Venison and Chive Potstickers with Soy Dipping Sauce
Juicy venison potstickers with a crisp bottom and tender steamed top, served with a tangy soy dipping sauce.
Ingredients
For the Dumplings
- 4 Cups Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 pound Ground Venison (between %15 - %20 fat content)
- 3 tablespoons Fresh Chives, Minced
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger minced about one-inch knob
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 Egg
- 1/8 Teaspoon White Pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- One 16-ounce package round wheat dumpling wrappers (I like Twin Dragon and Twin Marquis brands)
- 4 tablespoons Grape Seed oil or another high smoke point cooking oil.
For the Dipping Sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sorghum
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Serrano chili, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Dumpling Assembly & Dipping Sauce
- Make the dipping sauce. Combine all of the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and mix well until the sorghum has dissolved. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Assemble the potstickers. Place the Napa cabbage in a large bowl with the salt and mix together.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground venison, chives, green onion, soy sauce, ginger, egg, sesame oil, cornstarch and white pepper. Mix everything together thoroughly using your hands or a stand mixer.
- Squeeze the cabbage in your hands, draining off as much water as possible. Mix the cabbage into the meat mixture until it is incorporated nicely.
- Fill a small bowl with warm water.
- Lay a dumpling wrapper on a clean counter or cutting board.
- With a pastry brush or your finger, brush a little water all around the edge of the wrapper to moisten. Fold the wrapper over in half to look like a half-moon and pinch the top center of the wrapper together.
- Begin folding the left side of the dumpling by holding the dumpling on the top, fold a pleat on one side of the wrapper about halfway down the arc toward the center of the dumpling. Press it into the front side of the wrapper. (This Can be confusing to read, so take a look at the photos to help you out. They don't need to be perfect).
- Repeat the folding close to the bottom of the dumpling so that you have two pleats on one side. Continue the folding process on the opposite side. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Cooking the Dumplings
- Cook the potstickers. Heat a thick bottom or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer, add enough dumplings to the pan ensuring that you don't overcrowd the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes or until they are golden brown on the bottom without disturbing them.
- Add about 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cover with the lid. (The dumplings will sizzle and start to steam right away.
- Shake the pan back and forth to prevent them from sticking. Let the dumplings steam for about 2 minutes or until the water has pretty much evaporated.
- Add another 2 tablespoons water to the pan, cover again, and steam again. When the water has mostly evaporated again and repeat one final time with 2 tablespoons water. Turn off the heat and keep covered for another minute.
- Uncover and turn the heat back to medium-high and crisp up the bottoms. Repeat these steps for the rest of the dumplings.
NOTES
- Use enough fat in the filling. Ground venison with about 20 percent pork fat works best here so the filling stays juicy instead of drying out in the wrapper.
- Mix until it turns sticky. Once the venison, chives, ginger, garlic, soy, sesame oil, and cornstarch are combined, stir until the mixture feels tacky. That is what helps the filling stay cohesive instead of crumbly.
- Do not overfill the wrappers. Use just enough filling to close the potstickers cleanly and press out any trapped air before sealing the edges.
- Keep the wrappers covered. Work with a few at a time, keeping the rest under a towel so they do not dry out while you fold.
- Brown the bottoms first. Start them in a hot skillet with oil, and let the bottoms brown before adding water to steam.
- Steam, then uncover. Add the water, cover the pan, and cook until the filling is done through, then remove the lid and let the last bit of moisture cook off so the bottoms stay crisp.
- Freeze them on a tray first. If you want to store extras, freeze the assembled potstickers in a single layer before bagging them so they do not stick together.
Nutrition
Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 536mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 81IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
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