Vegetable Potstickers

One day, I had a craving for potstickers. When I got off of work, I went to go buy some ready-made from the frozen food section, and they wanted 8 bucks for a bag of them. Naturally, I said "to hell with that" and set out to make them myself! You can use ground pork if you like, to make a good meaty potsticker - just use 1/4 to 1/3 pound and eliminate the cabbage. Take care not to make too much filling. What looks like a "good" amount of filling will easily keep you in the kitchen for an hour making 5 dozen potstickers. The fried rice pictured can be found here. Ok, here we go!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 3 carrots, peeled and shredded (use a cheese grater; if you buy the pre-shredded carrots, they will not have the same texture and the mixture will not fit as well.)
• 1/2 package of wonton wrappers
• sesame oil for frying
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
• 3-4 mushrooms, with the stem pulled out, and VERY finely chopped

For the dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 Tbl honey
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper 
• 1 Tbl rice wine vinegar

Instructions:

1. Prepare a large work surface. You can cover the kitchen counter with wax paper and use that, or use a large cutting board like I did. You will also need a bowl of water to dip your hands in.
2. Peel off the outermost leaves of the cabbage. Cut in half, then half again. Use this 1/4 cabbage and shred it with a cheese grater. Shred the carrots with the cheese grater also. 
3. Rinse the mushrooms and pull the stems out. Slice and chop finely. You want to slice them and then go back over them until you have very small pieces.
4. Toss the veggies into a large mixing bowl, along with the egg, breadcrumbs, ginger, and garlic. Mix well.
   
   
   
5. You will need a large non-stick skillet. Warm up on medium heat with 1-2 Tbl sesame oil and 1/4 cup of water. As the potstickers cook, some of the water will be absorbed, so you will need to add a little as you go.
6. Lay out a bunch of your wonton wrappers. Place about 1 Tbl of filling in the middle of each one. To seal, dip your fingers in water, trace around the edge of the wrapper with the water, then press to make a seal.
   
   
   
   
7. Place them in your pre-heated pan and cook until browned on one side. Turn once and brown on the other side.
8. While the potstickers are cooking, mix up the dipping sauce. I like to make it in a measuring cup, that way I can pour it easily into a small dish for each person. Mix all ingredients and microwave until it just starts to boil. If you like a really spicy dipping sauce, add more crushed red pepper and heat in the microwave again. Heating the sauce really brings out the spicy kick of the red pepper.
9. When the potstickers are done cooking, place them in a covered dish so they don't dry out. Serve with dipping sauce. Enjoy!

As written, this recipe should make about 2 dozen potstickers.