Vegetarian Potstickers: Before and After Kids

Back in the day! -- I just love being able to say that-- When we lived in Portland, life was easy. We had one car, started off living in a very small apartment with just the bare necessities, a very carefree life. These were the days when we could walk to cool restaurants and -- eat after 7pm. Oh my, do you remember those days? Well anyway, there was great Asian restaurant called Stickers that we fell in love with soon after moving to town. I had eaten a fare share of Asian food unlike my sheltered husband who very rarely ventured away from Tex-Mex. Needless to say, he fell in love immediately! Especially with their vegetarian potstickers and dipping sauce.

Deep down it's been a goal of mine to try and duplicate the potstickers we fell in love with and frequently enjoyed. The taste of the crispy outside and sweet and savory filling still lingers even after 12 years. So, when I discovered the wonderful world of Wonton Wrappers, I knew they were destined to be made!
And to have now accomplished making them and seeing how easy they are- we will be sure to enjoy them many more times! But instead, we'll enjoy them with our sweet gals in the comfort of our own home before 7pm.

Vegetarian Potstickers

Filling:

1 tbsp peanut oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 cup shitake mushrooms
1 block of firm tofu
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

18 wonton wrappers
2 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

Heat oil and add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook on medium heat until onions become transparent. Toss in carrot, mushrooms and tofu. Crumble tofu in skillet and let brown- about 5 minutes. Add kale and soy sauce-cook for another minute. Remove from heat add peanuts and stir.

Lay out a few wrappers at a time on a non-stick surface (wrappers will dry out quickly so only work with a few at a time). Scoop out 1 tbsp of filling into the center of wrapper and fold to make a triangle. Gently press down on edges to close. With pastry brush tap water on edges to seal.

Heat oil in a large skillet to medium-high. Making sure oil covers bottom of the pan. Add just potstickers to pan- don't over crowd. Let them cook on medium high for about 3-5 minutes or until brown on bottom. Then add 1 tbsp of water to skillet, be careful of splattering oil! Cover and let steam for another 3-5 minutes. Lift from pan and blot with towel to remove any remaining moisture.

Place cooked potstickers on plate and serve with your favorite dipping sauce!

Note: take a look at these adorable edamame beans! I found these at one of our local farmer markets this weekend. Now that I know that they can be grown in Kentucky- you know what I'll be adding to my garden next summer!