooked like they did against how much I don't want to do that much work or wash that many dishes and think...fuck that, I'm making stir-fry.
But once in a while something is worth the effort. Like today! I have been really craving pot stickers lately. Which shouldn't surprise anyone, because pot stickers are fucking awesome. And I could just get a bag of frozen pot stickers, but I've never found a brand that taste the way I want them to; I am very picky when it comes to dumplings, I guess. So I decided to get some ground pork and pot sticker wrappers at the grocery and make my own for Friday dinner, which I normally reserve for special treats anyway.
I think I may have horribly underestimated a) how many pot stickers my recipe makes and b) how many pot stickers I am capable of eating. But it's hard to be sad about that when it means that I have enough extra pot stickers left to last the rest of the weekend.
And since I'm nice, here is the recipe, in case you feel similarly inspired and not-lazy. Not the most complicated, but it's been a family stand-by for ages.
Martin Yan's Pot Stickers (from the Yan Can Cookbook)
1/4 lb ground pork (you can also, I would assume, use chicken or turkey, and my dad likes to mix it half and half with chopped shrimp, which is excellent)
3 tablespoons chopped bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
4 dried black mushrooms, soaked and chopped (I left these out, because the only ones they had at Safeway were super expensive. Still good)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice wine
2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg yolk
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Stir-fry over high heat 30-40 seconds, just to blend the flavors (I don't usually bother to do this). Fill dumpling wrappers or wonton wrappers (the only kind they had at Safeway) with 1 teaspoon of filling each. Wet the edges with water and seal. Heat 1-2 tablespoons over oil in a pan over high heat. Add dumplings and brown about 2-3 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown. Swirl pan occasionally. Pour in 1/2 cup stock/broth or water, cover pan, and cook about 5-6 minutes, or until all the liquid is gone. Serve with a dipping sauce.
Bonus Dipping Sauce Recipe (aka I would eat a boot if you poured some of this on it)
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons hot chili oil (or chili paste, or chili-garlic paste, whatever)
Combine all ingredients and blend well.
Okay, for the record, I am very pro-quick and pro-easy when it comes to cooking, since I am both busy and incredibly lazy. If it takes more than an hour to make, or I'm going to have to use more than one or two pans, it doesn't matter how awesome it sounds, I'm going to say fuck that and just make stir-fry again (I...make a lot of stir-fry). I feel like it's a decent trade-off - the food I make is mostly easy, simple recipes, but it's also mostly made-from-scratch, and I don't eat a lot of processed stuff. Occasionally I am jealous of the many awesome food bloggers making five-tier cakes and six-course French dinners in their afternoons off! But then I weigh how much I wish I cooked like they did against how much I don't want to do that much work or wash that many dishes and think...fuck that, I'm making stir-fry.
But once in a while something is worth the effort. Like today! I have been really craving pot stickers lately. Which shouldn't surprise anyone, because pot stickers are fucking awesome. And I could just get a bag of frozen pot stickers, but I've never found a brand that taste the way I want them to; I am very picky when it comes to dumplings, I guess. So I decided to get some ground pork and pot sticker wrappers at the grocery and make my own for Friday dinner, which I normally reserve for special treats anyway.
I think I may have horribly underestimated a) how many pot stickers my recipe makes and b) how many pot stickers I am capable of eating. But it's hard to be sad about that when it means that I have enough extra pot stickers left to last the rest of the weekend.
And since I'm nice, here is the recipe, in case you feel similarly inspired and not-lazy. Not the most complicated, but it's been a family stand-by for ages.
Martin Yan's Pot Stickers (from the Yan Can Cookbook)
1/4 lb ground pork (you can also, I would assume, use chicken or turkey, and my dad likes to mix it half and half with chopped shrimp, which is excellent)
3 tablespoons chopped bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
4 dried black mushrooms, soaked and chopped (I left these out, because the only ones they had at Safeway were super expensive. Still good)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice wine
2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg yolk
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Stir-fry over high heat 30-40 seconds, just to blend the flavors (I don't usually bother to do this). Fill dumpling wrappers or wonton wrappers (the only kind they had at Safeway) with 1 teaspoon of filling each. Wet the edges with water and seal. Heat 1-2 tablespoons over oil in a pan over high heat. Add dumplings and brown about 2-3 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown. Swirl pan occasionally. Pour in 1/2 cup stock/broth or water, cover pan, and cook about 5-6 minutes, or until all the liquid is gone. Serve with a dipping sauce.
Bonus Dipping Sauce Recipe (aka I would eat a boot if you poured some of this on it)
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons hot chili oil (or chili paste, or chili-garlic paste, whatever)
Combine all ingredients and blend well.