Thai-style Potstickers

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (OR 1 pkg. wheat gluten "chicken" strips if vegetarian)
• 1 pkg. fresh wonton wrappers (available at your local grocery or Asian food store)
• MARINADE:
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce (Or vegetarian fish sauce, or regular soy sauce if vegetarian)
• 1 Tbsp. regular soy sauce + 2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 heaping Tbsp. arrowroot or cornstarch powder
• OTHER INGREDIENTS:
• 2 shallots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red chilli, sliced (and de-seeded, unless you like a lot of spice)
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal (or ginger), peeled and grated
• 1/3 cup sherry or white wine (regular or cooking versions)
• 1/2 cup cabbage, thinly sliced or grated
• 4-5 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• approx. 1 cup bean sprouts
• approx. 1 cup fresh basil and fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• up to 2 Tbsp. more fish sauce, to taste (Or vegetarian fish sauce, or soy sauce if vegetarian)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Thai sweet red chilli sauce to serve as a dipping sauce (available at Asian grocers)
• OR Make Your Own Mild Sauce With: 1/2 cup plum sauce, 2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tsp. rice vinegar, and 2 tsp. fish sauce
• good quality oil for frying (I like to use Spectrum's Almond Oil)

Preparation:

1. First, stir all marinade ingredients together until there are no more lumps. Mix this marinade in with chicken or wheat gluten. Allow to stand a few minutes, or up to 8 hours (or overnight).
2. Place a little oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the shallots, garlic, and chilli for 1 minute, or until fragrant. If wok/pan becomes too dry, add a little of the sherry or wine.
3. Add chicken or wheat gluten (with the marinade), cabbage, mushrooms, and galangal (or ginger). Stir fry up to 5 minutes more, or until cooked. Add the rest of the sherry or wine as you stir-fry (whenever the wok/pan becomes too dry). Tip: this filling should be moist and a little "saucy". Finally, add the bean sprouts and stir to mix them in. Remove from heat.
4. Taste test this filling, adding up to 2 Tbsp more fish sauce if not salty enough.
5. To assemble the potstickers, place everything you'll need on a clean and spacious working surface: the filling (you can leave it in the wok/pan), wonton wrappers, fresh herbs, and beaten egg. You will also need a paintbrush or similar utensil(to apply the egg), and plates on which to put the potstickers after they're made. Cooking Tip: I always dust these plates with a little flour to keep the wrappers from sticking to the surface.
6. I usually make 6 potstickers at a time by laying out 6 wonton wrappers. Brush a little of the beaten egg around the outside of each wrapper. Now place about 1 heaping tsp. of the filling in the center of each wrapper. On top of this, place a little of the fresh herbs.
7. Picking up one corner of the wrapper, lift and fold it over the filling, joining it to the opposite corner. Press down along the two sides to form a triangular-shaped potsticker. Place the finished potsticker on a flour-dusted plate. Continue in the same with until all the filling is used up.
8. To cook the potstickers, place 1/2 inch oil in the bottom of a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Briefly fry the potstickers 1 minute or less on each side, until light golden brown. Tip: Potstickers should be chewy, not necessarily crisp. Don't overfry them, or you'll lose the flavor of the fresh herbs.
9. Potstickers can be kept warm in the oven until ready to eat. (If you have leftovers, keep in the refrigerator and warm up the next day in the oven). Serve with Thai sweet red chilli sauce, or make you own dipping sauce by mixing the ingredients listed above (add some fresh cut chilli or chilli paste to this sauce if you prefer it spicy).
10. Note: If serving to children (or if you prefer your potstickers mild), leave out the red chilli, both when cooking and in the sauce.