Recipe: Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers with Black Vinegar Ginger Sauce

Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers Recipe:

I've made my share of potstickers in the past, but I was recently inspired to try a new recipe: Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers with Black Vinegar Ginger sauce. It isn't a traditional Chinese potsticker, but more of a potsticker with an Asian Fusion theme to it. Nonetheless, it was delicious! The prep work takes some time, but it freezes well and makes a quick and easy meal later!

I attended a party a few weeks ago where each guest was asked to bring an appetizer or dessert to share, and the host would make the main dish and provide the cocktails. Usually for a party like this, I try not to get too fancy since it's difficult to transport hot foods, especially when it is for an after-work party with no time to go home and cook first.

Since I set a goal to cook more and try new recipes, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to experiment with a recipe inspired by a local Seattle restaurant: Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers.

The recipe was hit with everyone at the party! The black vinegar ginger sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the lamb potstickers - it added just the right balance of flavors without being too overpowering.  Try it for yourself, and let me know what you think of the recipe!

Warning: time required to make the potstickers will vary greatly depending on your dumpling folding skills! My dad (more of a titanium chef versus a wooden chef) would be able to fold everything in 10 minutes, whereas it would take me two hours. But - practice makes perfect!

Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers with Black Vinegar Ginger Sauce

 (recipe from Ponti Seafood Grill)

For the purposes of these instructions:

Potsticker and Gyoza, to me, are the same thing. The words are interchangeable. They are pan-fried dumplings. 

Dumplings generally have not been pan fried. They can also refer to the result of cooking through boiling or steaming, rather than pan frying. You can use this method of cooking the dumplings instead of pan frying for a healthier alternative.

Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers:

1 lb. Ground Lamb
2 small (8oz.) cans Water Chestnuts, Drained Well and Chopped
3 tsp. Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
4 tsp. Fish Sauce
3 Scallions, minced
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
1 pack gyoza wrappers (50 pieces should be plenty)

1. Mix all the ingredients well and refrigerate overnight, covered. This period of refrigeration allows the meat to marinate and absorb all of the flavors.
(It may also be a good idea to make the black vinegar ginger sauce at this point as well, since that also requires a few hours of marination. Recipe below.)

 

2. The following day, take the marinated lamb out of the refrigerator, along with the gyoza wrappers. Fill a small bowl with water; you'll be using this to seal the gyoza.

3. Put a gyoza wrapper in the palm of your left hand (or right hand if you're left handed) and use a spoon to put a small amount of meat in the middle of the wrapper. If this is your first time folding gyoza, start with less meat and work your way up. At this point, you have two options on how to fold your gyoza: the easy way, or the pretty way.

4. The Easy Way: Dip your finger in the bowl of water and lightly wet the perimeter of half the gyoza wrapper. Take that half of the wrapper and fold across vertically, so that you end up with a semicircle. Press down on the edges. Repeat until you've used up all the meat and/or wrappers. Put the completed dumplings on a plate in a single layer.

5. The Pretty Way: Dip your finger in the bowl of water and lightly wet the perimeter of half the gyoza wrapper. Cup your hand so that the wrapper is sitting in your hand like a taco shell. Take one side and start making pleats, pressing the pleats against the non-folded side as you go. Continue making the pleats until you're able to close the wrapper. Put the completed dumplings on a plate in a single layer.

6. If you're not planning on cooking all the dumplings the same day, leave them on the plate, cover with plastic wrap, and stick it in the freezer. After 1-2 hours, you can remove them from the freezer and throw them in a plastic bag or Ziploc bag for long-term storage. The initial freezing period helps prevent the dumplings from all sticking together.

7. When you're ready to cook the potstickers, pre-heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is ready, you should feel some heat emitting from it if you put your hand a few inches from the surface. Pour three tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan and swirl it around the pan so the entire surface is coated. Put the dumplings into the pan one at a time, making sure the pleated or folded side is facing up. You want the nice, crispy side to be on the bottom, not on the sides!

(It doesn't matter if the dumplings are frozen or thawed at this point. The ones I'm using in this example are straight out of the freezer.)

7. Pour half a cup of boiling water in the frying pan, and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes. This step steams/boils the top half of the potsticker. The lamb will turn a pinkish color as it cooks, and the skin will become slightly more translucent.

8. Take the lid off the pan and let the water evaporate through the cooking process. Once all the water evaporates, you'll be left with just the vegetable oil. At that point, the second part of the cooking process will begin: the pan-frying! Let it pan fry for 3-5 minutes, or until the bottom of the potstickers are crispy and a nice shade of brown.

9. Carefully remove the potstickers from the pan, and serve with the Black Vinegar Ginger Dipping Sauce (recipe below). Enjoy!

Black Vinegar-Ginger Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup    Soy Sauce
¼ cup    Sake
¼ cup    Chinese Black Vinegar
2 Tbsp   Scallion, minced
4tsp       Ginger, microplaned
1 Tbsp   Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp   Brown Sugar
1 tsp      Chile-Garlic Paste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to marinate and blend together. Serve alongside the Lamb and Water Chestnut Potstickers.