Our Taste of Home: Potstickers

picture credit to Beyond Sweet and Savory: https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/pot-stickers/

by Michael Yu

One of the earliest dishes I remember eating was a plate of pork and napa cabbage potstickers. Being from a Chinese household, dumplings are a staple, with potstickers being no exception. This was the first ever food that I tried that was crunchy which, at that time, was such a foreign texture for me. I fell in love with potstickers at the first bite, the wrapper having a delightful crunching sound as I bit into it and the flavorful and juicy mixture of pork and napa cabbage with notes of saltiness from the pork and sweetness from the cabbage.

Making potstickers is not only a relaxing activity, but also a sensory experience. The feeling of the smooth wrapper in your hand and the squishy filling as you knead and shape the potsticker invite you to create something delicious. The kneading of the potstickers themselves is like a form of culinary meditation where you get to just focus on the motions of your hands and just allow yourself to have fun making something. Once done, you can immediately start setting them on the pan and listen to them sizzle as they release their savory aroma, filling the kitchen with a welcoming scent and a sure reminder that what you’ve just made will taste exceptional at the end.

Ingredients:

4 oz Napa Cabbage (around 6 leaves)

1⁄2 pounds ground pork

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1⁄8 teaspoons white pepper

1 pack of store bought potsticker wrappers (I prefer wonton wrappers as they are thinner)

1 small bowl of water

1 dash of oil (for pan)

Optional dipping sauce to go with your potstickers (very pungent with just the right amount of

heat!)

1 small bowl

1/4 small bowl of vinegar

1 spoonful of chili oil

Mix all ingredients!

Cooking Steps:

Making the filling

1. In a large metal bowl, mix your Nappa Cabbage, ground pork, oyster sauce, and white pepper.

Wrapping the Potsticker

2. Place a wrapper on a clean dry surface and add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center, wrap in any way you like, or you can follow these steps here:

Cooking the Potsickers

3. Heat up a large skillet

4. When the frying pan is hot and drop of water sizzles on the frying pan, add oil and swirl

5. Quickly put as many potstickers in the frying pan and pan fry for about 3-4 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.

6. Have a lid in one hand and use your other hand to add about 1⁄4 of the skillet of hot water to the frying pan, the water will sizzle and steam, immediately cover the frying pan with the lid to steam the potstickers.

7. Do not lift the lid to allow the dumplings to steam for 6 minutes on medium heat.

8. Check for doneness, if the potsticker skins are still slightly opaque, add 2 tablespoons of hot water, cover, and steam for another 2 minutes (definitely do this step if cooking frozen potstickers)

9. When the potsticker skins are no longer opaque and are slightly translucent, remove the lid and cook for another minute to allow the potsticker bottoms to become crispy