Potstickers are steamed and pan fried Chinese dumplings filled with vegetables, and served with an array of dipping sauces (each one more delicious than the first) and have always been a favourite of mine. I always enjoy them when I’m eating out, but this is one of those things that I’ve never thought about making on my own. But, since we’re all at home in the middle of a global pandemic and eating out isn’t an option right now, I figured I’d give these a try.
Now, making dumplings do require a fair bit of patience. Specially if like me, you also plan on making the dough at home. Because then you also need to make the filling, and fold each dumpling one by one — but the result of this labour of love is so worth the effort! Once you get the hang of wrapping the process becomes faster, and this is one of those recipes where you can (and should) enlist the help of your family — perfect for when everyone’s at home quarantining!
Traditionally, Chinese potstickers are filled with pork, but chicken and beef are also popular. Closer home, momos, the local cousin of the Chinese potstickers, are filled with everything from mixed vegetables, to chicken, and even paneer! This vegan recipe uses a mixed vegetable filling of cabbage, carrot, and broccoli (because that’s what I had at home), but you can customise the filling as per your choice. Other fillings you could try: mixed mushrooms, broccoli and edamame, or mushroom and spinach.
To speed up the process, you can buy readymade round dumpling/gyoza wrappers, but if you have some time on hand, making the dough is really easy. The recipe included below is a simple 2-ingredient dough made with pantry staples: flour and water.
To make potsticker wrappers at home:
Use a 2:1 ratio of flour to warm water; about 1.5 cups flour is good for this recipe.
Add the flour to a large bowl and make a well in the middle with your finger. Add water little by little (you might need a little less or a little extra), mixing with your hand until it comes together. Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes, transferring on to a flat surface to help knead it properly — you’re looking for a smooth and soft dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes under a damp muslin cloth or kitchen towel.
Portion out the dough into 1 inch pieces and roll them out thin with a rolling pin until almost translucent (use extra flour on the surface so it doesn’t stick). Cut out circles using a cutter or the lid of a jar. Always store extra dough covered with a damp muslin cloth or kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.
How to fold and cook the potstickers:
Don’t worry about wrapping the dumplings perfectly — it requires a fair bit of practice to get them looking like the fancy ones we’re used to seeing at restaurants. Even simply folding them in half and crimping the sides with a fork does the trick, but if you’d like to go all out, there are a host of folding videos on YouTube that will show you how. The only thing you should ensure is that the dumplings are sealed perfectly and without any air bubbles, as you don’t want them to split while cooking.
When it’s time to cook the dumplings, you can simply steam them in a bamboo steamer, or use the steam-and-fry method which is what actually makes them potstickers — during the cooking process, the bottom of the dumplings “stick” slightly to the pan to create a nice golden crispy edge that’s DELICIOUS.
Notes to get perfect potstickers every time:
- If you’re making the wrappers at home, make sure you roll them out really nice and thin. You don’t want to only taste the wrapper.
- Don’t overfill your dumplings as they will split while cooking.
- Leaving the filled potstickers out for too long will dry them out. When folding, keep the folded potstickers on a plate or sheet covered with a damp cloth.
- Use a non-stick pan to pan fry the potstickers, otherwise they’ll stick to the pan and split.
- If you want to make the potstickers ahead, you can easily freeze them. Keeping them in the fridge makes them soggy. Freeze them in a tray or baking sheet covered with cling film.
- Always serve potstickers with a dipping sauce to dunk into.
Since we’re going all out, I made not one, but TWO condiments for you to try. Make one, or make both!
- A simple light soy dipping sauce
- A crave worthy chilli oil that you can make jars of — it stays in the fridge for months and is delicious on everything — from soup, to ramen, and fried rice. The chilli oil is optional, but definitely recommended!
I spooned the chilli oil over the potstickers and served them with the dipping sauce on the side.
- ½ head of cabbage, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- ½ head of broccoli, grated
- 1 cup chopped spring onions (only the whites, reserve the greens for garnish)
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 1 4” pc of ginger
- 1-2 green chillies (use more for spicier dumplings, as per taste / optional)
- 2 tablespoons any neutral cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- A splash of rice wine vinegar
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 30 round dumpling wrappers*
- A bowl of water to help fold
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ¼ cup soy
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- A tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 cup cooking oil
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1-2 whole star anise
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- ⅓ cup crushed red chilli flakes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Finely chop the cabbage and place it in a strainer with a bowl underneath. Salt generously, and let it stand for 15 minutes to drain out all the excess water from the cabbage. This will prevent the dumplings from getting soggy. Once drained, use your hands or a cheesecloth to press the cabbage and squeeze out any remaining water and discard.
- While the cabbage is draining, make a smooth paste by blending together ginger, garlic, and green chillies in a blender.
- In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons neutral oil. Add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and cook for a minute. Add the chopped veggies — carrots, broccoli, spring onions, and drained cabbage. Sauté for 3-5 minutes. Season with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, salt and black pepper, as per taste. Cook until the veggies are softened and remove from heat. Let it cool down before forming dumplings.
- To make dumplings: If using homemade dough, portion out your dough into 1 inch pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out your dough until really thin and almost translucent. Use a cookie cutter or the lid of a mason jar to cut out circles. Place one spoon of the filling in the centre (don’t overfill or you risk splitting the potstickers when cooking). Lightly wet your finger in a bowl of water, and run it along the edge of the wrapper. Fold in half and pinch the edges down to stick them together — you should have a half moon shape. Holding the dumpling in your left hand (and starting from the left edge), fold down little bits of the edge over to make tiny pleats until you reach the end — each dumpling will have about 6-7 pleats. Alternatively you can also use a fork to press down on the edges and seal them shut. Place folded dumplings on a lightly greased plate and cover with a damp towel as you finish folding the rest.
- For potstickers: Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil, and place 5-8 dumplings (according to the size of your pan) in the pan, making sure they don’t stick to each other. Add a tablespoon of water (be careful as it will splutter with the hot oil), and immediately cover it. This will allow the dumplings to get crispy golden brown edges while steam at the same time. Cook for 2 minutes and remove the cover. Your potstickers should be nice and golden on the bottom, which means they are done. If not, give them another minute to brown up.
- For the light soy dipping sauce: Whisk together all the ingredients for the light soy dipping sauce in a bowl to serve with your potstickers.
- For the chilli oil: Heat 1 cup oil in a small saucepan until bubbling. Add to it the cinnamon sticks, star anise, black peppercorns, and bay leaves, and let the spices infuse the oil for 20-25 minutes. (Note: make sure your oil isn't boiling and burning the spices, but foamy bubbling is good). Prepare a bowl with the chilli flakes and salt. After the oil is infused, strain it over the chilli flakes + salt. Discard the spices. Once cooled, your chilli oil is ready. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 months in an airtight container.
- Serve pan fried potstickers with little dollops of chilli oil (if using) and a garnish of spring onions, alongside the light soy dipping sauce.
