Do not think that with this post, which is a little different from usual, this blog will become a collection of Asian recipes !
I just wanted to tell an anecdote and share, it is true at the same time, a recipe for Chinese food that I love : dumpling, in particular potsticker !
It was a friend who introduced me to potsticker in a restaurant in downtown Marseille, which is called : la Maison des Raviolis. This small restaurant which opened in 2014 and which was successful very quickly, makes delicious dumplings to eat boiled or grilled, for my part I prefer them grilled (potsticker). To taste them, we suggest you prepare a side sauce made with soy sauce, black vinegar and possibly a chili paste to spice it up. One evening, while I was preparing my precious mixture, to my surprise I recognized the Chinese characters 永春 (Yong Chun in Mandarin or Wing Chun in Cantonese) on the bottle of black vinegar.
Very surprised to see the name of my martial art written on this bottle, I understood, reading the English translation on the label, that Yong Chun was referring to the city located in Fujian and not to my martial art of course. Regardless, I think that during this evening, I enjoyed tasting these potstickers even more !
If you are passing through Marseille, I advise you to go and savor these potstickers at la Maison des Raviolis. According to a friend of mine who knows China very well :
“They (the potstickers) are as good as in Beijing !”
In Beijing, we call dumpling ; jiaozi 餃子. There are all kinds, all flavors and all cooking methods. Here, I present to you a recipe for fried jiaozi (grilled) which we call guotie 鍋貼 due to this cooking method which literally means “sticks to the pot” hence the word “potsticker”.
In France, this dish is generally called ; Beijingese ravioli or Chinese ravioli. Ravioli is the Italian word that French use to designate a piece of dough wrapped around a filling. In Tokyo, we would call it gyosa 餃子, in Seoul, mandu 만두, or in Honk Kong, dim sum 點心. Regardless, once in the mouth you will no longer be able to say whatever, you will only be able to savor it !
Regarding black vinegar, it is made from the fermentation of glutinous black rice. Flavored and acidic, it is ideal for cooking meat and sauces. Like soy sauce, it adds color to your dishes. And it is essential to enhance the taste of your potstickers !! (see preparation of the sauce below).
Of course, making potstickers at home will never be as good as in a restaurant, however, taking inspiration from different recipes and after several adjustments, I arrived at a rather satisfactory result. Because cooking is also doing Kung Fu, we seek to constantly improve to perfect our recipes, our know-how and delight our guests!
Recipe of potstickers
Ingredients (for 16 potstickers)
Potsticker dough
- 200 g of flour
- 15 cl of hot water
- 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Filling
The base is the beef, then we add a fresh herb (chives or coriander) or leek.
- 200 g of minced beef (150 g is enough if you make beef/leek potsticker)
- a nice bunch of fresh grass (be generous) or 1/2 leek
- 1 teaspoon of grated or ground fresh ginger
- 1 grated garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Dipping sauce
- 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of chilli sauce (Sriracha type)
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- some white sesame seeds for the visual
Directions
Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Bring the water to a boil then add it to the flour.
Mix with a wooden spatula, when the heat has dissipated enough, knead by hand until a ball forms.
Add the oil and continue to knead the dough by hand to homogenize it.
Reserve at room temperature wrapped in cling film while preparing the filling.
Cut the leek in four lengthwise then thinly slice into thin strips. If you are using fresh herbs ; cut finely.
Combine the meat, leek (or herbs), sesame oil and soy sauce. Grate over, the garlic clove and ginger.
Mix everything.
NB : Do not add salt or pepper ; soy sauce and ginger do it 😉
Divide the dough into 16 small balls.
Little trick to make the 16 almost identical balls ; divide your main ball in 2, then in 4, etc … until 16.
Form a square with the filling 1 to 2 cm thick. Cut it into 16 identical parts. Form 16 small balls of filling.
Roll out each small ball of dough finely to form a disc. Place the filling. Fold in a half-moon.
Press well on the outlines from the center to the ends to expel the air and weld the dough well.
Make small folds on the welded dough starting from the center, once to the left, once to the right.
You can find many tutorials on the net to assemble your potsticker. Here I used different types of folds to distinguish two flavors of potsticker : beef/leek and beef/coriander.
4) Dipping sauce
Mix the soy sauce and the black vinegar, add the spicy sauce according to taste (be careful with the dosage !), place a few white sesame seeds on the sauce for the visual.
The sauce can be prepared at the last moment, just before serving the potstickers.
Cooking
Heat a little sunflower oil in a pan over medium heat.
Place the potstickers. Cook for a few minutes, turning them regularly until all sides are crispy.
Arrange the potstickers in a dish.
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