Makes24 dumplings
- Active time:50 min
- Start to finish:1 hr
ADAPTED FROM FUCHSIA DUNLOP
May 2005
Garlic chives smell more pungent than they taste and are wonderful when cooked. (Keep them wrapped well in your refrigerator.)
For dough
-
1 3/4 to 2
cups
all-purpose flour
-
3/4
cup
boiling-hot water
For filling
-
1/4
lb
ground beef chuck (1/2 cup)
-
1 1/2
tablespoons
soy sauce
-
1
tablespoon
Asian sesame oil
-
1
tablespoon
peanut oil
-
1
tablespoon
minced peeled fresh ginger
-
1
teaspoon
Chinese sweet bean paste
-
2
cups
finely chopped yellow or green garlic chives (6 oz)
For panfrying
-
1
tablespoon
peanut oil
-
1/3
cup
warm water
Make dough:
-
Put 1 3/4 cups flour in a large bowl, then add boiling-hot water, stirring with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. When just cool enough to handle, turn out dough (including any loose flour) onto a work surface and knead, incorporating some of remaining 1/4 cup flour if dough is sticky, until smooth, about 5 minutes.
-
Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes and up to 30.
Make filling while dough stands:
-
Stir together beef, soy sauce, oils, ginger, and bean paste in a medium bowl, then stir in chives.
Form and fry dumplings:
-
Form dough into a log (24 inches long and about 1 inch wide), then cut dough crosswise into 24 (1-inch-wide) pieces. Put 6 pieces, cut sides down, on a lightly floured surface (keep remaining pieces loosely covered with plastic wrap) and flatten slightly with your hand. Roll out each flattened piece into a 3 1/4-inch round with lightly floured rolling pin. Put a level tablespoon of filling in center of each round, then brush or dab halfway around edge with a little water and fold in half, pressing edges together to seal and leaving a small opening at each end of semicircle. Stand each dumpling, sealed edge up, on a wax-paper-lined tray, then press dumplings slightly onto 1 side so more of dumpling touches tray. Make more dumplings in same manner.
-
Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot, then remove from heat and arrange dumplings in a tight circular pattern standing up in oil (they should touch one another). Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat until oil sizzles, then drizzle warm water (1/3 cup) over pot stickers and cook, covered, until bottoms are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons more water if skillet looks dry before bottoms are browned.
-
Remove lid and cook, shaking skillet to loosen pot stickers, until steam dissipates, 1 to 2 minutes. Invert a large plate with a rim over skillet. Using pot holders, hold plate and skillet together and invert skillet. Remove skillet and serve pot stickers warm.
Cooks' note: Dumplings can be formed 4 hours ahead. Chill in 1 layer, not touching, on wax-paper-lined tray, loosely but completely covered with plastic wrap.
