Recipe

Perfect Pot Stickers

Name: Perfect Pot Stickers
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups boiling water; 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms; 1 (8 ounce) container firm tofu, chopped into small bits; ¼ cup minced canned water chestnuts; 1 pound fatty ground pork (at least 20% fat); ¼ cup finely sliced green onions (white and light green parts only); 4 cloves garlic, finely minced; 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry (see Note); 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon brown sugar (Optional); 1 large egg; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch; 1 small head napa cabbage; 2 cups chicken broth; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons sherry wine or rice wine; 1 tablespoon brown sugar (Optional); 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch; ½ teaspoon sesame oil, or to taste; ¼ cup sliced green onion tops; 2 tablespoons hot chili oil

These lion's head meatballs really are melt-in-your-mouth. Serve this soup as-is or with noodles added to the bowl. Some people think the name comes from their large size, while others believe eating these gives you the strength of a lion, but the actual answer is not quite as mythical. The look of this crinkled-up napa cabbage in the rich broth reminded the inventors of this dish of a lion's mane.

Prep 30mCook 45mTotal 75mServes 6

Ingredients

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Instructions

1
Pour boiling water over shiitake mushrooms, and let sit until soft enough to slice, about 1 hour.
2
Meanwhile, make the meatball mixture: Combine tofu and chestnuts in a large bowl. Add ground pork, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Pour in rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, egg, salt, and cayenne. Dust with cornstarch. Mix with a clean hand until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3
Form mixture into 6 large meatballs with wet hands.
4
Set an oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and oil lightly. Place meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
5
Broil in the preheated oven until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while prepping the pot.
6
For the cooking liquid: Trim off the bottom of the head of cabbage and slice 1/2 of the head. Arrange sliced cabbage on the bottom of a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Arrange remaining cabbage leaves on top. Slice and scatter mushrooms on top of cabbage; reserve shiitake liquid. Nestle meatballs into cabbage leaves and pour juices over.
7
Strain reserved shiitake liquid into a bowl. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, brown sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Whisk until dissolved. Add to the pot, pouring over each meatball. Bring to a boil over high heat.
8
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high. Continue cooking, basting meatballs often, until liquid reduces slightly and meatballs are no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
9
Ladle into serving bowls and arrange cabbage over meatballs. Top with green onions and chili oil.

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