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5 from 3 votes

EXTRA (AP)PETITE // CHINESE DUMPLINGS / POTSTICKERS

Ingredients

  • 1 package of dumpling skins/wrappers.*

Filling

  • 1 lb ground meat**
  • 2 heaping cups of veggies finely chopped***
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients

  • Peeled and de-veined shrimp cut into small pieces
  • Corn or tapioca starch sprinkled into the filling to help better bind it together
  • Minced ginger
  • Fish sauce

Instructions

Filling Directions

  • Combine all filling ingredients together in a large bowl until very well mixed. This can be done up to a day ahead of time, covered and stored covered in the fridge.

Wrapping Directions

  • Prepare a small bowl of warm water. This will be your wrapping “glue.”
  • To avoid running out of either filling or wrappers, I start by splitting my wrapper into quarters and also roughly segmenting the filling into the same. Be sure to keep the pile of unused wrappers covered, so they don’t dry out.
  • Put a wrapper in the palm of your hand and 1 spoonful of filling in the center. Start with less filling if it’s your first time wrapping!
  • Dab a finger on your other hand in the warm water, and “draw” the water liberally around the outer circumference edge of the wrapper.
  • Follow the additional dumpling wrapping steps in the photo tutorial above or in my video tutorial on Instagram reels!

Cooking Directions

  • You can either boil or pan-fry these as potstickers. Boiling fresh or frozen dumplings is easy and healthy – cook these in a large boiling pot of water until they float to the surface for 5-8 minutes, then strain.

Freezing Directions

  • Put the entire cookie sheet or pan (lined with foil and lightly floured) of un-cooked dumplings into the freezer. Let freeze on cookie sheet until they’re semi-hard, then transfer into zip-loc bags. This is to prevent them from sticking into 1 big lump.

Notes

* Dumpling wrappers are found at Asian grocery stores either refrigerated or frozen, or you can be ambitious and make your own. I prefer the refrigerated white, round “Shanghai style” wrappers.
** Ground pork is traditional and results in juicier dumplings. You can also try ground turkey or chicken, but note that leaner meat = less juicy dumplings.
*** For veggies, traditional dumpling fillings use either napa cabbage or garlic chive, which is my favorite by far. Garlic chives, as shown in the above photo, look like long blades of grass similar to a cross between scallions and leeks. They have wonderful garlic-y aroma and flavor starting at the white roots and throughout the blade. If using napa cabbage, make sure to squeeze as much water out as you can before chopping.