# Chinese Pot sticker



## Hyperion (Jul 23, 2011)

If you are ever concerned about the greasiness of pot stickers, be relaxed. You will not need to use a lot of oil.

Filling:
1lb of ground pork. (a chilli grind is best)
4 green onions
1 small piece of ginger, about size of your thumbnail, minced FINELY
vegetable of your choice. I'm using baby fennel this time, only about 6 oz of it is enough.
1 tbsp of your fav. wine
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of kosher salt. (I never really measured how much is needed, I just taste the raw filling to test, which is not recommended)
1 tbsp of canola oil
You may add 1-2 eggs as well

Dough:
2 1/2 cups of AP flour
1 cup of water
Just mix them together and form a dough, kneed until smooth, and let rest for at least 30 minutes

To make the dumpling:
1. cut about 1/3 of the dough
2. roll it out into a long stick, about 1 inch thick
3. cut the dough stick into 1 inch pieces
4. Press each piece down into a disk with your hand, and then use a small rolling pin to roll it into little tortillas, about 3 inches across
5. put a teaspoon full of filling on the tortilla, and fold over, seal the seam but LEAVE a small opening on each end (see the photo attached)

To cook the dumpling:
I find a cast iron skillet the best vessel for cooking pot stickers. 
1. heat up the skillet at medium-low
2. drip about 1-2 teaspoon of canola/peanut oil on the skillet
3. wiggle the skillet around to let the oil coat the bottom surface
4. place your dumplings in the skillet in rows, closely together (they will be touching each other)
5. top the skillet with a lid and time 3 minutes
6. Meanwhile, make a slurry with one cup of water and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. 
7. when 3 minutes is up, unlid and distribute about 5 or 6 tbsp of slurry among the dumplings and listen to the sizzle. The slurry will turn into a tasty crust 
8. re-lid, wait for another 2 minutes
9. flip the dumplings over and cook covered for another minute
10. enjoy!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 23, 2011)

Sounds great!  I have copied it and saved the recipe.


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## Hyperion (Jul 23, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sounds great!  I have copied it and saved the recipe.


thanks 
rolling the little tortillas might seem difficult but my gf learned it in one session and can make better looking ones than me.

watch this video:
‪
she basically turns the dough clockwise as she presses it with the rolling pin. and she's left-handed too.


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## Hyperion (Jul 23, 2011)

Also if you replace AP flour with self-rising flour, make the tortillas thicker, and seal the dumplings completely, you'll be making another chinese dish called fried buns (煎包)


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## spork (Jul 24, 2011)

Hyperion said:


> 5. put a teaspoon full of filling on the tortilla, and fold over, seal the seam but LEAVE a small opening on each end (see the photo attached)


steam vents.  do not boil this or the dumplings' content's will spill out into the water/broth.  I'll try sealing my potstickers with deliberate gaps next time, Hyperion.  Thanks, learned a lot from your post, but be forewarned that there are respected infrequent DC members you've yet to engage who are more original and might refute it.


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## Hyperion (Jul 24, 2011)

spork said:


> steam vents.  do not boil this or the dumplings' content's will spill out into the water/broth.  I'll try sealing my potstickers with deliberate gaps next time, Hyperion.  Thanks, learned a lot from your post, but be forewarned that there are respected infrequent DC members you've yet to engage who are more original and might refute it.


thanks for the warning.


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## sparrowgrass (Jul 24, 2011)

Good grief, that makes me hungry!!  I sometimes use chopped chicken or shrimp, and my veggie of choice is cabbage/Napa cabbage.  

I like to dip mine in sweet Thai chili sauce and soy sauce.

I make a big batch and freeze them individually on a cookie sheet.  I store them in a plastic bag inside a tupperware container--the tupperware keeps them from getting banged up in the freezer.  Cook them from frozen, just add a couple minutes cooking time.

My recipe calls for boiling water for the dough--seems to make a really nice, workable dough.


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## Hyperion (Jul 24, 2011)

sparrowgrass said:


> Good grief, that makes me hungry!!  I sometimes use chopped chicken or shrimp, and my veggie of choice is cabbage/Napa cabbage.
> 
> I like to dip mine in sweet Thai chili sauce and soy sauce.
> 
> ...


yea boiling water dough is quite common among various chinese buns, it gives a really soft dough due to minimal gluten formation. 
Do you squeeze your napa cabbage to remove the juice?


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## sparrowgrass (Jul 24, 2011)

The shredded cabbage is salted a little and left to sit for a while--then I squeeze the excess water out.


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## spork (Jul 24, 2011)

Same here.  Excess water in the filling will cause a sealed dumpling to inflate and possibly explode.  I also like the whites of napa cabbage.  Any cabbage does a dumpling good.  I sometimes press them through a sieve to extract their water.


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## Pierogi Princess (Jul 31, 2011)

Sounds wonderful, I also copied and can't wait to try them, I love pot stickers. I hate to impose, but what about a dipping sauce.  Or, do they even need a sauce?


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## Hyperion (Aug 1, 2011)

Pierogi Princess said:


> Sounds wonderful, I also copied and can't wait to try them, I love pot stickers. I hate to impose, but what about a dipping sauce.  Or, do they even need a sauce?


it's really up to you. personally I never used dipping sauce for pot sticker (while I almost always use some dipping sauce for boiled dumplings), because the fried pot stickers are heavy and flavorful enough. I have to counter it by eating with rice/millet congee.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Aug 1, 2011)

Here are some dipping sauces I like to use with pot stickers, dumplings and egg rolls. They don't have names, so call them whatever you wish to call them.

*DIPPING SAUCES​*
4 Tbs chili oil 
2 tsp white vinegar 
4 Tbs soy sauce
Mix together in bowl and serve


4 tbs Soy sauce
2 tbs Peanut butter 
1 tbs Honey 
2 tsp White vinegar 
1/8 tsp Garlic powder 
2 tsp Sesame oil 
1/8 tsp hot sauce 
1/8 tsp Pepper
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl until combined and serve 


1 cup soy sauce 
1 cup sugar 
1/4 cup rice wine 
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Combine all ingredients in pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add juice and zest of 1 lemon. Cool and serve.


1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
2 tbs sugar
salt to taste
1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbs water
Combine all ingredients except corn starch mixture in pan and bring to boil. Add cornstarch mixture, return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until desired thickness. Cool and serve.


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## Pierogi Princess (Aug 1, 2011)

Thanks Hyperion.


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## Pierogi Princess (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you Sir_Loin_Of_Beef, that was very thoughtful of you giving me all those dipping recipes, I will try them this week.


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## Savory (Dec 4, 2011)

spork said:


> steam vents.  do not boil this or the dumplings' content's will spill out into the water/broth.  I'll try sealing my potstickers with deliberate gaps next time, Hyperion.  Thanks, learned a lot from your post, but be forewarned that there are respected infrequent DC members you've yet to engage who are more original and might refute it.


+1
The fillings will definitely spill out. If you follow this recipe, you will end up with a whole pot of messy soup with minced pork and veggie.

Most commonly, the dumplings are cooked in boiling water, and they are called "dumpling" not "pot stickers". When they are cooked in boiling water, they are sealed tight.

Another variation is to cook them by pan frying in oil. In this case, it's called "pot stickers". When you decide to fry them, you can leave some opening at the edge.


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