Whole Wheat/Clean Eating Pot Stickers and More

Before I started eating clean one of my favorite dishes to eat was pot stickers. I was addicted to the frozen ones you can buy at Costco. A friend emailed me a few links to homemade pot stickers that all I would have to do is use wheat instead of white flour. I had to give it a try. They were so delicious. Even though they take quite a bit of time I wanted them so much again yesterday, that I made them again. They are too delicious not to share the recipe.

Look at those cute little dumplings sizzling in my pan. I was actually pretty proud of how they looked on my first attempt!

Pot stickers – Chicken Filling
Makes two dozen potstickers
Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs, deboned, skinned and trimmed
3 garlic cloves
1 egg
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons GF Soy Sauce (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice
2 stalks of green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Directions:

1. Put chicken meat into the food processor with the garlic, egg, cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and five spice. (Everything EXCEPT the green onion, onion, and parsley.) Process until you have a fine ground meat (which my husband is calling a “meat paste”.)
2. Stir in by hand, onions, parsley and green onions.
3. Set aside a make the potsticker wrappers.

http://glutenfree.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/gluten-free-chicken-potstickers/

Dough

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (finely ground or WW pastry flour)
1/2 cup warm water
Whole wheat flour for work surface

For detailed/picture directions on how to roll out the dough and crimp them you will want to go to this site: http://userealbutter.com/2007/10/04/chinese-dumplings-and-potstickers-recipe/

Cooking Directions
To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.
To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface and steam for about 6 minutes.
To pan fry (pot stickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.
To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.
To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

Dipping Sauce

So I tried many dipping sauce recipes found online and I did not like any of them. None of them came anywhere close to the frozen Costco dipping sauce. So I experimented and this is what I found that was most similar to my favorite Costco dipping sauce:

Braggs Liquid Aminos - to taste(a low sodium soy sauce should work as well)
Agave - to taste

I just poured in some of the liquid aminos in a serving bowl and added agave until it tasted the way I liked it.

The first night I made these I paired them with a delicious Clean Beef and Broccoli. So I thought I'd share that recipe as well.




Beef and Broccoli on Soba noodles

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sause
• 1/2 cup red onion sliced
• 1 tbl garlic
• 1 1/2# sirloin steak, sliced 1" thick
• 1 tbl seasame oil
• 2 tbl rice vinegar
• 1 tbl ginger...minced
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 8 Ounces of dried sobe noodles

Instructions

1. bring 2 quarts of water to a boil
2. Meanwhile, heat a small amount of soy sauce in a large saute' pan, add the onions and garlic and saute' until opaque
3. Add beef and saute', turning often with tongs, toss 7-10 minutes. stir together the oil, vinegar, and ginger and add to the saute mixture
4. blanch broccoli in boiling water and keep warm
5. prepare soba noodles according to package. drain, toss with beef/broccoli and serve
http://www.eatcleandiet.com/the_kitchen_table/recipe/recipe.aspx?id=1056

Yesterday I paired them with the below Chinese Five Spice Steak and Peppers. This was one of the easiest dishes to prepare and it was seriously so good!

Chinese Five Spice Steak and Peppers

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak, trimmed of any visible fat

2 tsp olive oil, divided

salt and pepper

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Coat both sides of steak with one teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine five spice powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Rub spice mixture on both sides of steak.

2. Place steak on grill or grill pan and cook, turning once, for about 2 minutes per side for medium doneness. Remove steak from heat and let rest for at least 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, toss bell peppers with remaining one teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Add bell peppers to grill or grill pan and cook on medium high until slightly soft, two minutes per side. (if using grill pan, wipe clean with a paper towel first)

4. Transfer steak to a cutting board and thinly slice against the grain. To serve, place bell peppers on a plate, arrange steak on top, and garnish with cilantro.

http://wegottaeat.com/janice.cook/recipes/clean-eating-chinese-five-spice-flank-steak


I hope you enjoy all of the above dishes as much as I did!