Daring Cooks' Challenge: Potstickers

For this month's Daring Cooks' Challenge -- my second challenge -- Jen at use real butter asked us all to make potstickers. She only required that we not use wonton wrappers and make the dough ourselves. This challenge intrigued me because I love potstickers and I have always wanted to make them from scratch.

Jen provided an amazing step-by-step tutorial on her blog, which I highly recommend if you ever decide to make these.

I like potstickers best when they are pan-fried and when the dough thinly veils the filling. I can't stand thick, gummy potstickers or dumplings. But as I've made pierogi a few times before, I wasn't too worried about working with the dough and rolling it thin enough for the potstickers.

My major recommendation on these is to enlist some help. I went into this recipe thinking I could do it alone. And I could have, but it would have taken me much longer. Luckily, my boyfriend was home -- and hungry -- so he jumped in and helped me.

I first made the filling. To me, one of the most annoying things to prep is ginger. Its knobbiness makes peeling it quite a chore. I even tried using a spoon, which is supposed to be easier than using a peeler. It was still difficult and time-consuming. But once I finally had the ginger peeled and minced, the rest was pretty simple.


I sliced some scallions.


And then I mixed the scallions and ginger into some ground pork and added some corn starch and soy sauce.


I put the filling in the fridge while I made the sauce and dough. I figured the earlier I made the sauce, the longer the flavors would have to mingle. In a small bowl I combined some more minced ginger and sliced scallions with soy sauce, red wine vinegar, sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar.


The dough is simply a mixture of flour and water. Jen provides instructions for making this in a food processor or by hand. I opted to use the food processor. I measured in my flour and then poured in water and set the machine to its task. The dough was still pretty sticky when I took it out, so I had to knead a little flour into it.


I then had to divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a log. I kept the logs under a moist towel until we were ready to work with them.


My boyfriend cut each log into about 10 pieces.


He then took each piece and flattened it into a circle with his hands and then used a rolling pin to thin the dough even more.



I then took each prepared round and scooped some filling into it.



Then came the more challenging part. It takes a bit of work to give potstickers their unique shape.

I pinched the dough together at the middle...


...and then pleated one side...


...and then the other, tucking the ends in and pinching them closed.


As I finished forming each potsticker, I would dip it in a little flour and set it on a plate.


When the potstickers were all formed and ready, I heated some oil in a frying pan and placed 10 potstickers in the pan. (I froze the rest for later use.) Once the potstickers were golden brown on the bottom, I poured in a cup of water and covered the pan. The steam cooks the filling and the dough.


I also flipped my potstickers on their sides once the water was absorbed and fried the sides too.


I thought they were just as good as some that I've had out at Chinese restaurants and better than the ones we buy in bulk at Costco. They took a little work, and I plan to play around with the filling a little next time, but overall they weren't too difficult to make, and having someone there to help me made the whole process go so smoothly.

I love the crunchy outside and the meaty filling. If you love potstickers and you've never made your own before, you definitely should give it a try! This challenge was a huge success.

Daring Cooks' Challenge: Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

When I came across the Daring Kitchen, I was so excited to see a group called the Daring Cooks, the members of which try out different cooking challenges, and I signed myself right up. Turns out I signed up just in time for the first challenge.

But, boy, when they say challenge, they're not kidding! This may have been one of the more difficult things I've ever tried to make and one of the few things I could not make right or fix. That's right. I failed my first Daring Cooks' Challenge. But it was still fun!

I was actually really looking forward to this challenge because the chosen recipe -- Ricotta Gnocchi -- comes right out of Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant. One of my friends gave me this cookbook for Christmas, and I had yet to try anything out of it, even though I've already read it cover to cover and flipped through the recipes several times. It's one of those cookbooks that succeeds at being both gorgeous and instructive.

I followed the recipe exactly. I bought fresh ricotta at Whole Foods and drained it for what ended up being two days because I was too tired to make the gnocchi the night I originally planned to.

I took my drained ricotta and stirred and mashed it, then added the eggs, cheese, melted butter and sage, and salt. I mixed everything up. I thought the mixture seemed a bit loose, but since I had followed all of the directions, I made my test gnocchi anyways. It failed. So I tried to fix them as Rodgers suggests, by adding some beaten egg white.


But my gnocchi were still kind of goopy and gloppy. They looked nothing like the picture in the cookbook. I shaped them anyways and stuck the tray in the fridge thinking maybe they would harden and be easier to work with. No luck.


I can't even share a finished picture with you. They looked that bad. I even took the cooked ones and tried sauteeing them in some butter, so they might crisp up. This didn't even work. I guess it just wasn't my night. It's a good thing we had fresh rolls and zinfandel-braised short ribs.

My gnocchi came out with the texture of ravioli or stuffed shell filling. And it sort of reminded me of undercooked poached eggs too. It wasn't horrible, but I'd rather eat ravioli or stuffed shells. I don't see myself making this again, but I have always wanted to make potato gnocchi, and I haven't given up on giving that a try! And I definitely plan to try more recipes from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

Check out La Mia Cucina for the ricotta gnocchi recipe.

A little gnocchi antidote: Last year I went on a cruise in Hawaii. While onboard the ship at dinner one night, I had a waitress who insisted on calling this dish ga-notch-ee. But what's worse -- she served me tortellini. There was no tortellini on the menu, so I nicely mentioned that she might want to inform the chefs that gnocchi and tortellini are two completely different things!