Homemade Potstickers!!! Otherwise known as Chinese Pan Fried Dumplings, these irresistible plump babies are pan fried then steamed in a skillet so they’re golden crispy on the underside, and beautifully moist inside. Time to get your dumpling game on!
AND THE WINNER OF THE JAPANESE KNIFE GIVEAWAY IS….. drumroll please….
Monica O’Sullivan
Congratulations!!! I have emailed you to arrange for delivery asap!
Oh, and in case you’re wondering how the winner was randomly selected from all the entries on the Oven Baked Chicken Breast recipe, I used an online Random Number Generator and hired an independent contractor to strike the keyboard to generate the random number. See?
Very expensive contractor. Cost me 3 treats.
OK, let’s talk POTSTICKERS!!!
If my family hadn’t already christened me Potato Girl, I’d probably be Dumpling Girl. Neither are flattering yet I cannot deny they are totally fitting.
Dumplings have become totally “trendy” here in Sydney. 10 years ago, you’d be able to stuff yourself to bursting point for less than $8 a head at a hole-in-the-wall dumpling joint. It’s truly a travesty that all my favourite dumpling-dumps (think peeling lino floors, chipped tables and rickety folding chairs) have been “discovered” and subsequently become all fancy. Renovated interiors, glossy menus, shiny big photos on the walls.
And sky rocketing price tags. And crowds.
Hmph! Not happy!
Add to that the lack of truly great Asian food in my area, and in recent years I’ve found myself making dumplings on a fairly regular basis. And so I present to you – homemade Potstickers. Or Pan Fried Chinese Dumplings. Same thing. Just one word vs four!
There’s great variety in terms of filling with no hard and fast rules. This filling is pretty classic, with the main “things” in it being pork, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage and garlic chives. You could actually skip the mushrooms or chives, without affecting the overall tastiness of the dumplings. I include both because I love the extra umami (food tech term meaning “savouriness”) that the mushroom provides and the little hit of freshness from the chives.
As for wrapping them, it’s simple – and here’s my biggest tip: Don’t stress! Forget the pleats if it’s all too hard, just press and seal flat. 🙂 There are plenty of dumpling places around that do that and it’s obvious why – it’s far faster to make them.
But if you’re wanting to replicate the classic Chinese Potstickers, here’s how to wrap them – and the video beneath the recipe is super helpful too.
By the way, the hands in these images and the video are not mine, they belong to Mama RecipeTin. Way too difficult and messy to try to film myself wrapping dumplings!
I love that moment when all the Potstickers are wrapped and sitting there, plump and ready for cooking. It’s a chest-puffing moment, and rightly so! 😇
Now – as for cooking them. You could steam them in your steamer of choice (traditionally a bamboo steamer), but this recipe I’m sharing today are Potstickers which are Pan Fried Chinese Dumplings. I love the way they are cooked – pan fried until the base is golden, then add water so they steam to cook the surface and the inside. The bottom goes soggy while it’s steaming but then once the water evaporates, it goes crispy again.
I actually never understood why they’re called Potstickers. They aren’t cooked in a pot, and you’d be seriously peeved if they stick to the pan.
They should be called Skillet-Non-Stickers.
But I made the effort to do a little Google and was interested to learn that pan fried dumplings are called Guotie in Chinese and the literal translation is “potstickers” or “panstickers”. So I guess any other tales you hear about where the name comes from are just that – tales! 😂
Actually, here in Australia, they are more commonly referred to as just Chinese Dumplings. And menus distinguish between Pan Fried and Steamed dumplings. I call them Potstickers because it’s faster. (Seriously. Time is precious, my friends!)
Whatever you call these – Potstickers or Pan Fried Chinese Dumplings, that moment of pure bliss you experience when you dip the dumpling into the sauce then bite through the soft, tender wrapping and into the juicy filling…
THAT, my friends, is a universal language.
Happy weekend! Thank you again for all the wonderful messages in response to the Japanese Knife Giveaway, and I absolutely promise there will be another giveaway soon. Mama RecipeTin is on the case to get another knife! We probably could just get one here in Australia…. but it’s just not the same. It has to be from Tokyo, from our favourite knife shop!! – Nagi x
PS 🥟🥟🥟My favourite Dumpling places in Sydney are below the recipe. I started to write it here, but it got too long…😂
PPS If you’re a dumpling fan, don’t miss Japanese Gyoza and Japanese Shumai!
Time to get your dumpling game on! Don't fret about perfect pleats - if it's all too hard, just press the seams together without pleating, plenty of Chinese restaurants do this. The most important thing is to get a nice, fatty pork - this will ensure the filling is beautifully juicy, just like you get at the best Dumpling joints! Recipe VIDEO below.
- 5 - 6 dried shiitake mushrooms (Note 1)
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage)
- ½ tsp salt
- 250 g / 0.5 lb fatty pork mince (20 - 30% fat ideal - Note 2)
- ¼ cup garlic chives , finely chopped*
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (light or dark soy also ok)
- 1 1/2 tsp Chinese wine (Note 4)
- ½ tsp sesame oil*
- ¼ tsp white pepper (black also ok)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- ½ tsp grated fresh ginger*
- 30 - 35 round dumpling wrappers (Note 5)
- 1/2 cup water per batch
- 4 - 6 tsp vegetable oil
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Shiitake Mushroom: Place the mushrooms in a bowl and pour over plenty of boiled water. Leave for 20 minutes or until rehydrated. Squeeze out excess water, then finely chop.
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Cabbage: Place cabbage in a bowl with salt. Toss with fingers, then set aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid from cabbage using hands.
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Filling: Place cabbage, mushrooms and remaining Filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined.
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Peel one wrapper off and place on the palm of your left hand (if right handed). Dip your finger in water and run it along half the edge of the wrapper.
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Place 1 heaped tablespoon of Filling in the centre. Fold wrapper over, then pleat to seal. Alternatively, just press together with no pleats.
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Finish so the dumpling is curved slightly, see photos in post, with the pleats on the top.
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Place on tray. Cover with cling wrap or wet tea towel (important). Repeat with remaining dumplings. Should make 30, if yours are extremely plump you may only make 25.
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Make sure your pan has a lid that fits it half decently (Note 6).
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Heat 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan over medium high heat. Add dumplings, pressing down firmly to flatten the base onto the pan. Cook around 8 to 10 per batch.
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When the base is golden brown (check them), add 1/2 cup of water into the pan.
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Immediately clamp the lid on, then leave for 7 minutes (any less and the pleats won't be cooked through so if your water dries out, add a bit more).
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Remove lid - most of the water should be evaporated, the pleats should be cooked through. Leave the pan on the stove until the base dries and the underside of the dumplings are once again crisp.
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Remove dumplings from pan and transfer to serving plate. Repeat with remaining Dumplings.
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Serve with Dipping Sauces of choice. (Note 7)
* Can be omitted. There are no hard and fast rules for what goes in the Filling, and it varies across China and certainly all over the world. Some Fillings can be very simple, so these ones marked with an Asterix can be omitted and it's still going to taste terrific (and "real"!).
1. I love using dried shiitake mushrooms in the filling because it adds incredible umami ("savouriness"). Dried is better than fresh in terms of flavour intensity. You can find dried shiitake mushrooms at Asian grocery stores and some speciality shops. It can be substituted with fresh shiitake mushrooms. If you can't find either, just leave it out - don't worry, your dumplings will still taste terrific!
2. My favourite is to ask the butcher to mince pork belly, second favourite is pork shoulder. You want the fat! If you use lean pork mince form standard supermarkets, you may be disappointed with the lack of juiciness of the Filling. If you can only get supermarket pork mince, I would urge you to add at least 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil into the Filling mixture and mix for at least 2 minutes with your hands.
3. The garlic chives are optional. I adore dumplings with garlic chives in them, and I love the little specks of green in the dumplings.
4. Or Mirin, sake or dry sherry. If you can't have alcohol, leave this out and add an extra pinch of salt and sugar.
5. The dumpling wrappers I use are pictured in the post (Double Merino brand, Gow Gee pastry) and is sold at large supermarkets in Australia (Woolies, Coles) as well as Harris Farms and Asian Grocery stores. They are about 8 cm / 3.5" wide and 2mm / 1/10" thick. If you'd like to try your hand at homemade dumpling wrappers, try this recipe by Maggie from Omnivores Cookbook, one of my favourite Chinese blogs. She has an excellent video tutorial in that recipe.
6. None of my favourite skillets came with lids, so I always make do with lids from large pots.
7. Dipping Sauces- my favourite is soy sauce with chilli oil or paste. Other common ones are soy sauce + Chinese black vinegar, or even white vinegar.
8. STORING: Place uncooked dumplings in a single layer in an airtight container (use paper between layers) and store for up to 2 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. To cook, defrost, then cook per recipe. Store cooked dumplings in the fridge for up to 2 days - I like to microwave to reheat then pan fry to re-crisp the bottom!
9. Nutrition per dumpling. The weight per dumpling is off because it doesn't factor in the liquid absorbed by the dumpling wrapper. Guessing it's closer to 60g / 2 oz per piece.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
BEST DUMPLINGS IN SYDNEY
Just in case you need a dumpling fix and you want someone else to make them for you, here are my favourite dumpling haunts in Sydney:
- Shanghai Night (Ashfield) – This is about as no frills as it gets as far as proper Chinese dumpling dives in Sydney go. You won’t see any tourists here at this Ashfield institution. Service and decor are “minimalist”, it’s all about the pan fried and soup dumplings (xiao long bau ie soup in the dumplings) here.
- Din Tai Fung (Sydney CBD and other locations) – Famous for their soup dumplings, they aren’t a worldwide chain for no reason! Their other non-dumpling dishes are also delicious (but avoid the weird things like rainbow dumplings….).
- Mr Wong (Sydney CBD) – They ain’t cheap but then these are meticulously made, all about top quality ingredients, and sometimes unusual creations you won’t see anywhere else. As if their dumplings weren’t good enough, the rest of the menu is possibly even more amazing …
- Chinese Noodle Restaurant (Haymarket, China Town) – Don’t get it mixed up with Chinese Noodle House, which is confusingly on the other side of the small court. Just remember “the one on the left”. This is place to go in Chinatown for big plates of potstickers at rock bottom prices.
- Tim Ho Wan (Chatswood, Sydney CBD) – Originally from Hong Kong, Tim Ho Wan was a hole-in-the-wall that shot to fame some years ago as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant. Their prawn dumplings and siu mai are awesome, along with their famous baked pork bun.
- Taste of Shanghai (Eastwood and other locations) – One of the offenders of going up market and expanding all over Sydney. 😩 But still a perfectly respectable place to get a dumpling fix. Try the dumplings in chilli oil, and the Xiao Long Bau (soup inside dumplings). The Eastwood and Ashfield ones are my favourite locations.
LIFE OF DOZER
Being put to work – random selection of the winner of the Japanese Knife Giveaway. Great job Dozer!
Nagi, I think I love you forever for posting this recipe. Many, many years ago, I learned how to make potstickers from Sunset Magazine. Your recipe is the first one I’ve seen that cooks them the same way. Your filling sounds wonderful. I’m not sure when, but I will be making these. Potstickers are my favorite dumpling.
I would love to hear what you think if you try it Susan!!! N xx
Hello Nagi.
I just made these tonight a few hours ago and they turned out wonderfully. Everyone who ate them enjoyed them and they are all gone now. I only ended up with 18 though and not 30 so I must have used very big heaping tablespoons for the filling, lol. It ended up being perfect because I actually also ended up with only 18 gyoza wrappers as well. I was going to make the ones from the omnivore’s cookbook as you recommended but saw that her instructions stated the dough needed to sit for at least 2 hours and I needed food to be ready in 1 hour so I did a google search and used a gyoza wrappers recipe from justonecookbook’s blog which only required the dough to rest for 30 minutes. I also used every ingredient in your recipe with the exception of substituting the pork with an 85% fat content ground turkey and added about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and hand mixed for 2 minutes like your notes said.
Also, I was unable to eat these personally because I am a vegetarian but I do not like spinach as you recommended to previous commenters so I was wondering if you had any other vegetarian filling ideas I could use.
Thanks.
Wow Alexandria, you are the nicest person ever making this for others when you’re vegetarian yourself!!! What I’m going to do is create a separate post with a range of Potsticker fillings, including vegetarian ones. 🙂 For a non spinach one, try sautéing finely sliced green cabbage with garlic and a bit of oil until wilted, then add chopped shiitake mushrooms and cook until they soften and the liquid cooks out. Cool then maybe toss in a bit of finely chopped water chestnuts or bamboo shoots for texture (it’s terrific), pinch of salt and pepper, maybe a dash of sesame oil. Cooking the cabbage like that “wets” it so it will hold together like meat filling. YUM! PS I’ll post a proper recipe for that filling plus other veg options in the Potsticker fillings post I’m planning 🙂 N x
That filling sounds delicious. Thank you.
This is the 1st time I’ve ever added dried mushrooms to potstickers/gyoza.
It will not be the last! I do have a neat trick to add for those who
have their own meat grinder (mine is an attachment to my venerable Kitchenaid
stand mixer). Grinding (mincing) your own meat is a great idea in general but if
you also add your hydrated and then squeezed dry mushrooms to the 1st half of
pork cubes they save a LOT of time end up being perfectly minced- no knife work
needed AT ALL. Adding them early in the grinding is a good idea from another chef-
the last part of the meat ends up being stuck in the grinder and has to be taken out
and hand-minced. The mushroom water ended up being used for soup stock.
I only used the leafy part of the Napa for the gyozas- the crunchy part was used for
the ramen style soup I made with the mushroom water. (hint- no salt treatment needed-
the leafy part has very little water compared to the crunchy part)
Used sweet bean paste (tian miang jiang), dark vinegar (Chinkiang), some Huy Fong brand
chilli/garlic paste and cilantro for the sauce. Awesome!
Duh- forgot about the toasted sesame oil I also added to the dipping sauce.
(Making round 2….)
Hi Nagi! Yours is one of my 2 go-to websites for Asian cuisine. And your (mom’s) potsticker video inspired me to make a batch yesterday. Silly me, I misread the quantities in the recipe and realized halfway through that I was using 500g of pork, not 250! So I had to double everything else too. That’s why I ended up pleating 60 pieces into last evening. I froze 3 dozen and cooked the rest this evening. Many compliments ensued! Thanks for all your hard work, that enables the rest of us to reap the rewards of your recipes.
I never post anything but i had to post on this recipe… I love them. I made them last night for my family and they turn out delicious!!! Thanks so much Nagi for sharing this recipe!! I am having a card party next week and will be adding this to the menu!!!
Well done Dozer! Did he get some dumplings as a reward? 😀
Too much garlic and oniony stuff for Dozer…. He got other treats instead! 😂
Haven’t even looked at the recipe yet – Dozer makes the best random number generator I have ever seen (plus works for treats and scritches). Made my day.
Cheapest employee EVER. (Though the most difficult….)
…and the most cuddly 🙂
Hi Nagi,
This is not a comment about your current post. Firstly, could you please tell me if your tablespoon measure is 20 ml or 15 ml?
Secondly, I sat down a week ago and went through your recipes….printed out 20++ and I am starting to work through them. I have made a couple and they are absolute winners. I do have complete confidence in you, and love your simple ingredients and easy cooking techniques. You are nothing less than sensational.
Will let you know how I go.
Kindest regards from Brisbane,
Angela
Hi Angela! You clearly know your stuff! I use both to test recipes that are very sensitive to ingredient quantities, like baked goods. Cakes, cookies etc. My standard is 20 ml. I calculated that the difference in Australian and other tablespoon / teaspoon measures is pretty much in proportion to the difference in cups etc so I find the difference is not material, also for savoury things like this the difference does not affect the end outcome. BUT for baked goods, and it kills me, but I test with 20 ml and 15 ml just to be sure. Because I am so paranoid! N x
Thank you for clarifying. I was using a 20 ml tablespoon but after adding a few tablespoons of flour to a sauce/gravy wondered whether it might be 15 ml as it became a bit too thick.
Pleased I can simply go ahead knowing I am adding the correct amount.
Regards,
Angela
Hi Nagi,
So great that you post a recipe for potstickers as well as gyoza because, after searching fruitlessly for wrappers, I just found a great Asian store which sells numerous frozen wrappers. It is in the “big” city of Springfield, Missouri and has so many products, most of which I haven’t a clue about because the packaging is written in the language of the producer of whatever it is. So it is impossible to know what is there.
Okay, my question is about frying the dumplings. Years ago, when I lived in California, the wrappers were plentiful in supermarkets and I made lots of fried/steamed dumplings. All the wrappers had recipes on the packaging so it was not difficult back then, pre-technology, to have a good recipe on hand. I remember very well the frying process and then adding water for them to cook thoroughly but it seems to me that the recipe I liked the best used a combination of water and vinegar. I have yet to find any recipe that uses that combination and have forgotten the proportion of vinegar to water. Do you or your mother know? I also ran across a weird-seeming slurry to use in place of the water, and while I’m sure that it’s authentic, it is not appealing to me. Do you or your mother know about that process and what is the deal, why is it used?
Dozer, as always so photogenic, looks to be taking his task seriously. What a dog!
Hi Faith, I just wanted to give you a big shout out form a fellow Missourian. I’ve traveled to your “Big” city, our state capitol, many times on business and have so many happy memories. One of my favorite places to visit was Central Dairy. They had ice cream to die for. Up until recently we were able to buy it at our local supermarkets here in St. Louis but recently it has become unavailable. Oh well, win some lose some.
Isn’t it amazing how many people from around the world congregate here on Nagi’s blog? The recipe collection here is amazing and as a bonus we get to keep up with the life and times of the incredible Dozer. And, if you’re tuned in Nagi, congratulations on building a world wide cooking resource. Job well done.
Don – you just made my day. Thank you. N x ❤️
Don, Jefferson City has been the capitol of Missouri since 1821! Springfield is a wonderful city in its own right though.
Hi Faith! In all honesty, I have never heard of using water and vinegar to cook the dumplings so I can’t help you there! Same on the slurry! So sorry to be so useless! 😂 N xx
Duh, how stupid of me, of course Jeff City is the capitol of Missouri. Sometimes I need someone to boot me in the head to kick start my brain. I’ve also been to Springfield numerous times on business and just between us two, some day your “BIG” city will be larger than St. Louis. Springfield is growing St. Louis is shrinking.
Hi Nagi, I make these dumplings every week usually with all sorts of different ingredients but I must say your folding them is much better then mine lol Just love dumplings so easy and pleasing and love seeing Dozer as always. Cheers
Woah – you make dumpling every week?? 😳
Fancy pleats…gorgeous. I will try my best. On the sheet tray they all seem uniform but each has a uniqueness…like fingerprints or handwriting. Lovely.
They are wonky and not exactly the same = homemade! 😂
So excited to see this recipe on your blog! I have been wanting to do potstickers (after seeing them on Masterchef), and now I can use your recipe (as they always turn out great!)
I hope you try it Rochelle! They are crazy delish! N xx
These look yummy but seem to be the same as Gyoza which I make often. How do they differ?
Love Dozer’s pictures – I nearly always scroll down to them first!
Scroll?? Click the DOZER button! 😂 They are suspiciously similar. The observation has been made by others. The Japanese say the Chinese stole their recipe. The Chinese say the Japanese stole theirs. Go figure…🤷🏻♀️ Main difference is shape…. if we’re being honest…. 😇
Haha so funny that Dozer made the knife selection 😀. I love dumplings thanks for the recipe.
He was not the most co operative employee….
Can’t wait to try these, Nagi. Oh and congratulations on your recent selection contractor. You could hire Dozer out for upcoming elections…looks like a pretty sound process. 😉 What a crack-up!
He’s not the best employee…..
Well, I don’t care 🙂 ! I call these gyoza, love them to bits, make them often being over 100 kms away from all those mouth-watering places you suggest – and think Mama Recipe Tin makes a beautiful job of pleating the precious items! Actually I love the meditation which goes along with the activity – same as making risotto or polenta!! Hope Dozer thought that three treats was adequate payment for posing and picking !!!
all ’em gyoza, you do my mum proud! 😂
Following on with the Yum Cha theme, could you post a Cha Siu Bao (steamed BBQ Pork bun) recipe please? Love your recipes and how you make them so easy to try.
Added to my list. It would be DA BOMB!!! N xx
It is 8:00am and I am reading this recipe and craving some pot stickers! These sound amazing, they will be on my table tonight. Thanks again Nagi.
I hear you, I was writing this up over breakfast and it was KILLING ME!