Boiled Hippogriff Potstickers

 I've about had it with licking iron every morning to make sure I haven't been Fairy Swapped, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs.  My doctor said it wasn't necessary after the first three days but you can never been too sure, can you?  I sure am glad the Dungeon Crew are far past those Changeling mushrooms and back to eating normal monsters again!  And hey, it's our old pal the Hippogriff being used again.  That's a plus! Let's gather around the kitchen table to put together an assembly line, DMMs.  It's time for Boiled Hippogriff Potstickers!

 While I'm not thrilled we aren't eating a new monster this week I am excited because I've never made potstickers before!  Sure, I've had them hundreds of times in various restaurants but to make them by hand?  Never occured to me before!  It's like the first time you realize that you can just make a burrito in your own kitchen.  How do the Dungeon Crew get to making potstickers, though?  It's not like they eat out at restaurants that often.  Their journey starts with a night of regret.

 Everybody is down for the count!  If I were a betting slime..and hadn't read the last chapter..I'd put money on food poisoning.  These omnivores eat anything and everything!  Senshi may be a master chef but even he can't ward off the devils of food poisoning forever.  Of course we all know it isn't something the crew ate but rather something they walked through.  Laios is the first to find out.

Dude easily lost 2 feet overnight!  No wonder he felt so bad.  Can you imagine the growing pains that come with changes this drastic?  Going from Tall Man to Dwarf isn't the worst but it would suck to not have your clothes fit the next day.  Laios isn't the only one altered.  The whole crew got it good!

Senshi-hot elfed! Marcille-gnomed! Izutsumi-K 9ed! Chilchuck-looking even more like a deadbeat dad!  That's some real randomization going on even though Izutsumi still has cat ears. I guess whatever curse she is under ensures some catitude.  Admittedly the gang does a lot better than I would if I woke up a different size and shape.  I couldn't imagine suddenly being a foot taller and not constantly smacking my head into every door frame.  That is, of course, until the gang finds the one thing no adventuring party can ignore.  The giant weird door!

AKA Adventurer Catnip.  Just look at that thing, DMMs!  So huge, so ornate.  It makes you just want to push it open and see what's on the other side!  And no giant door is complete without something guarding it.

Gargoyles!  They live again, DMMs!  Gotta say, I love gargoyles in general.  Such a cool architectural concept that seems to have spread around the world on its own.  Want to ward off bad creatures?  Make them think there is an even badder creature already on the domicile.  A little Nih History, my first college paper was written on gargoyles and their history.  Really wish I could remember any of it now!  The gang could also use some gargoyle info because the battle does not go well, Enterprise.

Normally a gargoyle isn't that much of a threat to a seasoned adventuring group.  The gang are struggling though. Walking around in a new body isn't that difficult.  Fighting monsters in a body you aren't used to is another story completely.  Luckily the gang does manage to get away behind the giant door so they can rest and have a meal.  Doubly lucky, they aren't eating gargoyles!  I'm not sure the average adventurer could live on living stone alone.  Senshi comes up with the next best thing to eating rocks...potstickers!

Which is what we are making this week, DMMs!  Two caveats at the top.  First, even though we used bison for hippogriff meat for the hippogriff soup we are NOT using it for the potstickers.  As I mentioned several times, bison ain't cheap meat. I'm also not sure it would make great potstickers to be honest.  The meat is very mild. So we are using pork.  Second, and I'm sure I'm about to get emails about this one...we are using store bought dough wrappers.

Yes, yes. They made their dough by hand in this chapter and normally I would at least try. But I have a great reason, DMMs!  I got the recipe weeks mixed up.  Seriously, I have everything ready to go for the next recipe only to find out a few hours before cooking that it was the potsticker week.  In a rush I went to the local asian grocery and got these bad boys and a a few other things.  Improvisation is something every cook has to face.  You gotta be able to roll with the punches, DMMs.  Will the store bought dough be as good as ones made by hand?  I can't say, I've never done this before.  Am I going to hear from someone who thinks I'm committing potsticker blasphemy?  Oh yeah!  With that out of the way we start by making the filling for the potstickers which means veggie chopping!

The basics are very easy to come by. Cabbage, garlic, ginger and green onions.  Now the ginger, garlic and onion amounts are up to taste.  I see recipes always shoot for the low end of 2 tablespoons of garlic and ginger each with a 1/4 cup green onions.  I've double that garlic for sure, DMMs, but that's me. I know some that would triple it!  The fun part is shredding the cabbage.  I'm lucky that I have an ancient cheese grater that works perfect for this job.

This is easily the oldest thing in my kitchen and it gets weekly use between veggies or cheese!  Just watch your fingers because that grater doesn't care.  However you chop your cabbage you'll want roughly and entire cup and a half.  Heat a tablespoon of the oil of your choice in a pan over medium heat.  You're going to heat up these veggies for 2 minutes.

This ensures they will be cooked all the way when you are finished with your potstickers.  Once two minutes are up just move the veggies to a bowl and let them rest for at least ten minutes.  Trust me, you'll have time since we are moving onto the next step.  The meat!

A pound of pork and...tapioca flour!?  That's right, DMMs, you need a little thickening agent to help out.  I like tapioca flour for this because...I had it on hand.  You could also use potato starch, cornstarch or even regular flour (if you are in a real pinch).  OH! Before we move any further, you may seem some recipes call for tapioca starch.  What's the difference between tapioca flour and starch?  Nothing!  They're the same thing.  Put the pork, two teaspoons of your starch and three tablespoons of water into a bowl and mix them up.

Gross!  And it gets grosser because you are cooking for sound here, DMMs.  The mixture will start making a SLORP, SLORP sound when it is combined.  That's when you stop mixing.  Or just mix it by hand for like a minute or two.  That'll work if you are hearing impaired or are turned off by gross sounds.  Now dump the veggies into the bowl with the meat and give them a good mix!

Okay, looking a little better.  We have our filling, DMMs!  Now it's time to put them into the dough wrappers and make our potstickers!  I'm going to level with you here, DMMs.  I'm not the great food photographer that I've made myself out to be.  I'm also not that dexterous what with being a slime and all.  So I can't give great instruction on how to stuff a potsticker.  Luckily there are no end of videos on YouTube to show you how.  The basics, wet the rim of the dough circle. Place it in your palm. Fill with a small spoonful of the mixture. Fold shut and pinch the center.  Then do some sort of magic where you crimp and crinkle the wrapper into a potsticker shape. Here is one that Editor did.

That's one fine looking potsticker!  I'm sure mine look just as well...right, DMMs?  See if you can spot the ones I made on this baking sheet!

An impossible task as they are all identical in shape and quality, I know.  Now for the fun part, cooking!  I decided to try out two pans at a time since we have so many potstickers.  This recipe made nearly 50, DMMs!  They cook up fast but I was hoping to eat some time that night so I took out my cast iron and metal skillets and put them to work.  Heat about two to three tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and lay the potstickers in.

Remember when I said these cook fast?  This part only takes two minutes so do not move.  You'll want to have some water handy for the next step.  You're going to poor the water into the hot oil. "Oh you stupid sludge! Hot oil and water will create an oil disaster!" I can hear you say as you run to your local fire brigade to help with the inevitable.  And you would be correct, DMMs!  Hot Oil+Water=Painfully Hot Oil Flying Everywhere!  This part is a bit dicey.  I recommend using a pot lid as a shield as you pour water into the pan.  

See!  Safe! Using cookware for protection? I'm just like Senshi, DMMs!  As for the potstickers you just want to bring the water level around the potstickers.  In my pans it was a fourth cup for the smaller cast iron and a half for the larger metal skillet.  Reduce the heat to straight Medium and cover the pan with your lid for five minutes.  Once the time is up the potstickers are done!  You transfer them to a plate and keep cooking until they are all finished.  One interesting thing I notice was the cast iron potstickers did not burn while almost all of the metal skillet ones had a bit of char on the bottom.  They were still both great tasting but cast iron is the way to go if you can, DMMs.

These were so delicious, DMMs!  I was honestly amazed at how easy they were.  Yes, I'm not the best dumpling maker in the world but it was so much fun!  That's the real secret to potstickers.  It's a dish you make with friends and family.  Everyone sitting around stuffing dumplings and laughing.  What more can you ask for in a recipe?

 That's it for this week, DMMs!  Be sure to give this a try.  Even if you make a weird shaped dumpling the potsticker will still be tasty.  Grab some friends and family and have a potsticker party!  And if you have a hot friend get them to do all the cooking.  You got this,  right, Senshi?