מַאי חֲנוּכָּה? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכ״ה בְּכִסְלֵיו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן דְּלָא לְמִסְפַּד בְּהוֹן וּדְלָא לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בְּהוֹן. שֶׁכְּשֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ יְווֹנִים לַהֵיכָל טִמְּאוּ כׇּל הַשְּׁמָנִים שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל. וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי וְנִצְּחוּם, בָּדְקוּ וְלֹא מָצְאוּ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן שֶׁהָיָה מוּנָּח בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַדְלִיק יוֹם אֶחָד. נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה.
The Gemara asks: What is Hanukkah, and why are lights kindled on Hanukkah? The Gemara answers: The Sages taught in Megillat Ta’anit: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Hanukkah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. What is the reason? When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary by touching them. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest, undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.
On Hannukah, we fry foods in oil to remember the miracle of oil that lasted for eight days. But latkes and sufganiyot aren't the only oily foods we can make! Here's a recipe for kosher (meat) pot stickers :)
Traditionally, pot stickers are made for the lunar new year as a symbol of prosperity (because they look like gold ingots). But they're also a delicious Hannukah food.
Having a food processor makes these much easier to make, but you can grate the ingredients by hand if you don't have one.
For vegetarian pot stickers, substitute your favorite combination of vegetarian meat substitutes (oyster mushrooms, maiitake mushrooms, carrots, celery, tofu) in lieu of turkey.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 100 round dumpling wrappers (I buy Twin Marquis at H Mart -- they're OU certified)
- 1/2 a head of napa cabbage (can substitute savoy)
- 5-8 oz shiitake mushrooms
- 1 inch cutting of ginger
- 10-15 sprigs of cilantro
- 3 garlic cloves- 6 scallions
- 1/2 c soy sauce (or coconut aminos for soy free version)
- 2.5 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 egg
Steps
- Grate (we used the grater on a food processor) the cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and cilantro
- Using the food processor, process the 6 scallions
- In a large bowl, combine grated foods with the ground turkey, scallions, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Beat egg in a small bowl.
- Place a rounded teaspoon of filling onto each dumpling. Do not overstuff or your dumpling filling will fall out while you are folding.
- Use your finger to draw a semi-circle on the edge of the dumpling wrapper. Fold dumpling wrapper over, and pleat the edges together using the egg as "glue" to make sure it all sticks together. (There are many methods for pleating but my mom taught me to do a one-direction crescent moon style -- see below).
- Place each completed dumpling on a plate (or a few plates) in a single layer (so they do not stick together). Be careful not to over-stuff dumplings so they over-fill
- Heat canola, soybean, or other light vegetable oil in a large skillet (I like using about a half centimeter of oil, but you can do a few tablespoons if you want to use less). Once the oil is hot enough to evaporate water on contact, add dumplings in a single layer.
- Once the bottom of the dumpling is browned, flip it over and let the other side brown.
- Place cooked dumplings in a single layer onto a paper towel to let some of the oil soak out. Add more oil to the skillet if needed and continue frying the rest of your pot stickers.
- Remove pot stickers from paper towel and enjoy! Yum!
Dumpling folding methods (skip to 6:20 for the method I use):
Happy Hannukah! Here's the whole process:
This recipe is sponsored by my Hadar micro-grant.