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Morocco, Middle East and Africa · Chicken Pastilla

Chicken Pastilla Potstickers with Cinnamon-Honey Chilli Dip

Morocco meets East Asia: a sweet-savoury filling of chicken, ras el hanout onions and toasted almonds folded into dumpling wrappers and pan-fried until crisp underneath.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time50 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan on medium heat for , shaking, until golden, then cool and chop them to the size of rice grains.

    Add in this stepAlmonds 30 g

    medium heat

  2. Very finely chop the onion. Heat part of the oil in the same pan on medium heat and cook the onion for until translucent and sweet, then add the ras el hanout and cinnamon and stir for 30 seconds. Spread it on a plate to cool completely.

    Add in this stepOnion 1Vegetable oil ¾ tbspRas el hanout 1 tspGround cinnamon ½ tsp

    medium heat

  3. Very finely chop or coarsely mince the chicken and put it in a bowl with the cooled onion, almonds, chopped coriander, grated ginger, sugar and salt. Mix in one direction until the filling is sticky.

    Add in this stepBoneless, skinless chicken thighs 240 gFresh coriander (cilantro) 10 gFresh ginger, grated 2 tspSugar 1 tspSalt ½ tsp

  4. Stir the honey, soy sauce, vinegar and chilli flakes together in a small bowl for the dip. Wet the edge of a wrapper, put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre, fold it in half and pleat one side to seal. Keep the finished dumplings on a lightly floured tray so they don't stick.

    Add in this stepHoney 2 tbspSoy sauce 2 tbspRice vinegar 2 tspRed pepper flakes 2 pinchRound dumpling (gyoza) wrappers 16

  5. Heat the rest of the oil in a lidded 26 cm frying pan and arrange the dumplings flat side down in a circle. Fry on medium-high heat for until golden underneath, pour in the water (it will spit) and cover at once, then steam on medium heat for . Uncover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more until the water has gone and the bases are crisp again. If two pans are shown, cook in two rounds the same way.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1¾ tbspWater (for steaming) 80 ml

    medium-high heat→medium heat

  6. Cut one open to check: no pink inside and clear juices (74 °C). Turn them out onto a plate crisp side up and serve with the cinnamon-honey chilli dip.

Cook's tip

Too much water on the edges makes the wrappers slide instead of stick, so dab it on thinly with a finger. Freeze the shaped dumplings on the tray, then bag them; they keep for a month and can be cooked from frozen with 2 minutes more steaming.

Cooking it at camp

A lidded cast-iron pan handles the frying, steaming and final crisping in one go. Shape the dumplings at home and bring them frozen in the cooler; they stay safer and don't stick together as they thaw.