Chicken and Lemon Potstickers: Recipe Review

Tonight, we made the "Chicken and Lemon Potstickers" from the Cooking Light website. Here's how I altered the recipe for my family and some tips.

Chicken & Lemon Pot Stickers
original recipe here
Pot stickers:
2 Tbsp apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 ounce mushrooms
3/4 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 finely chopped carrot
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Dash of hot sauce
1/2 pound ground chicken or turkey
30 wonton wrappers
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
1 cup water, divided

To prepare pot stickers, apple juice and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are tender, and liquid disappears. Finely chop mushrooms. Combine mushrooms, cabbage, and the next 9 ingredients (cabbage through turkey), stirring well. (You may want to use your hands, you know, like a meatloaf.)

Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time, spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons turkey mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring the remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place pot stickers on a large cooling rack, while you prepare the others.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add half of pot stickers; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Carefully add 1/2 cup water to pan; cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, pot stickers, and 1/2 cup water.

I substituted regular mushrooms and cabbage for the shitake mushrooms and bok choy, and a lesser amount of apple juice for the dry sherry. I did not use the fresh ginger and lemon rind, but added finely chopped carrots instead, and swapped out the dark sesame oil for regular vegetable oil. I used a 1/2 Tbsp measure for each pot sticker, this made me 30 potstickers instead of the 24 that the recipe says it will. The first round of pot stickers was a little "black" on the bottom. So, the next round, I skipped the oil; opting for cooking spray instead. If you do this, make sure that you let the bottoms get really crispy before adding the water. I, also, opted for a different dipping sauce, the recipe is below.

Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce
1/2 C red jalapeno jelly
1/4 C rice vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Heat jalapeno jelly in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Whisk in rice vinegar and soy sauce.