Mar 29, 20216 min read

Venison and Kimchi Pot Stickers (VIDEO)

Updated: Jul 18, 2022

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Dumplings are my boys second favorite food item on the menu with pizza being the first. My family loves all kinds of dumplings and in fact if I don't have an assortment of dumplings in my freezer, it means I'm in trouble. I almost always make them in advance freezing and using them later as emergency lunches dinners or as a school box lunch option. They are so handy, and you can always sneak in items for the filling that picky eaters would normally avoid. In my case it's not my children who turn up their little noses to healthy options, it's my picky eater of a husband!!! On my website I have already shared two pot sticker recipes: one Ukrainian, called vareniki and Russian called pelmeni.

Everyone knows how much I love to use fermented foods in my cooking, so today I'm providing you with a traditional Korean pot sticker recipe made with kimchi, that can be fried, steamed, or boiled, and served in with Asian-style broth, or in a soup. Pot stickers and extremely versatile.

I love kimchi, but it's really not easy to feed kimchi to my family.

This kid friendly recipe will make everyone in your family smile.

They are super flavorful, juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

If you like ordering pot stickers as take out, do yourself a favor Not only are they much better for you but also cheaper, and you can sneak a healthy item for the filling.

How to freeze pot stickers?

Prepping a bunch of pot stickers and freezing them for later is the smart way to go. We all need a break from cooking, right? Assemble the pot stickers to a plastic bag and return to the freezer. Once they are completely frozen, transfer the pot stickers to a plastic bag and return to the freezer. Once they are completely frozen, transfer the pot stickers to a plastic bag and return to the freezer. Now you have a supply of pot stickers available to be cooked whenever you are ready.

Wontons wrappers, make or buy!

I personally prefer to make my own because it's super easy when only 3 ingredients are needed, and you can make them in advance. Homemade wrappers have a chewy texture and are delicate. Since I prefer thin wrappers, making them from scratch allows me the freedom to create the desired thickness. If you don't feel like making your own, just buy them for they are available in just about any supermarket.

What protein should I use for the filling?

Just about any meat or seafood can be ground and used for the filling.

In the video I used venison, just because that's what I had in my fridge. I have made pot stickers with pork, beef, lamb, chicken, or a combo of meats.

I must confess that I've haven't learned how to pinch the dough together as done by Asian cooks. Believe me, the shape doesn't change the flavor and texture, so go for it! Even the most odd-looking dumplings will still taste and look amazing after they have been cooked.

Kimchi is the key ingredient, don't skip it!

Not long ago, I posted how to make cucumber kimchi, but for this recipe we are using classic traditional Napa cabbage kimchi. However, the good news for this recipe is that store bought kimchi is perfectly fine to use.

Why am I a big lover of kimchi?

200 strains of good bacteria make this food a medicine.

Kimchi is one of the oldest fermented foods. As a matter of fact, kimchi was the first mentioned in the Korean book “Samkuksaki” published in 1145.

The unique flavor and health properties, and the variety of different vegetables makes this dish delicious and very nutritious. Our microbes need many kinds of veggies, the more the better. It is particularly important to consume them on a daily basis.

Kimchi, and all fermented veggies naturally have the presence of Lactobacillus plantarum. This good bacterium is one of the strongest bacteria on the planet that have been studied and have many healing properties. The Journal of Medicinal Food has credited L. plantarum with these benefits. Please read more about here.

1. Can help with digestion

2. Can help fighting cancer

3. Has anti-obesity properties

4. Can help with constipation

5. Colorectal health promotion

6. Cholesterol reduction

7. Has fibrinolytic effect

8. Can help with brain health promotion

9. Immune support

10. Skin health promotion

11. Anti-aging properties

12. Antioxidative properties

13. Anti-inflammatory properties

The ways to cook pot stickers:

1. You can be steam them (I use bamboo baskets for this method). Steam and serve as a main dish or appetizer with a simple dipping sauce (see recipe below).

2. You can boil them in chicken or vegetable broth with a little bit of seaweed. Before serving, mix in some miso paste which produces a quick healthy soup option.

3. You can pan-fry them and serve as an irresistible appetizer with dipping sauce (see recipe below).

In the video I couldn't decide to fry or steam them, so I did the combo method, which I fried, then steamed and fried again. See video how it's been done.

Notes:

What I particularly like about this recipe that you can make them ahead of time and keep in the freezer until needed. Defrosting isn't necessary before cooking. After pinching the pot stickers, place them on a well-floured platter. Leave the platter in a freezer until they are frozen, then move to a zip lock bag and return them to the freezer.

The recipe for the dough is enough to provide for only half of the filling (20 pot stickers). I recommend that you not double the recipe since it is very difficult to work with a big batch of this dough. Either make two batches of the dough or freeze half of the filling.

If you don't feel like making homemade wrappers (wontons), you can buy them at the store, they are available everywhere.

Let's make it...

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 12-15 minutes

Total time: 55 minutes

Author: Inna of innichkachef.com

Yield: About 40 pot stickers

Ingredients for the wontons

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon of salt

onoin, soy sauce, dry mushrooms, ground meat, oil, kimchi, egg, chopped scallions

Ingredients for the filling

1 lb. ground meat (I used venison in the video)

1 cup chopped kimchi with juice (I used homemade kimchi in the video)

1 Tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

1 cup scallions, chopped (white and green part)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce (regular sodium)

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 egg

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

3 caps of dry mushrooms (I used shitake in the video)

oil for frying (I used grapeseed oil in the video)

Ingredients for the dipping sauce

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup plain rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon scallions, chopped

1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds (prefer roasted)

1 Tablespoon chili-garlic sauce (optional)

1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. To make wontons, combine flour, salt, and water in a mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until it turns into a lump. Then knead it by hand for a few minutes

until the dough gets a little softer and elastic.

2. Place the dough into a plastic bag or wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 10 minutes, 20 minutes is ideal.

3. Meanwhile for the filling, take the mushroom caps, place them in a bowl and

pour in hot water completely submerging the mushrooms.

4. In a bowl add meat, kimchi, egg, scallions, chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, garlic,

sesame oil. Give a good mix.

5. Chop the hydrated mushrooms caps, discard water and add to the meat mixture and fully incorporate all ingredients.

6. Take half of the dough and roll into a snake shape. Using a dough cutter, cut into 20 pieces. Roll each piece on a well-floured surface with rolling pin. I recommend that you watch the video to see how this is done.

7. Place about 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of each disk and pinch with your fingers. No water or egg is needed for this part for the dough will be very pleasant to work with.

8. Place pot stickers on a floured platter and place in a freezer if you are not planning to eat right away.

cutting board with pot stickers and frying pan with pot stickers

9. To them in a very heavy bottom pan on low to medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, the pot stickers are ready to be cooked. Make sure they are not too crowded. Cook them for a few minutes per side.