Potstickers

I adapted this recipe from Fine Cooking magazine, which I really like. The original recipe had both pork and shrimp in them, if you care to try it.

Makes about 60 potstickers (see instruction below for freezing leftovers)

Potsticker ingredients:

2 cups of finely chopped napa cabbage

20 oz. ground pork

3 scallions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 Tbs Chinese rice wine

1.5 Tbs grated ginger

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

package of wonton wrappers (the circles, not the squares)

oil for frying

Dipping sauce:

3 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 scallion, thinly sliced

First, salt the sliced cabbage to pull some of the moisture out of it. Cover with a clean towel and set aside for 30 minutes. Then ring the cabbage dry using the towel. Reserve for the pork mixture.

Add the pork, garlic, ginger, scallions, Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

Mix together.

Add the cabbage to the pork.

Stuff the wonton wrappers with the pork mixture, using a fork and your fingers. Seal each wonton with some warm water. Do not overstuff.

Heat 2 tbs of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add potstickers

Fry for a few minutes on each side to brown them.

Then add 1/2 cup to 3/4 of water (enough to cover the bottom of the pan but not drown the potstickers) and cover. Steam until all the water is gone. Remove lid for 30 seconds and then pull the potstickers.

Note**** If you want to freeze the leftovers (they keep for several weeks, though I haven't tested this cause we finish them quickly), you have to freeze the potstickers individually. You can't just throw them all in a freezer bag, or they stick together as they freeze and they disintegrate when you defrost them. I lay them out so they don't touch on a cookie sheet and put the cookie sheet in the freezer. After they have frozen completely, THEN you can put them all in a bag together.

Awesomeness.

al pastor torta

This will be the first of many sneaky posts about leftovers. One of the keys to making cooking a way of life is to A) make enough for leftovers. you can't cook every single meal or you'll get frustrated and quit. B) turn leftovers into something new. I know I sound like Martha Stewart. Shut up.

Ok this dinner included al pastor torta, ceviche, and jalapeno chips. We already posted about ceviche. Don't ever make ceviche without enough for leftovers. Seriously. Also we only go so often without jalapeno chips. Now the torta. First time with this and it was amazing. It was amazing because the al pastor was amazing and putting it between two slices of bread just works. But it really works. I'll also say you could put a lot of other stuff on this and it would be great but we kept it simple for the first attempt.

Ingredients

al pastor
Cheese (we used spicy jack)
shredded lettuce
Rolls

Preparation

Getting the bread right matters. I toasted it before putting it in the oven. Crunchy goodness is key. Heat the oven to 400ish and put it in with the al pastor on one side and cheese on the other. Let the cheese melt and throw some lettuce on it. Done.

al pastor- try #1

If you can't wait to see the taco, just scroll to the bottom now.

I really like tacos al pastor and we had a spare pork shoulder in the freezer (i love our fridge), so why the hell not. It also gave us an excuse to go find the Mexican grocery store because our local Kroger obvi doesn't have dried pasilla or guajillo chiles.

Cooking time: 30 minutes prep plus 5:30 total cooking time

Ingredients:
4 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1 in. pieces
5 dried pasilla chiles
5 dried guajillo chiles
1 cup white vinegar
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs adobo seasoning
1 tsp ground annato seeds
half a pineapple, chopped into 1/2 in. pieces
salt and pepper


The recipe I was loosely using said to boil the peppers for 30 mins to soften them. It took like 7 minutes. Also it wasn't hard to de-seed them. In a blender or food processor, you add the chiles, vinegar, garlic, cumin, adobo, ground annato, salt and pepper and blend it until smooth.


Then slice the pork into small strips. I'm not sure how exact this has to be... we ended up slicing the pieces even more before we reduced it all on the stove at the end.


Pour the chile mixture over the pork in a slow cooker.


Add the pineapple. Cook on high for 5 hours... or longer on low.


Remove from slow cooker and reduce the liquid on the stove.


Add toppings :) I'm gunna get called out for the cheese, I know.


Aaaand... a very yummy taco. Not bad for the first try.

-Andrea

Carnitas

This is a big post. I've been perfecting this carnitas recipe for months.

Cost: under $20
Time: 30 minutes, cooks for 8 hours
Makes 4-5 meals

Ingredients:
4-5 lb. pork shoulder
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs. garlic powder
2 Tbs. onion powder
2 Tbs. cumin
2 Tbs. cayenne or chili powder
1 Tbs. coriander
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 bay leaves
black pepper
lime juice

For the tacos:
pickled red onions
cilantro
green sauce
cheese
limes

Place the pork in a slow cooker and add all of the spices. Then add 4 cups of chicken broth. Cook for 8 hours on high. Once you can shred the pork, transfer the pork and juices to a large pan. Bring the liquid to a boil on the stove, then turn down the heat and let reduce until the broth is more like a thick sauce.


I need to take better pictures: