Tofu / Mushroom Pot-stickers

Just like take-out, if the take-out kind had tofu and mushrooms inside.

These are outstanding. They completely fulfill my pot-sticker cravings. They have great flavor and texture, they're nutritious, they freeze and reheat well, and they're basically perfect in every way except the amount of work that it takes to make them.

As I was filling them and balancing baking sheets in the freezer to freeze them, I was thinking that there was no way this would be worthwhile, and I'd just chalk it up to being a fun experiment. But then I tasted them. I dare say that if you have the time, they're worth it. Though in the future I might try putting this filling into something bigger (egg rolls?) to simplify things.

In this case, though, I went with traditional pot-stickers. I filled all 50+ wrappers in the package and still had some filling leftover, because you can only put a tiny bit of filling in each one.

The leftover filling was a great starter for fried rice. Veggies, sauce, and egg all ready to go... fry with some cooked rice and you're done.

The heavenly filling. Good thing it had raw egg or I'd have eaten it all with a spoon.

1 of 3 sheets. So. Many. Pot-stickers.

I was actually inspired to make pot-stickers because I had some leftover Asian dressing (from the kale salad that I thought would make a great dipping sauce. And it did. But actually, these are so flavorful that they don't need sauce. I'll probably devour the rest of them un-dipped.

I worked from this recipe. It was great, and her instructions are fabulous. My only changes were to substitute regular mushrooms (I like them better than shiitakes) and red cabbage (because I had some). 

The Recipe:

4 oz mushrooms, minced

1 pound cabbage (napa would be great, or regular cabbage is fine), shredded

1 tsp salt

6 oz Asian-flavored baked tofu (Trader Joe's has a good one if you don't want to make it), crumbled

3 scallions, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tb fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 tb rice wine vinegar

1 tb soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg, beaten

70ish pot-sticker wrappers

• Heat 1 tb of oil in a skillet. Saute the minced mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until soft. Move cooked mushrooms to a large bowl.
• Add the cabbage and salt to the hot skillet and saute until softened, 3-5 minutes depending on the type of cabbage. 
• Cool the cabbage and chop it as finely as you have patience for. It'll make wrapping easier. Add the chopped, cooked cabbage to the bowl with the mushrooms.
• Add all other ingredients (except the wrappers) to the bowl. Mix well.
• Lay out several wrappers. Place a very small amount of filling in the center of each. Dip a finger in water and run it around the edge of a wrapper, then fold the wrapper in half and pinch it closed. Repeat with all of the wrappers.
• If you don't want to cook them immediately, place them in a single layer (not touching) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze. Once they are frozen, they can be transferred to any freezer container.
• To cook (either from fresh or frozen), heat a skillet to medium-high heat with a tablespoon of oil. Place pot-stickers in single layer in the oil for 1-2 minutes on each side, until browned. Then pour 3 tablespoons of water into the pan and immediately cover with a lid. Turn heat to low and let steam for 3-5 minutes (fresh) or 6-8 minutes (frozen), until all water is absorbed.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A-.

Overall reason: Magically delicious, but time consuming.

Time to prepare: Too much. Specifically, about 2 hours.

Husband quote: (Coming soon)