cooking

1 comment on "A bit of a learning curve"

I ordered this manual potsticker maker machine–

Manual potsticker making machine

–and it really works.

I made my own wrappers and made chicken potstickers with it. And it went pretty good (until I tried to fry a panful and burnt them, but that wasn’t the fault of the machine).

With homemade wrappers, the dough is sticky enough that you should be able to lay them onto the paddles, fill them, and squeeze the potstickers after pushing down the plunger. When using store bought wrappers, you’re supposed to use a pastry brush and brush the edges with water so they’ll stick.

The first two I made, I don’t know if I was too excited and pushed too fast, but the potstickers dropped out the bottom like they’re supposed to but it was super fast and they bounced off the plate onto the floor. So there’s a bit of a learning curve. But it really is a revelatory machine.

I could have bought an automatic potsticker folder, but I didn’t want to have to worry about plugging it in… and what if I want to make potstickers during a power outage?

Here’s the amazon ADLINK: https://amzn.to/3TnTlAj. <= manual potsticker maker.

I’m thinking about rolling out some pie dough and making apple pie potstickers. I’m not sure how long to bake or fry them, but it seems like a fun experiment.

The machine takes 3-inch diameter discs of dough. So if that seems too small, maybe they have a larger empanada machine?

I just feel like the existence of potsticker making machines is proof that we’re currently living in the future.

Witch King at Amazon
1 comment on "I made dumplings yesterday"

I made some pork and celery dumplings last night and they came out really good. They were surprisingly easy to make!

And I’m very shocked by it, because I’ve always wanted to make dumplings from scratch but held off because I thought they would be too hard for me. But they were really easy.

  • 1-1/4 pound of ground pork
  • 3 or 4 celery stalks finely minced
  • 1/3 cup of finely chopped carrot
  • 2 scallions minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp finely minced ginger
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1/2 C water
  • 2 packages dumpling wrappers or homemade wrappers
  1. If you’re making homemade wrappers, add 4 cups all-purpose flour to a large bowl and gradually mix in 1-1/3 cups of tepid water. It might seem hard, but knead it into a smooth dough. It will take about 10 minutes. Cover with a plate and set aside for 1 hour.

  2. Put the minced celery in a small bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to release the excess water.

  3. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the carrots for about 2 minutes until they’re slightly softened. Turn off the heat and let them cool.

  4. Squeeze the excess water out of the celery and add them to a large bowl with the ground pork, carrots, ginger, scallions, sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Using a pair of chopsticks, begin stirring the mixture in one direction, gradually streaming in the Shaoxing wine and water. Mix about 10 minutes until you get an emulsified paste.

  5. If you bought dumpling wrappers, moisten the outer edges of a wrapper and add 1 tablespoon of filling to the center. Pleat the dumpling closed, using additional water to make sure it’s completely sealed. Continue wrapping dumplings until all filling is gone.

  6. If you made your own wrapper dough, divide the dough into small pieces and roll into balls. Use a rolling pin to flatten the balls into thin 3-1/2 inch circles. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper and pleat the edges together. Continue wrapping dumplings until all filling is gone.

  7. Pan-fry, steam, or boil dumplings. Lay uncooked dumplings on a parchment paper covered sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until they’re solid, then separate them into Ziploc bags or freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy.

How to pan-fry dumplings: Add a couple tablespoons vegetable oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Add dumplings and fry until the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly golden brown and flip. Hold up the pan lid to block any splash-back and add about 1/2 cup water to the pan (around the dumplings, not on them!) then immediately put the lid on the pan. Let the dumplings continue cooking about 7 minutes while the water steame away. Then uncover the pan and continue cooking until the pan is dry and the bottoms of the dumplings are crispy.

How to steam dumplings: Add dumplings to a steamer and steam on medium to medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes.

How to boil dumplings: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the dumplings and stir them around so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Bring the water back to a boil and cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on the dumpling size. Whenever the water comes to a vigorous boil, add an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to calm things down a little and prevent the dumplings from getting starchy.

Cooking frozen dumplings: Steam for 10 minutes, boil for 8 minutes.

I didn’t have Shaoxing wine, so I used white cooking wine, and I didn’t want to deal with mincing ginger so I bought a tube of ginger paste and used that.

When making the wrappers, I split the dough in two, then formed two long tubes and used a pastry cutter to split the tubes into smaller pieces. Then I cut those pieces in half, and those halves were what I rolled into balls and then tried to flatten into circles. I actually ended up with some pretty large-sized dumplings.

I had a really hard time making my wrappers circle-shaped. Like, none of them were circles. So next time, I’m going to search out my dumpling maker thing and use it to cut perfect circles out of the rolled dough. That just seems much more effective and simple.

I boiled the dumplings because I couldn’t remember the proper way to pan-fry them off the top of my head. And I noticed oil releasing into the water, which kind of surprised me. Then later, when eating them, all the juices trapped inside were like their own tasty soup. I could really taste the sesame oil, but not really the celery.

I’m really thinking about getting a bamboo steamer to cook things more healthier. So if I really get into making my own dumplings it will be worth it to invest in a steamer.

Steamer storage and steamer cost are the biggest hurdles right now. There’s really not a lot of space available in the kitchen. So I have a tendency to buy cooking gadgets, then they take up counter and cabinet space until someone else gets frustrated and they disappear. Then I need them and I’m SOL.

~HarperWCK

Witch King at Amazon
2 comments on "I am madly in love with my Instant Pot IP-DUO60"

I am madly in love with my Instant Pot IP-DUO60. It should be renamed the “Magic Pot” as that’s what it does — magic. Raw ingredients go in and delicious food comes out. It was well-worth the purchase price of $135 at Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/?tag=harperkingsley-20].

The first day I got it, I checked it over and cleaned it up, then I threw in the included rack, 4 still slightly-frozen Cornish game hens, 1 cup of water, and a sprinkle of salt, then hit the Poultry button. It switched to On as it got up to pressure, then it was 20-minutes of cooking (I maybe should have lessened the time, but whatever) and when I quick released the steam and opened the lid, I was presented with fall-off the bone chicken.

I stuck the hens on a pan and into the oven for a quick broil to add some color, then we feasted like Walt Boggis from Fantastic Mr. Fox [http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Mr-Fox-Meryl-Streep/dp/B001QOGYBI/?tag=harperkingsley-20] — though we only ate one chicken each.

After that, I took the bones I’d saved and tossed them back into the pot with the drippings (removing the rack first) and added about three cups of water. I hit the Soup button and let the machine go to work.

When the ding sounded, I released the pressure and carefully took the bowl out to rest on the counter (it’s stainless steel, so it cools down quickly once it’s out of the Instant Pot). I let the broth cool a bit before covering it and putting it in the refrigerator for about 30-minutes. Then I skimmed the surface fat and removed the bones and put the bowl back in the Instant Pot. I hit the Saute button to heat the broth back up while I chopped up some vegetables — carrots, celery, zucchini, white onion, radish, potato. I tossed the vegetables into the pot and sealed it back up, then I hit the Soup button again.

On the first day of enjoying the Instant Pot, we ate whole Cornish game hens for lunch and chicken vegetable soup for dinner. It was only the start.

So far, I have cooked:

* pork chops from frozen — I put the chops on the rack and hit the Meat/Stew button. (Again, I probably should have used less time, since the meat was definitely fall off the bone tender.) Once the pork was done, I lifted them out and onto a plate. (I covered them with tinfoil and left them on my stovetop warmer to rest.) Then I tossed on some sweet potatoes I’d cut into big chunks and hit Steam, using the same water I’d used for the pork chops. Once the potatoes were done, I lifted them out into a bowl and removed the rack. I hit Saute to heat the pork dripping-rich water and stirred in some flour mixed with water, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to make a quick gravy for the pork. It was very tasty, and not much work.

* chicken chili — I rinsed and sorted 1-pound of dried pinto beans and threw them into the pot with enough water to cover (the water was about to my first knuckle above the beans) and hit Bean/Chili. When the ding sounded, I hit the Keep Warm/Cancel button to turn off the heater and let things cool. Once the lid unlatched, I dumped the beans into my strainer and gave them a quick rinse (they were fully cooked in less than an hour, plump and tasty) before throwing them back in the pot. I tossed in about 1/2 to 1 pound of frozen chicken fingers (I buy a $10> family-sized package of chicken breasts and cut them into enough chunks and fingers to make up 4 Ziploc bags and freeze them), chili spices, chopped white onion, and three cans of diced tomatoes (1 plain, 2 with jalapenos and bell pepper), and 1-cup of chicken broth. I kind of stirred the tomato/spice mix around, but not much because I didn’t want to mash my beans; I only wanted to bury my chicken a little. Once I was sure things weren’t poking up past the Max-Fill line, I closed the lid and hit Bean/Chili again and let things work. When the ding sounded, I let the pot sit for another 30-45 minutes before opening the lid and giving everything a stir. I could use my mixing spoon to break up the chicken, which was fully cooked. Then I let the chili sit a few minutes with the lid off so it could thicken, then served each bowl with a topping of chopped white onion, chopped green onion, and some shredded pepperjack cheese. The rest of the chili I let cool, then used to fill Ziploc bags that I froze. Very easy.

* white rice — The pot has a Rice button, and it makes some very nice rice. I have to tweak things a little because there is a bit of a learning curve for me, but the Instant Pot works. So, no complaints.

* baked apples — I break off a square of tinfoil for each apple I plan on making, then I quarter the apples and remove the cores before slicing into 8ths (as in, each apple produces 8-slices), carefully keeping the pieces together. I make a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon. Then, kind of cupping the tinfoil in my hand, I start reassembling the chosen apple, leaving off the last two slices. I add a spoonful of brown sugar and cinnamon mix in the middle of the apple, then place the missing slices and wrap in tinfoil. When I was done I had four tinfoil apples that I put in the Instant Pot (always use the rack!) with a cup of water and hit the Steam button, adjusting to 15-minutes. The apples were cooked, but a little mushier than I like. Next time I might just hit Manual and give them 13-minutes that way. I’m not sure. Still, baked apples were a success with a little adjustment for the future.

Some things I plan on making: yogurt (because why not?), beef stew, pressure cooker pho [http://steamykitchen.com/31369-vietnamese-pho-pressure-cooker-noodle-soup-paleo-recipe.html], beef roast with potatoes and carrots, steamed buns, and 18-minute baby back ribs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Cnz2_AyJM).

Right now my next purchases include an extra bowl for my Instant Pot ($34) [http://www.amazon.com/Instant-6-33qt-Stainless-Pot-Bottom/dp/B008BKHGX0/?tag=harperkingsley-20], a glass lid ($17) [http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Tempered-Electric-Pressure-Cookers/dp/B008FUJ2LK/?tag=harperkingsley-20], and an extra sealing ring $10 [http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot®-Silicon-Sealing-Ring/dp/B008FUUQJW/?tag=harperkingsley-20]. Considering the use I’ve already put this machine to, I think it’s well worth the expense ($61) to have a few of the extras.

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 specs: http://instantpot.com/benefits/specifications-and-manuals/instant-pot-ip-duo-series-specifications/.
7-in-1 options include: Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Rice, Multigrain, Porridge, Steam, Slow Cook, Saute, Pressure, and Yogurt (seriously, this thing makes yogurt! Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHca_wJJg48).