Potstickers and scallion pancakes are two fantastic appetizers to serve as part of a Chinese New Year dinner.
I hope you didn't think our Chinese New Year celebration was over when these savory little pockets of love and pancakes of tastiness were left unaddressed. I know you already saw this set of photographs yesterday, but I wanted to give you all of the recipes I used and not just the Lion's Head meatballs.
Potstickers are a must in this household. I spend all afternoon making large batches, freezing smaller batches for later use. Handsome loves them and I am always looking for new ways to change them up. His mother's will always hold a place in his stomach, but I know better than to try to one up those, so variations it is.
Be warned: Before you dive into either of these appetizers, know that these are not 'quick fixes.' You will be in the kitchen for a while, so wear your comfortable shoes and put on some music. It will also help to have a sous chef ready to give you on hand. It is much easier to have one person handling the filling and another set of hands for pinching the potstickers shut.
So, roll up your sleeves and let's make potstickers and scallion pancakes!
Scallion Pancakes
Discovered on From Away, Adapted from a recipe by Serious Eats
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup boiling water
- 2 cups thinly sliced scallions (the green parts only)
- about ⅛ cup toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Preparation:
Place the flour in a food processor and using the opening, slowly poor the water in with the processor on until a sticky dough comes together. Place the dough on a clean work surface and form into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel (not a fluffy towel, no need for fuzz in the dough), let rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll out, one at a time, into an 8 inch disc. Dab with a few drops of sesame oil and using your fingers, brush to coat very lightly and evenly. Starting at one end of the disk, roll up the dough small and tight. Pinch the ends and twist the dough into a spiral, tucking the end underneath.
Starting with the heel of your hand, and graduating to a rolling pin, flatten into an 8 inch disk again. Dab and rub with sesame oil again, and sprinkle with scallions and roll up like previous step.
This time, roll out into a 7 inch disk.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add one pancake to the pan, moving the pan to make sure it doesn't stick. Cook two minutes, then flip and cook two minutes longer until golden brown.
Remove from pan and place on plate lined with paper towels. Repeat cooking method with other three pancakes. Serve with dumpling dipping sauce.
Pan Fried Shrimp and Pork Potstickers
From Steamy Kitchen
Ingredients:
For the Potstickers:
- 1 package of frozen dumpling skins, thawed (I buy fresh from my local Asian market in the refrigerated section)
- ¾ pound raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 3 stalks green onions, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup canned bamboo shoots
- ½ head cabbage, sliced very thin and salted and drained to remove any access water
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- ½ teas kosher salt
- 2 tbs cornstarch
- 1 teas freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbs rice wine
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- Cornstarch Slurry: 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup
For the Dipping Sauce:
- 1 teas Asian chili sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teas sesame oil
- ½ teas sugar
- ½ teas rice wine vinegar
Preparation:
Pat the shrimp dry and place in a food processor with green onions, bamboo shoots, and cabbage. Pulse a few times until everything is chopped well. Scrape out into a bowl with the pork, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and rice wine. Mix well.
Lay out a few dumpling wrapper and place a scant teaspoon of filling into the center of each. (This is that moment when a sous chef would be very helpful). Dip a finger in the cornstarch slurry and brush along the edge of the wrapper. Pinch the wrapper shut, making sure to pinch well. Any leaking dumplings are a lost cause.
Push the dumpling down onto a baking sheet so that the dumpling sits on its own. Repeat until baking sheet is full, and freeze for 20 minutes before storing in a ziplock back and freezing until needed.
When you are down to the last few, or the few you need for your meal compared to the mountain of dumplings you have just made, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place pot stickers in the pan so that they are sitting. Brown the bottoms for 1 minute until light golden brown. Add water and cover. Reduce the heat to medium and steam for 3 minutes. Open the lid and let the remaining liquid cook off, 1 minute. (This is where I always have difficulties - it always takes me 5 minutes at least to let the rest of the water to cook off). They will brown a bit more during this minute. Test one to make sure the dumplings are cooked through and remove to plate and serve with dipping sauce
Blog is the New Black says
YUM! Love both... looking good, pal!
Sara {Home is Where the Cookies Are} says
Those pancakes look so yummy and easy enough for me to handle. The potstickers, well, they look delicious, but I don't think I can handle the time requirement until the toddler is older. Love the idea of a Chinese New Year dinner. Thanks fro the great recipes!
Belinda @zomppa says
Two of my favorites - those dumplings are sweet. Happy new year!!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
I hope you had a great chinese new year! The scallion pancakes look so yummy!
Suzi says
I have been wanting to try making those scallion pancakes and it looks pretty easy. Your potstickers look tasty too. Thanks for sharing.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
I've had my try at potstickers and decided that it's too much work for me. You're making me reconsider that decision though. These look amazing. I love, love, love scallion pancakes however. Now I need to make some. Maybe for lunch. 🙂
I totally hear you with regard to one-upping 'mom's' cooking. Not a chance with some things so why bother trying. You don't need to though. These stand on their own. Amazing.
Julie @ Table for Two says
I love this, Kita!! 🙂
Kristen says
Those foods look so delicious. I have always loved scallion pancakes.
Kiri W. says
The scallion pancakes look amazing 🙂 I miss "real" Chinese food since having come back from China last summer, and this will definitely go into my recipe collection!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Oooh, I'm a huge fan of potstickers! It's been way too long since I made them. And I love scallion pancakes. These both need to go on my to-make list!
Mrs. Jen B says
Oh my gosh I want to eat my screen! Even though I'm thinking it wouldn't be as delicious as the potstickers and pancakes are. Mmm...
Michelle says
both of these look great! Bookmarked!
Shannon says
Wow! Everything looks wonderful! I'm now craving potstickers!! 🙂
ping says
Oooh! I've forgotten about those pancakes! We have chives in our version here ... love them with a sweet black vinegar and sliced ginger dipping sauce. Yum! The chives version looks good as well, esp for some here who don't fancy chives.
Your pot stickers look lovely!
Happy Chinese New Year to you! 😀
Malcolm says
So glad to see that you made these, and that they turned out as well for you as they did for us! Nice job!
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
I could wake up smelling those pancakes from kitchen and also would love to have them from lunch and dinner:))) Beautifully served, and prepared! You did amazing job!!! Happy CNY!!!!
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Oh forgot..Congrats on Foodbuzz top 9!!!
Ann says
YUM! I love making pot stickers, but they are labor intensive! Fortunately, they freeze like a dream so when you make a bunch - they last! Yours look mighty delicious!
Ann says
YUM! I love making pot stickers, but they are labor intensive! Fortunately, they freeze like a dream so when you make a bunch - they last! Yours look mighty delicious!
Liz says
Thanks for sharing all this deliciousness, Kita! And congrats on another Top 9!!!!
soni says
Lovely and delicious!I got some frozen dumpling wrappers just last weekend and can't wait to use them!Congrats on Top 9!
Katherine Martinelli says
Mmmm I love scallion pancakes and potstickers!! These look like they are totally worth the time and effort. Just gorgeous.
alyce culinary thymes says
Love scallion pancakes. Thx for sharing and congrats on top 9!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
I want! Never had scallion pancakes, but they look wonderful. Love potstickers! Congrats on the top 9!
Emily @ Life on Food says
Oh yummy. I love celebrating the Chinese New Year. It was a tradition started a long time ago. These are two of my favorites.
Mei-i@gastronomic nomad says
Your scallion pancakes look great! It is a different take from my dad's recipe that I posted on my blog last year. I've never used a food processor to make the dough. I'll definitely have to test that out as it would make my life easier!