Flowering Trees and Pork Dumplings

I made some pot stickers the other day, and I thought I’d share how I made them. First, though, I wanted to show you a photo of the flowers in my back yard. These are crab apple blossoms.

And here’s the tree:

Now onto my pork pot stickers (or dumplings, call ’em what you want).

I’ve made these several times, so I have a general feel for how to make them without a recipe. For the filling, I mix raw ground pork with some honey, soy sauce, ginger, and nutmeg and a few cloves of garlic. Then I scoop a small amount of this filling onto pre-made won ton wrappers, which you can find at most grocery stores (although they can be difficult to locate).

It’s important to coat the edges in water with your fingers before putting the meat on the wrapper. I usually just coat the entire surface of each wrapper in water. This allows you to seal the edges. The way I gather the edges makes me think of little pork purses, which I suppose might be an odd idea.

I made about 16 or 17, which is a small batch. I used less than half a pound of pork to do this. To cook the dumplings, I put a little less than an inch of water in a large skillet and steamed/boiled them over medium-high heat for ten minutes (covered). I suppose I don’t know what, exactly, the exact term for that is.

I also made some yellow sweet potato, but my choice of preparation didn’t lend to the delicious flavor of the potato. Live and learn, right? Or more correctly, cook and learn.

The dumplings are delicious with a dipping sauce made of honey and soy sauce. Simple, but delicious.

My original recipe is as follows, although I forgot the egg and the term “original” refers to the recipe I originally worked with, not a recipe I made up. This made about 75 dumplings.

• 1 beaten egg
• 2 lbs pork sausage or ground pork
• Approx. 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• A few tbsp of olive oil
• 4 tbsp soy sauce

Mix all the ingredients (the pork must be thawed, but not cooked) in a bowl. You can try using a fork or spoon, but hands work very well! Spread water over your wonton wrapper, then scoop a bit of pork filling into the center. Gather the edges and make sure they seal.

Boil about an inch of water in a skillet, then add the dumplings and cover. Over medium-high heat it should take around 10 minutes, but you’ll want to pull one out and cut it in half to check if the pork is done (hint: it shouldn’t be pink), and it might be better to cook them over lower heat. These can also be fried, but I usually choose the steaming option.

To make the dipping sauce, whisk equal parts honey and soy sauce together. Dip and enjoy!

If you have left-over wonton wrappers, you could try making cream cheese puffs (sometimes called cream cheese wontons). I’ve never been able to figure out where these originated – the Chinese restaurants in Minnesota usually sell them, but I never saw them on a menu in Pennsylvania. Here’s a link with directions. I will add that I prefer plain cream cheese, and it’s perfectly acceptable to use plain cream cheese as a filling!