Unchartered Culinary Territory - Southern US/Asian Fusion

There are a few things I pride myself on as a girl (cook) raised in the South . . . knowing that the perfect meal is a piece of cornbread (not sweet!) floating in a pool of mustard green pot liquor, never eating instant grits or mashed potatoes, and never ever insulting my palette by replacing the light and flaky tang of a warm, butter-laden, homemade biscuit with something that comes out of a can. Don't get me wrong - canned biscuits have their place in a sweet monkey bread or even, in a pinch, for pigs-in-blankets on a hurried school morning. Just don't put them out in a bread basket like they're the stars their non-preserved, lovingly-made pieces of heaven are. Since I DO have them in my frig occasionally for the aforementioned acceptable uses, however, I decided to try something unusual with them. I made potstickers. Yep, I know every Asian chef is cringing at that thought (and the fact that, as you can see from the photo, I was a little overzealous with my browning), but they really were a pretty tasty alternative since I was craving potstickers and had no wonton skins. They are definitely not the same texture as a real potsticker. I'd compare it to the bun you usually find on a dim sum cart filled with BBQ pork. It's a little "breadier," which actually made me happy. I couldn't stop eating the things!  I'm even thinking about grabbing a couple of the cold leftovers out of the frig to munch on while I'm writing this post. :-)  My filling du jour was a combination of chopped raw shrimp, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, blanched cabbage, shredded carrot, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, and a raw egg. I took a can of Grands biscuits, split them in half, and rolled each half into about a 4-inch circle. Then I spooned the mixture on the dough, folder over and sealed the edges with a little water, and chilled them until dinner. In typical potsticker fashion, I just browned the bottoms in a lightly-oiled skillet, poured some diluted chicken stock on them and covered them to steam until the liquid evaporated. My dipping sauce is just soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili flakes, and a little sesame oil, with some green onions floating on top. TAS-T!!!