Crispy Dumplings

You might know them as Gyoza or Potstickers, either way I know them as delicious! 

You will need:

Dough: 2 cups of Plain Flour and 1/2 cup luke-warm Water

Filling: 1 Carrot, 1 clove of Garlic, 1 inch of Leek, 1/4 Chilli Pepper, 1-2tbs Fresh Ginger, 1/4-1/2 White Cabbage Head, 3-4 medium sized Mushrooms, Black Pepper and 2-4 tbs Mushroom Soya Sauce. (plain vegetable oil for frying and water for steaming)

• Start by preparing your filling. Finely chop or grate all the ingredients and add the spices. 
• Taste your filling, it should have alot of flavour. If not add more of the pepper, soya sauce or ginger. To your taste.
• Now make sure you have a surface to put your dumplings after you have filled them. Sprinkle that area with flour to prevent the dumpling from sticking later on.
• Mix the plain flour and warm water for your dough, make sure you use warm water, that will help keep the dough elastic and soft. (I usually cheat and make my dough just by feel, first adding the flour and then water until i got a dough that is as soft as possible without falling apart or being to sticky)
• Work your dough until it's smooth and silky on a floured work bench.
• Now start making the dumplings.
• This stage is alot easier and quicker if one person rolls the small round balls of dough into the round wrappers and another person helps to fill and close the dumplings. (when filling and closing the dumplings: hold the dough in one hand and fill the round and thin dough with maybe 1tbs of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Then close the dumpling after gently brushing water onto half the round with a finger)
• Line your filled dumplings on the area prepared with flour, with the flat side down, leaving the seam sticking up. (a trick to get a nice seam is to push your dough toghether while filling and then using a sissor to cut a nice clean seam)

• In a large non-stick pan add a small amount of oil, when the oil is hot add your dumplings. Flat side down.
• You might have to turn the heat down to prevent them from burning. Now leave them in the pan and just gently move them around (still flat side down) Once the bottom has become golden and crispy add water. But just enough to cover the bottom of the dumplings.
• Now gently steam them under a lid until the dough starts looking transparent and most of the water has evaporated. (Add more water if your dumplings need a longer cooking time in the steam)
• Now let them cook without the lid until all water is gone and the dumplings are back to being crispy on the bottom.
• Serve your dumplings crispy side up with rice and a dipping sauce. Either bought sweet chilli or home made sauce. (soya sauce, vegetable oil, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, garlic and chilli)

• How to wrap your Dumplings/ Gyoza/ Potstickers