BBQ Pot Stickers

Have you ever had a craving for a specific food?  You know, where you have the thought, “_______ sounds so good right now!” Unfortunately, I’ve found that when I have those moments, I’m usually craving food that is too difficult/too time consuming to make on my own.  And then I settle for Ramen noodles.  Now don’t get me wrong, I save a lot of money that way, but my taste buds aren’t nearly has pleased as my wallet is.  This time I decided to buddy up to my taste buds and try to make what I was craving…Pot Stickers.  Challenge accepted.

One of my favorite appetizers has to be Pot Stickers.  As I searched for recipes online, I found an intriguing one at Food Network made by The Neelys (one of my favorite TV chefs).  The hardest part of this recipe had to be finding the wonton wrappers.  I seriously had to wander around two grocery stores until I finally found the wrappers hiding in a back corner, but it was so worth it.  I followed The Neelys recipe, but made some slight changes which are in the recipe below.

BBQ Pot Stickers

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground pork

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

25 to 30 small square wonton wrappers

Canola oil, for frying

1 cup chicken stock

Directions

In a medium bowl, add the ground pork, green onions, garlic, BBQ sauce, sugar, paprika, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together with a spoon until incorporated.

Lay a few wonton wrappers at a time out on your work surface. Cover the others with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out. Dip your finger in a small dish of water and brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. I took a teaspoon measurement and scooped the filling into the center of the wonton.  Next, add a drop of BBQ sauce, approximately a teaspoon, on top of the filling. Bring two opposite wrapper corners together so it creates a triangle.  Press the edges of the wrapper together to seal it and take the two corners along the longest side and fold infront of the wonton so that it looks like an open envelope.  Repeat until all the filling is used.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the dumplings to the pan. Make sure they are not touching or crowded together. Let the dumplings cook, for 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of the chicken stock and cover. Reduce the heat to low, and allow the dumplings to finish cooking by steaming, another 2 to 3 minutes. Once done, gently remove the dumplings from the pan. 

Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with a dish of soy sauce for dipping.  Enjoy and eat until you crave no more!

I say we passed this challenge with flying colors and earned a couple of gold stars.  This would be a great recipe to entertain with, or just whip up when you have that Pot Sticker craving…I know I will, especially now that I know where the won tons are hiding!