I would add my first pot sticker to the list of life experiences that I’ll never forget, along with my first time driving a car, my first time snorkeling, first time getting punched in the face, and where I was when various natural or geopolitical disasters struck.
My very first bite of Peking Ravioli, and its classic mix of pork, ginger and green onion, left me transformed. It happened at the Oriental Garden Chinese restaurant in my hometown. The all you can eat buffet offered a full range of classic Chinese delicacies, but after my first taste of Peking Ravioli I was only there for those plump, juicy dumplings. I returned many times with friends, and piled my teenaged plate high with pot stickers. My companions and I would feast on those exotic, lusty dumplings like Greek warriors upon fat oxen.
Years later, an old man surveying his garden for signs of life, I noted a lot of onion-ish activity, and not much else. Chives grew in a dense bunch by a fence post. I spotted the green glint of Egyptian walking onions partially buried by the remains of a tomato bush. And of course, the red-hued green of my tall and rotund garlic shoots. These, the only living bits of green in the garden, are all members of the lily family, also known as the allium family, which also includes shallots and onions.
Have you ever heard that old expression, “he knows his onions.” It means that he or she has in-depth knowledge of a particular subject. In my case, I know my onions about onions themselves. I felt a column about onions wanting to be born. But about what facet of the onion-verse would I write?
Hours later, my son Remy walked in the door and announced that he wanted to make pot stickers. And just like that I had my onion topic.
Remy is the kind of cook who, if you say let’s make spaghetti, he dumps some flour on the counter, makes a hole in the middle for some eggs, and makes a batch of pasta dough. So when he said he wanted to make pot stickers, I knew he doesn’t mean from a bag in the freezer.
I’d never made them before, but I knew enough about pot stickers, and onions, to figure that any type of green onion would do. Whether it’s the random shoots in your back yard or clean bunches at a local farm strand or the farmers market, be they chives, scallions or onion tops, all pot stickers need some form of green onions. And we had that, along with ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and even powdered white pepper, which really helps when you want that Oriental flavor turned up to eleven. For the meat, we would use ground elk mixed with pork fat.
Upon taking a final inventory, we realized only one ingredient was missing. Wrappers, in which to enclose the filling, like those wonton wrappers they sell in little packages at the supermarket.
Remy was in no rush to wait for a trip to the store, so he rolled up his sleeves and dumped some flour on the counter, and began kneading the dough. In a few minutes he had it rolled out. The dough was a bit on the thick side, but made glorious pot stickers with a uniquely puffy wrapper.
He also made a really cool YouTube short video on the pot sticker process. You can check it out here
For you Normies who don’t have an in-house dough maker, I recommend those store-bought wonton wrappers. And if you don’t have a meat grinder, pre-ground burger works just fine.
As you search or shop for your green onions, keep your eyes peeled for garlic chives, the queen of the fragrant lilies. They are easily identified by their flat, garlic-like leaves, as opposed to the round and hollow leaves of onions and normal chives. It’s worth the effort if you can find garlic chives. Your dumplings and dumpling eaters will thank you.
Ingredients
2 pounds ground meat, ideally pork, or pork mixed with shrimp, or pork mixed with beef
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/4 cup minced shallot or onion 4 minced green onions or a handful of chopped chives, garlic tops, or garlic chives
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 leaves Napa cabbage, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
A pinch of white pepper
One package wonton wrappers
Throughly mix all of the ingredients, save the wrappers, in a large bowl. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
While it marinates, there is a little operation to do with the wrappers. They come out of the package square, but you want them round for pot sticker folding. So find a glass with a diameter close in length to the length of the side of the wrapper. Press the glass down to cut a circle and peel away the corners on the outside of the glass.
Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the center of each wrapper. Dip your fingers in a glass of water and rub your wet fingers on the perimeter of the wrapper. Then fold it over the filling and press down on the edges. Pan-fry or steam your dumplings how you like them.