Tasty Tuesdays

We love potstickers, but we have only ever bought the frozen kind at Costco!  Today I attempted a homemade version....they turned out really good, although they are a bit TIME consuming! The first batch I shaped them in cute little square pillows, as shown in the picture above, and then I tossed that idea and just folded them in half and made triangles...went much quicker! :)

Sous Chef: on my own today, but I did have 2 helpers set the table!

Recipe: Pot Stickers (Alton Brown, Food Network)

1/2 pound ground pork (we used Chicken)
We Added: leftover chopped broccoli that was in the fridge, and it was a great addition.

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (this measurement is adjusted from the original amount of 1 1/2, because all the reviews said the recipe was too salty...next time I will adjust it even more...see Chef's Note at end of post)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I accidently added 1/2 tsp.!!, Brian loved the spice, but Megan did not...everyone else didn't mind one way or the other)
35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
Water, for sealing wontons
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided (we used reduced sodium, and it was still a bit too salty, see Chef's notes at end of post)

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.

Critiques ~
Brian: "Much better than the frozen ones!"
Megan: "Way too spicy!"
Zachary: "Awesome, these are so good!"
Guest (Zach's friend): "I love these!"
Anna: "I could eat this forever!"
Amelia: "Good."
Chef's Notes: "Just a bit too salty...I even reduced the amount of salt by 1/3...next time I won't add salt at all...maybe a pinch."