(Insert delicious adjective) Pot Stickers

I don't usually make posts about any meal that I haven't made more than once; these turned out so perfect on the first go, that I just had to write about them. I really thought that these were going to be a pain-in-the-ole-behind to make, but they were actually very easy. Yields about 15.

Ingredients
3 C. All-Purpose Flour (sifted)
1 C. Warm Water
1 Lb. Ground Pork
1/2 C. Panko Breadcrumbs
2 diced Green Onions
1 T Minced Garlic
2 T Oyster Sauce (or fish sauce)
1 T Soy Sauce
*sesame oil + brewed black tea (both are for cooking)

With a dough hook, or by hand, mix SIFTED flour and warm water. Add a tablespoon or two of water if dough is crumbly. Mix, or hand knead, for 5 min. Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 min.

While the dough is resting, mix all remaining ingredients (except for oil and tea) in a bowl. Set aside.

After dough has rested, knead for 5 more minutes, then allow it to rest for another 5. This will make it very pliable and easy to work with.

Pull off a piece of dough the size of a ping-pong ball. Sprinkle flour on the work surface and roll dough into roughly a 4-5" diameter disc. These tend to be pretty forgiving when it comes to thickness, but generally I shoot for a thickness a bit thinner than a tortilla (about 1mm). Place a heaping tablespoon of the pork mixture onto the dough and then fold it in half and pinch the seam closed. The dough should seal itself pretty easily.

Cooking:
Use a non-stick skillet! Heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbs oil to the bottom of the pan and add the pot stickers. Make sure each pot sticker has the bottom oiled. Pour in the black tea (or regular water) until it comes half way up the pot stickers. Cover the pot, with the lid slightly askew, to allow the liquid to cook off. When the liquid has cooked off, add a little more oil and flip all of the dumplings to brown other side. Once browned, remove from heat.

Udon (oo-don) Noodles

These noodles are very simple and can be served hot or cold. I actually prefer them cold with a little mirin and ginger, then dipped in a little Mongolian Sauce.

Ingredients
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 T. salt
1 Cup water

Hand mix all of the ingredients until they become cohesive. Place dough on work surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Put it in a ziptop bag and press out all of the air. Allow the dough to rest for a minimum of 2 hours.

Flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in a rectangular shape. Roll it out until it about 1/8 of an inch thick (a little thicker won't hurt, since you can stretch them thinner). When you have reached your desired thickness, lightly dust both sides with flour and lay the dough lengthwise in front of you. Right now is when you will want to get a large pot of water on to boil. You should also fill a sink with cold water and put a colander in it. This will be used to cool the noodles and keep them from becoming rubbery.

Starting with the left edge being pulled to the right edge, fold your dough in half. Now grab your newly formed left edge (the fold), and fold it over to the right edge again. you should now have 4 layers.

Give the dough a 90 degree turn and lay it out on your cutting board. Now cut vertical strips about 1/8 inch in width. After you have cut about a dozen strips, unfold them and give them a little stretch. Go ahead and toss them into into the pot of boiling water and set a timer for 3 minutes. While those are cooking, go ahead and cut and stretch more noodles.

When your timer dings, remove the noodles from the pot and put them in the colander and submerge them in the cold water for about a minute. Remove them from the water and toss them into a bowl. Repeat until all noodles are cooked.

When all noodles have been cooked, go ahead and drain any remaining water that has collected in the bottom of your noodle bowl. At this point, if you want cold noodles, you can lightly coat these noodles with Mirin, ginger, and green onions. Then use a refrigerated Mongolian dipping sauce.

I will post a recipe for a traditional hot dashi (Japanese broth) very soon.

Enjoy!

Mongolian Sauce

I love this Mongolian sauce recipe. It is so easy to make and very easy to tailor to your liking. I personally like it a bit sweet and very spicy, but it's good even without the heat. This sauce can be put on just about everything: beef, pork, chicken, rice, noodles, small children (they love it).

Ingredients
4 tsp. sesame oil
2 T. minced garlic
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1 Cup soy sauce
1 Cup water
1 tsp. ginger powder
1+1/2 Cups brown sugar

NOTE: If you want this sauce to be more on the spicy side, add the red chili peppers when you add the garlic. If you want it more on the mild/sweet side, add it at the end.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add sesame oil and garlic. Roast the garlic until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce, water, ginger, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Allow to boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. (If you want just a little heat, this is when you add the red chili flakes.)

Orange Chicken

Who doesn't love orange chicken? 'Nuff said.

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1 medium sized orange, zested and juiced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar (apple cider or white can be substituted)
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. powdered ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 T. ginger root powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (optional)

Canola oil for frying (add about a tbs sesame seed oil to your fry oil for added flavor)

The sauce is pretty strait forward: put water, orange juice (reserve the zest for the end), lemon juice, vinegar,  soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic into saucepan over high/med-high heat. Whisk constantly until sauce comes to a boil. At this point, add the cornstarch water and allow to boil for 2 min. Remove from heat and stir in green onion, red pepper flakes, and orange zest.

Personally, I don't like the cubes of chicken that you get at places like Panda Express. I prefer super thin slices of chicken breast. I found that the best way to get super thin slices, of any meat, is to freeze it first, and then allow it to slightly thaw. You can get deli thin slices with just a regular chef's knife.

When your chicken is cut into bit sized pieces, crack the egg into a bowl an whisk it until it is uniform. Mix the cornstarch, flour, ginger, salt, and pepper (and panko) in a bowl or ziploc bag. First, dry off the pieces of chicken with a paper towel, then dip into the egg and then dredge it in the flour mixture. Set aside until ready to fry. Repeat process until all pieces of chicken are breaded.

Frying the chicken is quick and easy when it's in bite-sized pieces. I personally do all of my frying outside, in a wok that I put directly on the burner of my gas grill.

Heat the oil to about the 350-375 range. When the oil is hot enough, drop a few pieces of chicken in. Allow them to brown on one side, then flip them over to brown on the other side. It should only take about a minute on each side. Remove the chicken and place on cooling racks with paper towels underneath to drain. **BE AWARE!** The breading will continue to brown and darken, even after you have removed it from the hot oil.

Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
Enjoy!