Steamed dumplings

Factual Questions
1

My favorite treat in Chinese Take-Out are the steamed pork dumplings:

http://www.nyceats.net/photos/eats/nankingdumplings.jpg
I’d love to have a steady supply of this manna from heaven in my fridge, but Googling only yields recipies to make your own from scratch.

Is there bags of this stuff available at asian food markets?

2

Yup, in the freezer aisle.

3

they have them here in the regular grocery store. they usually call them pot-stickers, so maybe you’ve overlooked them. i have some in my freezer right now, the brand is “tai-pei”. i know there are other brands out there.

4

We’ve found them at Costco. You steam them in a frying pan, then fry them for a few minutes at the end, to make one side crispy. Yummy stuff, but throw away the sauce packets that come with it, and get something better.

5

Trader Joe’s, also.

6

They become potstickers if you brown them on the bottom before steaming. Japan has a similar food called gyoza.

7

Safeway has a good store brand as well, in at least a couple varieties (vegetarian and not; I think there may be pork and chicken varieties, too).

The sauce is simplicity itself, and worth making yourself even if you’re not going to make the (annoyingly high-labor) dumplings.

  • Five parts soy sauce
  • Five parts vinegar (even white will do, but rice or wine ones add flavor)
  • One part lemon juice

That’ll do if you’re in a hurry, and you’ve likely got the ingredients in your fridge.

If you’ve got more time, chop some combination of scallions or green onions, garlic, ginger, rosemary, parsley, or red pizza-pepper flakes and toss them in the night before. You can also add asian fire oil (not NEARLY as hot as it sounds), but if you do you’ll need a touch of mustard (yellow or asian) to act as an emulsifier, or you’ll never get it to mix.

8

I love these too. I don’t know if you are a Sam’s Club member. If you are, you have to check out their pot stickers. The ones i’m talking about come in a box rather than a bag. They come in trays that are a lot like ice cube trays. The oil and water that you cook them in is frozen around the pot stickers in the trays. Basically all you need to know is that they’re super awesome and super easy to make.