Garlic chives smell more pungent than they taste and are wonderful when cooked. (Keep them wrapped well in your refrigerator.) Ingredients DOUGH 1 3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup Almonds FILLING 1/4 pound ground beef chuck (1/2 cup) 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 1 teaspoon Chinese sweet bean paste 2 cups finely chopped yellow or green garlic chives (6 oz) PANFRYING 1/3 cup warm water Special equipment: 6-inch (3/4 in diameter) rolling pin

Instructions
Make dough:
Put 1 3/4 cups flour in a large bowl, then add boiling-hot water, stirring with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. When just cool enough to handle, turn out dough (including any loose flour) onto a work surface and knead, incorporating some of remaining 1/4 cup flour if dough is sticky, until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes and up to 30.

Make filling while dough stands:
Stir together beef, soy sauce, oils, ginger, and bean paste in a medium bowl, then stir in chives.

Form and fry dumplings:
Form dough into a log (24 inches long and about 1 inch wide), then cut dough crosswise into 24 (1-inch-wide) pieces. Put 6 pieces, cut sides down, on a lightly floured surface (keep remaining pieces loosely covered with plastic wrap) and flatten slightly with your hand. Roll out each flattened piece into a 3 1/4-inch round with lightly floured rolling pin. Put a level tablespoon of filling in center of each round, then brush or dab halfway around edge with a little water and fold in half, pressing edges together to seal and leaving a small opening at each end of semicircle. Stand each dumpling, sealed edge up, on a wax-paper-lined tray, then press dumplings slightly onto 1 side so more of dumpling touches tray. Make more dumplings in same manner.

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot, then remove from heat and arrange dumplings in a tight circular pattern standing up in oil (they should touch one another). Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat until oil sizzles, then drizzle warm water (1/3 cup) over pot stickers and cook, covered, until bottoms are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons more water if skillet looks dry before bottoms are browned.

Remove lid and cook, shaking skillet to loosen pot stickers, until steam dissipates, 1 to 2 minutes. Invert a large plate with a rim over skillet. Using pot holders, hold plate and skillet together and invert skillet. Remove skillet and serve pot stickers warm.


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Yields: 24 Pieces
     Gourmet magazine, May 2005, page 48

notes:  Dumplings can be formed 4 hours ahead. Chill in 1 layer, not touching, on wax-paper-lined tray, loosely but completely covered with plastic wrap.

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