About a 30-minute drive from Waikoloa, Hawaii, you will find The Bamboo Café. The historic plantation building was once a hotel turned into a dry goods store, and in the late 1990s, was reincarnated into a foodie’s paradise.

Music played by local Hawaiian musicians, the easy, warm aloha spirit of the waitresses, and delicious food made it one of Grammie Lambie’s favorite restaurants. It is a place that I always recommend to friends who visit the Big Island.

During one of my visits to the Big Island, Grammie Lambie introduced me to the Bamboo Cafe specialty, chicken pot stickers. The hand-wrapped Thai-flavored pot sticker is made with ground chicken and seasoned with garlic, ginger, cilantro, and peanuts. They are served with spicy, sweet chili-mint sauce, and are worth a trip to North Kohala when visiting the Big Island.

Unfortunately, the commute isn’t a hop, skip, or jump from the mainland. But luckily, the taste of Hawaii can be created for your friends’ enjoyment with this recipe. I have always received great reviews whenever I have made them. They are my gift to anyone who sits around my dinner table.

Recently, I invited Monty, Paul, Chani and Marilyn over for a Grounds Hog/Super Bowl/Valentines celebration (its really for Marilyn’s birthday, but she refuses to celebrate her day of birth, so these celebrations are disguised). At this years “Chinese New Year” (wink, wink) celebration I made pot stickers. Boy were they the star of the meal.

I cringed, when two friends announced this was something they would make. The hesitation was not because I am weird about sharing recipes, but because pot stickers have a lot of ingredients, take many steps, and the technique for making the little delicious bundles of joy can be a challenge. Luckily I have a good team (Lorry and Greg) and plenty of time to take baby steps when making them. Which makes it a totally doable dish. I see a pot sticker-making party in the future to ensure the success of this beloved dish.

Recipe provided by The Bamboo Cafe

Ingredients for filling

• 1 lb Ground chicken
• 2 T Minced garlic
• 2 T Minced fresh ginger
• 2 T Minced shallots
• 1 C Chunky peanut butter
• ¼ C Brown sugar
• 2 T Thai hot chili paste
• 2 T Chopped fresh basil
• 2 T Chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 pkg. Pre-made won ton wrappers (oblong shape)

Ingredients for mint sauce

• 1 Small bottle of Thai sweet chili sauce
• ¼ C Rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 C Sugar
• ¼ C Chopped cilantro
• ¼ C Fresh mint, chopped
• 1 t sesame oil

Directions for filling

• In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, hot chili paste, basil, and cilantro. Set aside. 
• In a skillet, sauté the chicken until it is just slightly cooked. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute until it is fragrant. Drain off the excess fat and stir the chicken into the peanut butter mixture. 
• Chill the mixture before wrapping the wonton wrappers. 
• Place 3/4 tsp. of the chicken/peanut butter mixture onto a wonton. 
• Bring the edges together. Using a dab of water, “glue” the edges together.
• Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper and place it over a pan of steaming water. Steam the pot stickers for 8 – 10 minutes until the wrappers are translucent, and serve with the chili dipping sauce.

Directions for mint sauce

• Place the ingredients (Thai sweet chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, chopped cilantro, mint, and sesame oil) into the bowl of a food processor.  Puree the ingredients together for one minute.  Serve at room temperature.