Pork Belly Potstickers

Author's Note: For the month of November, I am participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) and pledge to post once a day.

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This recipe is a mash-up of three dishes I love: gua bao, potstickers and soup dumplings. I’ve taken the best parts of each and put them into one blast of flavor. There’s the braised pork belly filling and condiments from the gua bao, the crispy skin of potstickers, and the juicy jus from soup dumplings. When I described the gua bao potstickers to a friend, he said, “You just you-got-your-chocolate-in-my-peanut-buttered two of my favorite things!”

HSIAO-CHING’S GUA BAO POTSTICKERS
Makes about 40 potstickers

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
¾-1 cup warm water from the tap

Filling:
1 batch Red Braised Pork Belly, chopped and refrigerated overnight in the braising liquid
1 cup chopped pickled Chinese mustard greens
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 cup peanut powder

For Cooking:
Vegetable oil
Water

For serving:
Ginger Scallion Oil
Sriracha

Make the dough: Gradually add the water to the flour and stir gently to combine. As the dough comes together, use your hands to work the excess flour into the dough. Cover the ball of dough with a damp cloth and let rest for about 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into fourths. Working with one portion of the dough at time, shape it into a rope about 1-1½ inches in diameter. Cut rope into pieces about the size of a ping pong ball (because the filling is so chunky, the wrappers need to be slightly larger than normal). Roll each dough piece into a ball and then gently press between your palms to create a wafer-like circle. Roll out each wafer, using a Chinese-style rolling pin, as if rolling out pie dough until the potsticker wrapper is about the thickness of a flour tortilla. The wrapper should be about 4½-5 inches or so in diameter. Dust with flour as needed.

Place 1 piece of pork belly, making sure there’s some of the gelled braising liquid in the mix, on the wrapper. Top with about 1 teaspoon of the chopped mustard greens, chopped cilantro and a hearty sprinkle of the peanut powder. Carefully pinch the edges of the wrapper together so that you create a half-moon shape. (Watch a video on how to seal the potstickers: vimeo.com/20438234) Repeat with the rest of the dough.

To cook: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. For an 8- to 10-inch skillet, add about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Swirl the oil around the pan to coat. It’s ok if there’s a little bit of pooling. Place as many dumplings in the pan as will fit. (You will need to cook the dumplings in batches.) Add ¾ cup water, cover the pan with a lid and let cook for about 7-9 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the bottoms of the dumplings have browned and created that potsticker crust. Turn off the heat and remove the potstickers and place on a platter. If the potstickers seem greasy, you may dab it on a paper towel before arranging on the platter.

Serve with the Ginger Scallion Oil and Sriracha to taste. Be careful when taking the first bite, because the gelled braising liquid will have melted.

GINGER SCALLION OIL

2 ½ cups scallions, finely chopped (about 1-2 bunches)
½ cup peeled and grated fresh ginger
¼ cup vegetable oil (do not use olive oil)
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon rice vinegar

Combine all ingredients and serve. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days.