Main Course   -   Apple potstickers   by Gene

Description	Classic pork potstickers with the sweetness of apple. Each potsticker takes on the appearance of a apple wedge as a thin slice of apple matches the curve of the dumpling.
Ingredients	dough -- ~2 C flour <1 C hot water (not boiling) ~.25 C milk sauce -- ginger apple vinegar soy sauce (the strong stuff) apple slices filling -- grated ginger ~.5 lb ground pork white pepper salt soy sauce sesame oil wine oyster sauce bok choi (leaves only) grated apple (thin apple slices go on top, do not pare) dried shiitake mushrooms (3) .5 C boiling water oil
Directions	Make dough w/ ~1.5 C flour first, mix in hot water slowly, knead in milk, line rest of .5 C of flour lightly on surface to not be too sticky. knead until smooth, let it stand minimum of 10 minutes. boil some water (.5 cups), put dried shiitake mushrooms in minimum of 15 minutes to hydrate. chop bok choi leaves finely, squeeze out excess water. mix into ground pork, include finely grated ginger, soysauce, wine, salt, pepper, and oyster sauce. sesame oil is used if too dry. roll out ~33% of the dough btw hands until it's a column of dough about an inch in diameter. cut it into an inch sized piece. should probably make around 8 per chunk. roll each of them out to about a 3.5-4 inch wrapper (use fair bit of flour to prevent sticking). should make around 24-28 total. cut up mushrooms finely, put into filling. keep the mushroom fluid. mix together and put about a teaspoon of the filling per wrapper, a pinch of grated apple, and wrap dumpling up into wedges. each potsticker needs to be pinched in the middle first and then puckered in to be little even crescents. put a thin slice of apple on each wedge to hint at wedges of apple. preferably use an apple with more texture (red delicious) when it dries, and a relatively robust flavor. strength of the pork weakens the inside apple (but it provides extra moisture), hence the outside slice. coat pan with small amount of oil, cover and pan fry on medium with a few tablespoons of the mushroom juice. when the first juice is entirely evaporated, add a few tablespoons more of the juice and when it's entirely evaporated, check the bottom. when the bottom is slightly charred (dark brown, not black) it's ready. Extra filling can be used in an apple -- cut the apple in half, include filling, pan fry on medium -- natural pork juice and the apple juice will provide enough moisture. mix the sauce together to taste.
Serves	24 dumplings
Time to Make	1.5 hrs (dough takes .5)