DIY: Homemade Potstickers
I have been attending these fabulous themed cooking parties and last night we had a Shanghai dinner. I wanted to make potstickers from scratch which I have never done before. Potstickers are a form of Chinese dumplings. I have made wontons, a different kind of dumpling, so I figured it shouldn’t be too difficult. I found an old recipe that I had photocopied many years ago from a Chinese cookbook.
Ingredients to make about 50 potstickers:
- Potsticker wrappers (My packages came in 25 so I used 2 packs)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 cups of chopped Napa cabbage
- 1/4 cup of chopped yellow onion
- 1 green onion
- 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Chinese rice wine
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- Vegetable or other high heat oil for frying
- Chicken stock
Place pork in a large bowl. Add salt, soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, corn starch, and ginger and mix thoroughly. Now blend in the cabbage and the two types of onions evenly. Your filling is complete.
Place about 1 1/2 tbsp of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet around the entire edge of the wrapper. Fold dumpling over in half and make pleats from left to right while sealing. Once sealed, stand the dumpling up to shape the bottom flat so it becomes three sided.
Repeat until you run out of wrappers or filling. If you don’t want to cook them all, these freeze very well. Place them on parchment paper and don’t let them touch each other for the initial freeze.
To cook the first batch of dumplings, heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Pour about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the skillet. Once the oil heats, brown each side of the potstickers.
Pour about 1/2 cup of chicken stock into the skillet. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low so the dumplings can cook thoroughly. In about 8-10 minutes the liquid should have evaporated. The dumplings will begin to caramelize on the bottom and stick to the bottom of the pan which is why they are called potstickers. Remove the cover and the potstickers should get crispy again and come off easily.
These dumplings taste great dipped in a black vinegar/ginger or a hot chili oil.
The potstickers were enjoyed by all. Here are some of the other fantastic creations from last night. Thanks to the hosts and all the “chefs” for another successful dinner!
