The potsticker is one of my husband’s favorite Asian dishes. There is only one restaurant on our regularly-considered list of dining establishments that serves potstickers – and unfortunately, since the Texas heat doesn’t exactly provide the ideal climate for the Money Tree to grow wild, it’s a bit pricey and hard to justify for a regular night out. No matter, it always comes up anyway: “You know, we could go to Kirin and get potstickers.” And then I shudder at the thought of $50 potstickers.
I recently started working on creating a couple of menus to help reduce our dining-out expenses and better control how much fat we consume when eating out. I started a “Take-out Fake-out” menu of our favorite Asian dishes to expand my nearly non-existent experience with Asian cuisines and a “Restaurant Redo” menu to copy-cat some of our favorite restaurant offerings. Both are in the very early stages of development but the goal is to add one new item to the menu each week.
In the spirit of Take-out Fake-out, I decided to throw in the towel and make potstickers myself. How hard could it be if I psyched myself up to think of ’em as an Asian-filled ravioli? I perused a cooking forum (thanks, Klady) and a couple of recipe sites (Epicurios really does rock) and found out what the “green stuff” in the pork filling was and bought my first-ever head of Napa Cabbage.
The potstickers were very nicely flavored – perhaps a little too golden brown, but they tasted really similar to the ones we get when we eat at Kirin. Now when my husband craves potstickers, we can whip them up ourselves. The best part – it won’t cost an arm, a leg, and a kidney to enjoy!
Potstickers
1/2 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup chives
2/3 cup green onions
1 cup Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Wonton wrappers (about 30)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 recipe Orange Sesame dipping sauce, for serving (follows)
Cook the ground pork over medium heat until done*. Add the remaining ingredients (through garlic) and cook until the greens are wilted nicely. Let mixture cool just a bit and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Process the filling until it reaches the desired consistency.
Lay a wrapper on a flat, dry surface put a Tbsp of mixture in in the middle. Using your fingers or a pastry brush (save the dirty-dish sink space – use your fingers), wet the wonton wrapper surrounding the filling and fold the dumpling, pressing the seams together: bring two opposite corners to the center, bring the remaining corners to the center one at a time and press tightly.
Add oil to a skillet (a clean skillet) and add dumplings. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and cover tightly. Remove from heat when the dumplings are golden brown on one side (about 4 minutes).
* I fear raw pork so I pre-cooked the filling. You can prepare the potstickers “raw” just be sure to adjust the cooking time.
Orange Sesame dipping sauce (measurements are approximate)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp chives
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice
Whisk together all ingredients, adjust seasoning to taste.
Great Gooley-Moogley that looks good! And for us it’s just hitting stirfry season, so I’m going to have to put this on the list of things I just gotta make, like Lumpia.
Wow, I am so impressed! You make it look so easy too! Do they stay together well enough when frying?
I have tried potstickers once before and failed miserably – but I think you have just convinced me to try again with this recipe!!
I also love potstickers – and can’t get then here. But I CAN get all of the ingredients – so thanks for the recipe, I’ll make my own!
I haven’t made potstickers but I use pretty much the same method for my dumplings (use thinner wraps for wontons and thicker wraps for dumplings). I never pre-cook my fillings. I just stuff the center with the raw filling, fold up and cook. I like to make noodles to go with my dumplings, in chicken broth. I always make tons and freeze them. They freeze very well.
You can also try putting a small piece of shrimp in the potstickers. It tastes really good.
Yum I was just thinking today that I want to make potstickers again. I really need to find a store nearby the carries the wrappers, 30 minutes is just too far to drive to get one item! I had the hardest time getting them cooked to the point that they were no longer wet and slimey but not too dark and crispy.
Yum! Just bought wrappers this weekend….:) Woohoo! Keep up the fabulous Fake Out..Love it!
Another great take out fake out. I just recently had potstickers for the first time and they were really good. I would love to try these.
Quick question – when it’s time to cook the potstickers, what level of heat (low, medium, high, etc.) are you using?