I have never understood people who don’t like rainy days. I love rain! Well, less so when I had planned to go on a picnic. But what isn’t there to love about light summer rain? It’s pretty to look at and pleasant to feel on your skin when you walk home from work. And in the winter months, apparently when it rains it’s slightly less cold, which is a good thing for those of us who often miss the boiling hot temperatures of Mauritius.
Obviously, rainy Sundays are the best. I love staying inside, all warm and dry in my little flat. I don’t know of a more pleasant sensation than waking up on a Sunday morning when it’s raining and I can stay home all day because I don’t have any reason to go outside. I make the most of the situation and do a million things at home: I watch The Mentalist in my pyjamas, knit, send a letter to my aunt and Skype with one of my brothers. And of course, I often make my tried and tested chili con carne or test a new recipe.
It was the end of August and I was off work for a few days. I had planned to spend a day in Deauville, a seaside town in the North of France. But the day before my trip, I checked the weather. It was going to rain. All day. I didn’t think about it for very long (Deauville = seaside town = not much to do except go the beach = nothing to do when it’s raining) and cancelled my train tickets. And it was the right decision because that was the day I developed this recipe that I had been thinking about since my last visit to my favourite Chinese restaurant, Chez Van.
Not entirely Chinese ravioli
I made this recipe with the ingredients I had on hand. The result is far from traditional but it still tastes good!
This recipe yields 27 potstickers, so you’ll probably want to freeze a few for later. To do so, put the uncooked ravioli on a plate and pop it in the freezer. The ravioli mustn’t touch or they will stick together. Once they are fully frozen, you can put them all together in a plastic bag.
Ingredients
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54 ravioli papers (= one packet)*
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2 tablespoons of sesame oil*
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2 tablespoons of soy sauce
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2 tablespoons of Sriracha*
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250g ground beef
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5 spring onions
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2 pressed garlic cloves
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Sunflower oil
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Flour
NB: I found all the ingredients followed by * at Tang Frères, a Chinese supermarket in Paris. The ravioli papers were square but if you can find round ones and make authentic potsticker shapes (like the ones shown here), go for it!
NB bis: I have a friend of Chinese origin who strongly encouraged me to generously sprinkle flour over the potstickers before frying them. They are called guōtiē in Chinese, which means « stick to the pot » which explains the English term. The flour prevents the sticking apparently!
Instructions
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Crumble the mince and chop the spring onions. Add to a big bowl with the smashed garlic.
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Add the sesame oil, soy sauce and Sriracha. Mix well.
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On a clean surface, set out the ravioli papers. I found them very thin so I doubled them. So two wrappers to one potsticker.
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Drop one tablespoon of the stuffing in the middle of each paper. Remember you’re going to have to close these so don’t overdo it with the stuffing!
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Fill a small cup with some lukewarm water.
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Using your fingers, wet the sides of a ravioli wrapper and fold over, pressing down on the pastry so that the air bubbles can get out.
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Press down firmly on the edges of the wrapper so it’s tightly closed. Set aside on a plate and repeat with the rest of the ravioli. This step takes a while (it took me 20 minutes) but it’ll go faster if there’s several of you filling and closing the potstickers.
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Pour a good few glugs of oil in a large frying pan and heat on high.
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Sprinkle generously with flour. Do not hesitate to pick up each potsticker individually and smooth flour over the surface with your hands.
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Place the potstickers in the hot oil. Beware of oil splatters!
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Cook on medium heat for two minutes on each side.
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Switch off the heat and put the ravioli on a plate covered with paper towels in order to absorb the excess oil. Serve immediately.
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