Homemade Wonton Wrappers + Pork and Ginger Apple Potstickers

For the homemade wonton wrappers:
Sift flour and salt together in a large, wide bowl. Add water a little at a time until you have about 1/4 cup of water remaining. Mix flour and water with a fork or chopsticks to form a dough, switching to your fingers when it becomes too difficult to mix with a fork. Add as much of the remaining water as you need to gather all dry ingredients into the dough. Dough should be very stiff and not sticky. Form dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and allow dough to rest for one hour.

Once dough has rested, remove it from the bowl and knead for 5-10 minutes until dough is fairly smooth. Break off a small chunk of the dough and return the rest to the cloth-covered bowl. If you have a pasta crank, run the small piece of dough through the machine several times, starting on the largest setting and running the dough through at least one time on each setting all the way to “1″. The result should be a long, very thin piece of dough about 4-5 inches wide. If you do not have a pasta crank, roll the dough as thin as you can with a rolling pin on a floured surface.

Use a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter about 3″ in diameter to cut out your wrappers. Dust each side generously with flour until the whole wrapper feels dusty and slightly gritty. This will allow you to stack the wrappers without them sticking together. Stack up your cut wrappers and continue the rolling and cutting process until all dough has been utilized, recombining the scraps to prevent wasting any.

Wrap the stack of wrappers tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to add the filling.

Wrappers recipe adapted from La Fuji Mama.

For the potstickers:
Prep your onions, ginger and apples. Dice apples into 1/4″ pieces and place them in a separate bowl, sprinkling a bit of the lemon juice over them after adding each diced apple to prevent them from turning brown.

Heat canola oil in a large pot, at least three quarts in size. Add onion and ginger and sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions begin to soften. Add apples, salt and pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add apple cider and apple cider vinegar and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. The liquid should reduce by about 3/4 and the mixture should be thick, not liquidy. Adjust seasoning to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook pork until lightly browned using a spatula to break chunks into small pieces. When the pork is browned, drain off the excess grease and place pork in a large bowl. Add the 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, scallions, soy sauce and the apple chutney and mix well. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Place 12 wonton wrappers out on a cutting board. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of filling onto the center of each wonton wrapper. It may take you a few attempts to determine the right amount. The potsticker, when sealed, should be full but not so full that it cannot be sealed closed. Dip the tip of your finger into a bit of water and lightly moisten the edge of the wonton wrapper all the way around. Fold the edges together to form a half-moon shape and squeeze the edges to form a seal. For added seal and decoration, you can fold the corners in slightly and make small folds in the edging. Place filled potstickers on another board and cover with a cloth to prevent them from drying out. Continue until all filling has been used.

Heat a sauté pan that has a lid (though the lid should not be on it right now) over medium heat. Measure out 1/4 cup of chicken stock and set aside. Brush a bit of oil onto the surface of the pin to form a very thin layer. Place potstickers on their sides into the pan, adding as many to the pan as will fit with a bit of space separating them (I was able to fit 12 in at a time). Allow potstickers to cook without moving them for 2-3 minutes. Holding the 1/4 cup of chicken stock in one hand and the lid of the pan in the other, quickly pour the stock into the pan and immediately place the lid onto the pan. Allow potstickers to steam, undisturbed, for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove lid and remove potstickers to a serving plate. Repeat the cooking process for the remaining potstickers.

Serve potstickers immediately, garnished with chopped chives and served with dipping sauce if desired.

For the dipping sauce:
Combine the last 4 ingredients listed in a small dish. Stir well. Dip potstickers very lightly into the sauce, a little goes a long way!

Adapted from Katie at the Kitchen Door and Alton Brown.