Pan-Fried Potstickers

Impress your friends and family by making your own potstickers for your next potluck or dinner party! Better yet, make it a potsticker party and have your friends over to help you make them. The dough and filling are incredibly easy to make but it can be time consuming to fold so many of them.

It is a bit fiddly in the beginning if you’re not used to folding dumplings. I felt like I had all thumbs and kept messing up the first time I tried folding them. But soon enough you will fall into a rhythm and get the hang of it. It’s also really rewarding to make potstickers from scratch and having them taste pretty darn close to those served at restaurants!

Pan-fried Potstickers Recipe

Makes 40-50 potstickers

Ingredients for dough:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups warm water (140-160°F/60-70°C) — Mix ½ cup boiling water with ¼ cup room temperature water

Ingredients for filling:

• 400g (0.8 lb) raw ground pork
• 10 medium raw shrimps, shelled and minced (approximately 1 cup)
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 cups Napa cabbage, chopped finely
• 1 cup spring onions, chopped finely
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped finely (optional)
• 2½ Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2½ teaspoons sesame seed oil
• ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
• Pepper to taste

Ingredients for dipping sauce (optional):

• 2 inch ginger, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup black vinegar

The dough recipe is adapted from Dimsumptuous which educated me on the various types of dough for various types of dumplings. We’re using the warm water dough recipe which is specifically for potstickers. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the warm water while using a fork to mix the water and flour together. If it is too wet, add a little bit more flour. If it is too dry, add water ½ tablespoon at a time. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 min.

In the meantime, prepare your potsticker filling. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and use a pair of chopsticks to mix them thoroughly. To adjust the seasoning, you can fry up one tablespoon of filling in a small pan. Taste the cooked filling and adjust the seasoning of the rest of the raw filling to your liking.

Cut the dough into half and roll each half to a long 1 inch diameter log. You may cut the logs in half to make it easier. Cover the unused ones with a damp cloth to prevent drying. Take one log and cut it into 1 or 1½ inch thick pieces. Form each piece into a ball and use a rolling pin (sprinkled with flour to prevent sticking) to flatten them into a thin disc at around 3.5 inch diameter. Place about 1 to 1½ teaspoons of filling onto the center of each disc of dough.  Watch this video to see how to form the creases on the edges of your potstickers.

Place your formed potstickers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.

Heat up a large pan with enough oil to coat the pan. Place the potstickers onto the pan to brown the bottoms. When the bottoms are browned, add water to cover 1/3 of the potstickers and immediately place a cover on the pan. The oil will splatter so hold the cover in front of the pan as you pour the water. Lower the temperature to a medium and steam for about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and wait for the water to evaporate to ensure a crispy potsticker bottom. Serve immediately. Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a bowl and divide into small soy sauce dishes.

Enjoy the potstickers with the dipping sauce or on their own!