Queer Vegan Kitchen: Gyoza

Baked potstickers. I'm not going to apologize for not ranting anymore, because it implies that I intended to rant and not just make food.
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From right to left we have:

2 packs Gyoza wrappers, thick

1 bunch Chives

>8oz Smoked tofu>

3 cans of "mock duck"

chili peppers for the sauce

Sesame oil

2 packs Tofu shirataki

Soy sauce

~9 heads Baby bokchoy

~12 green onions (3 bunches)
The chilis in the middle are just for aesthetics; you use 'em in the sauce.

Small things are cute.

Pull off their legs and chop them fine. It is best at this point to stop thinking about how cute they are, or referring to them as babies.

Squeeze out some of the liquid. Danger: prolonged exposure to bok choy may lead accute cabbage infection; I'm now 4% cabbage by mass.

This photo makes it look pretty ok, but I compared it with the image on the can so y'all won't be as disslolusioned as i was the first time opening a can. It is vegan, but also a product of Taiwan so I don't have any illusions about its sustainability; its ingredients don't seem scary, but there is some mysterious "salad oil" in it, which I hope isn't petroleum.

Mince the mock-meat and mix your mock-meat-heap with the gyoza making mix. Then, repeat that sentence 4 times quickly.

Tofu shirataki; it even says vegan in the ingredients. Shirataki are chewy yam noodles; these ones are made with soy. I probably eat too much unfermented soy, but I don't really mind the breasts so I'm ok with that.

Rinse your shirataki, then massage them with some soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, and some apple cider vinegar. Sorts like your making a cold noodle salad; these noodles are great for a very filling cold noodle salad; asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and a tahini pesto... mmmmm

You don't really want any noodles longer than a few inches, so chop 'em accordingly. Then, throw them to the cabbage.

Some delicious P-town-made, smoked tofu. It tastes kinda like a tofu dog, but with less mysterious chemicals.

Cut the tofu into spears, then cut the spears into little cubes. Throw your smoked tofu boxes in with the cabbage mix.

Time for no-recipe chili carlic sauce:

Soy sauce

Apple cider vinegar

Oil to cook with

Starch!

Sugar

1 head Garlic, all of it

~12 little Chilis

Every queer should know the importance of using protection!

Pepper montage! Decapitate them, halve then quarter them, and finally, scrape out the placenta and seeds.

Slice the quarters; this is just so you don't get big hunks of skin in the final sauce.

Denude a head of garlic, and process until sorta smooth; add a little oil so you don't have to scrape down the sides so much.

Mix in the sugar, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar. Add some starch and water; the above is a picture of what too much starch looks like; keep it to about a teaspoon and a half.

Apply heat 'til it bubbles and gets gooey. Add about half to your cabbage mix, reserve the rest for dipping.

Hand chives!

Mince chives; I only used a buschel about the size of quarter. Throw them in with the cabbage mix.

Slice the scallions, the thinner the better; this knife sucks so they came out kind of thick. Mix them in quickly or they start to taste funky (a little like soap?), and season your filling with soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, and a little sriacha. Its important that the mix tastes a little salty 'cuz the cabbage sorta sucks up that flavor when they cook.

To keep juiciness to a minimum, you may wish to drain your filling mixture. Add a tablespoon of starch if you want your insides to be gooey.

Go with the thick wrappers unless you know for certain exactly what you're doing; they don't tear as easy. Evergreen is made in Portland too.

They look a little like starchy tortillas.

Pick 'em up carefully or they can tear.

Always aim to underfill your potstickers, or they're impossible to seal.

1. Add filling to the center of the wrapper.

2. rub a small amout of corstarch dissolved in water (approximately 1:1 by volume) around the outside; try to keep moistness to a minnimum or you'll get leakage.

3. Fold your gyoza in half and press the edges together tightly; don't fuck around, it likes it rough.

4. fold the corners up, about a half centimeter.

5. make a series of crimping folds along the edge, like the picture. Make a little z, then squish it.

6. Press your folds together.

Isn't it cute? Repeat ad nauseum. I made about 80 last night.

Baste 'em with a little olive oil before they go in. I normally steam them, but my wok and bamboo steamer are lost in the move at the moment, when steamed the outside is a lot chewier and I really like that. These are probably less healthy too.