Vegetarian Pot Stickers with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I have been craving pot stickers for weeks.  Finally, I had enough time today to give them a go. It took me a little bit longer than I had imagined, but the pot stickers were well worth my effort.  My husband helped me fill wantons, so if you solicit help in this stage, it goes a lot faster.  Additionally, we froze uncooked pot stickers for later enjoyment.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage, finely chopped
5 medium carrots, shredded
5 oz mushrooms, sliced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 cup green onion, finely sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to season to taste
3 tablespoons white rice vinegar
1/2 tsp dried ground ginger (I would have used fresh ginger, but I forgot to pick it up at the store)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup vegetable broth (some of this will be used for dipping sauce)
1 package wonton wrappers
salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat olive oil in dutch oven, or pan with deep sides and a lid.  Add onion, and cook until translucent.  Add garlic, cook for a few minutes more, until fragrant.  Add mushrooms, and cook until they release their liquid, and the liquid evaporates.  Add cabbage, carrots, green onions, and about 1/2 cup of the veggie broth.  Season with ginger, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and pepper. Stir everything together well, cover, and cook gently over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes, or until everything is to your desired texture.  I liked the cabbage cooked, but not texture-less. It still had a bit of crunch left to it.  I took the lid off at this point, and stirred it frequently until all of the extra liquid had evaporated.  Allow your mixture to cool so that you can easily handle it.

After your mixture has cooled, stir in the cilantro and any additional seasoning you need.

You are now ready to fill your wanton wrappers.  Remember that they dry out really fast, so keep them covered with a damp cloth or paper towel while you work.  I would also recommend trying to fill no more than 8 at a time to avoid drying out the wrappers.

The method I settled on to fill the wanton wrappers was as follows:  I laid out 6-8 wrappers, wet all four edges with water, and mounded a small amount (~1 tsp) of the cabbage mixture inside.  I folded over one of the edges, and pressed pretty firmly to close the wanton wrapper around the filling (see image on right).  After filled, I put them on a plate and covered with a damp paper towel.

To cook the wantons, heat a small amount of oil (a few tablespoons or so) over medium heat in a nonstick pan.  Add as many wantons as will fit flatly in your pan, and cook until lightly brown on the bottom side (~5 minutes).  At this time CAREFULLY add ~3 tablespoons of water and put a lid on your pan to allow your pot stickers to steam, 3-5 minutes.  Be very careful when you add water to your pan--Adding water to very hot oil is a recipe for disaster, so make sure your pan isn't super hot.

Serve your pot stickers with soy sauce, chili sauce, or my Peanut Dipping Sauce, see recipe below.  I'm obsessed with peanut sauce, so I was in heaven.  My husband preferred dipping in Sricacha, but he's a hot food junkie.

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2-3 tablespoons chili sauce (Sriracha, the kind with the Rooster on it, if you have it)
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
~1/4 cup broth, or to desired consistency.  Could also probably get by using water.

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy with pot stickers, or eat directly with spoon if nobody is looking :-)