Ground Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Stickers

{This picture is awful. I'm tempted to do a redo, but at the time it was rainy outside and so yucky indoor yellow light was all we had! SO sorry! When I make these again, I'll update with a better picture.}

So with that out of my system on with this winner of a recipe. It's another great one from my good friend Carolee. That woman can cook! These little gems are seriously addicting and make the best leftovers. Sadly we rarely have enough left over though. My son probably ate his weight in these babies. I had to put a limit on how many he could have. And how often is there a recipe that pleases kids and adults alike? Not too often, but this is one of them. The mixture is so flavorful-fresh ginger, garlic, cabbage, etc. and the crispy brown bottoms and soft, pasta like tops are such a great texture combination. Although the prep time is a little more with assembling each individual potsticker, the filling comes together in a snap and the cooking time is next to nothing so they are still a pretty quick meal for any night of the week. We dipped these in a completely random dipping sauce I concocted from a couple different recipes (will include what ingredients I can remember at the end of the recipe) and ate them alongside baked ham-"fried" rice, again from Carolee, and an oriental mandarin salad. Both recipes coming your way soon...

Ground Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Stickers

(Recipe from Carolee. The original calls for ground chicken, which I never have so I substitute the more readily available ground turkey. Putting a couple chicken breasts in the food processor would work beautifully I'm sure)

2 t vegetable oil

2 cups finely chopped napa cabbage

1/2 cup water or chicken broth

1/2-1 lb ground turkey or chicken

1/3 cup minced green onion

1 T minced peeled ginger root

1/2 t salt

few drops dark sesame oil

1 egg white, beaten

2 cloves garlic, crushed

30 won ton wrappers (I find mine in the refrigerated part of the produce section & have used both square and round, I recommend round)

2 T veggie oil

1 cup water (possibly divided)

Heat 2 t veggie oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add cabbage and 1/2 cup water or chicken broth and let cook down and brown for a good 8 minutes or more. Let cool. Meanwhile in mixing bowl, add chicken and next 6 ingredients and mix well. Add mostly cooled cabbage and stir.

Take one won ton wrapper at a time, keeping remaining covered so they don't dry out, and spoon about a tablespoon of filling into center of wrapper. Moisten half the edges with a little water, using your finger. Fold over and press together. Then stand up on end and holding closed edge, lightly press down to create the flat-bottom and ruffled top edge look that is typical of pot stickers. See picture above to get the idea. Set assembled wonton on a cookie sheet sprayer with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat process, adding each newly assembled pot stickers to the plastic wrapped cookie sheet. You don't want them to dry out while you're working on all the others.

Heat 2 T of veggie oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot add pot stickers flat side down. You may have to do more than one batch if they skillet isn't big enough. It's best if they're not too crowded. Let brown on bottom for about 3 minutes. Once browned add water, either full cup or half a cup depending on batch size (all or halved). Put lid on skillet (or cover with foil) and let steam for another 5-7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Serve warm with favorite asian dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce #1

1 1/2 T soy sauce

1 T seasoned rice vinegar

1 T chili-garlic sauce

Combine and serve with pot stickers, etc.

Dipping Sauce #2

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t fresh grated ginger

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 t red pepper flakes

Combine and serve. Better to let sit awhile so flavors can meld together.

My version isn't much of a recipe, so might not be all that helpful to others but I just picked and chose what I liked or had on hand from the above 2 recipes: soy sauce, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, grated ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and I used a profuse amount of brown sugar because I like sweet dipping sauces with these pot stickers. I would have used green onions too if I'd had anymore. It was yummy!