Ginger Shitake Pot Stickers

Shitake mushrooms all cooked with garlic, ginger, and cilantro pesto tastes so good that my mouth is watering as I type this. I love these pot stickers! An awesome vegetarian recipe for all you dumpling lovers these shitake dumplings will taste like your favorite Chinese restaurant. What makes these dumplings taste so over the top good is the dried shitake mushrooms that have a strong pungent mushroom flavor that you just cannot get from fresh mushrooms. It doesn’t take a lot of these dried mushrooms to get the unique flavor but trust me when I say those 4-5 dried mushrooms make a huge difference. They give the dumplings that restaurant quality flavor. The other taste I really like in these pot stickers is the pine nut in the stuffing that give a wonderful bite and texture. These are fabulous dumplings that taste amazing, Give it a try!

GINGER-SHIITAKE POT STICKERS & RED CRYSTAL SAUCE
Makes about 28
Vegetarian Dim Sum from Vegetarian Times.com

Pot Stickers

0.5 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups fresh shitake mushrooms finely chopped (my addition)
6 Tbs. pine nuts
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cloves garlic
1 10-oz. pkg. firm tofu
2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch plus some extra or use all purpose flour
1 Tbs. orange zest
1/2 tsp. salt
28 gyoza wrappers
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs. canola oil

Red Crystal Sauce

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs. finely shredded carrot
1 Tbs. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook’s Notes: After having made these the first time, we felt the orange zest took away from the delicious mushroom and cilantro flavors. We left the orange zest out the second time. We also decided to add in fresh shitake mushrooms for added veggie goodness. Add as much as you want.

Directions

Make Red Crystal Sauce: Bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute, stirring. Cool.
Submerge dried shiitakes in 3⁄4 cup boiling water; cover, and let soften 30 minutes. When soft, squeeze out water, trim stems and mince. Save the mushroom water to use for steaming the dumplings.
If adding fresh mushrooms, while the dried mushrooms are soaking, saute finely cut shitake mushrooms in 1 tbsp oil until the mushrooms are tender. Set aside to cool.
Make the ginger garlic cilantro pesto. Put 1⁄4 cup pine nuts, cilantro, ginger and garlic in food processor and mince. Add soy sauce, sugar and 1 tsp. cornstarch; process until smooth.

Get ready to make the dumpling stuffing: Crumble the tofu into large bowl. Add the cilantro mixture, salt, dried mushrooms, cooked mushroom and whole pine nuts. Knead with hands until mixture holds together.

Stuff the pot stickers: Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Arrange several gyoza wrappers on work surface. Place 1 Tbs. shiitake mixture in center of each. Brush half of edge with egg. Bring edges together to form half-moon; press to seal. Cover loosely with plastic while assembling the rest. Once the pot stickers are ready cover tightly with plastic until ready to pan fry or steam.