Basic Pot Sticker Wrapper Recipes

POT STICKERS TRADITIONAL

Steps:

• Crumble pork into a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the pork, cabbage, green onion, ginger, water chestnuts, salt, sugar and sesame oil. Chill in the refrigerator 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.
• Place a tablespoon of the pork mixture into each of the wonton wrappers. Fold the wrappers, and seal the edges with a moistened fork.
• In a large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium high heat. Place the pot stickers into the oil seam sides up. Heat 30 seconds to a minute. Pour water into the skillet. Gently boil 7 to 8 minutes, until oil and water begins to sizzle, then add remaining oil. When the bottoms begin to brown, remove pot stickers from heat.
• In a small serving bowl, mix together the chili oil, soy sauce, and vinegar, adjusting proportions to taste.

PERFECT POT STICKERS

Steps:

• Place ground pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and cayenne in a mixing bowl. Top with chopped green cabbage. Mix with fork until thoroughly combined. Tamp down lightly; cover with plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.
• Place flour and kosher salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in hot water. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a shaggy dough. Flour your hands and transfer dough to a work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. If dough seems too sticky, sprinkle with a bit more flour, about 3 to 5 minutes. Wrap dough ball in plastic, and let it rest about 30 minutes.
• When dough has rested, divide into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with a dish cloth while you work the first piece. Roll into a small log about the thickness of a thumb, about 3/4 inch. Divide each log into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin 3 1/2-inch circle on a lightly floured surface to form the pot sticker wrappers. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
• Lightly moisten the edges of a wrapper with your wet finger. Place a small scoop of the ground pork mixture onto the center of a wrapper. Fold up the 2 sides and pinch together in the center. Pinch together the remaining edges, forming "pleats" along one side. Tap the pot sticker on the work surface to slightly flatten the bottom; form a slight curve in it so it stands upright in the pan. Transfer to a well-floured plate. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Mix together seasoned rice vinegar and soy sauce in a small mixing bowl for the dipping sauce.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Place about 6 or 7 pot stickers in the hot oil, flat side down. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drizzle in water and quickly cover the pan; steam for 3 minutes. Uncover; reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until water evaporates and bottoms are browned and crunchy, 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish. Repeat with remaining pot stickers. Serve with dipping sauce.

PORK AND GINGER POT STICKERS WITH HOMEMADE DUMPLING WRAPPERS

Steps:

• Make the hot water dough: In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour, salt and two-thirds of the boiling water. Mix on medium speed while slowly adding the remaining water until well mixed and a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little flour if it gets too wet.
• On a floured surface, knead the dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Place back in the bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.
• Make the dumpling wrappers: Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out the dough to form a long 'noodle', 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter.
• Make the pork and ginger filling: Sprinkle the cabbage with the 1 teaspoon salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the cabbage on a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth and squeeze out any water. The dryer the cabbage the better. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the cabbage with the pork, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook a tester to check the seasoning.
• Make the dumplings: Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Be very careful not to touch the edges with the filling as this will impede proper sealing of the dumplings. Nothing is worse than dumplings breaking during cooking.) Lightly brush the top half edge with water and fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape. Starting on one end fold/pinch the wrapper tightly together. Proceed with this fold/pinch method until the dumpling is completely sealed. There will be approximately 7 to 10 folds per dumpling. Rest the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.
• Cook the dumplings: In a nonstick saute pan coated well with 1 tablespoon oil, place the pot stickers flat side down, turn the heat to medium-high and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready, add 1/4 inch of stock to the bottom of the pan and cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The stock will steam the pot stickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more stock may be needed. (Ideally, you add about 1/4 inch layer of liquid, depending on the size of the pan.) The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the stock will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again. You can listen to the point no stock is left, that is when you can take the lid off.
• Make the dim sum dipper: Combining all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Serve with the pot stickers.

EASY AND DELICIOUS POT STICKERS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, toss cabbage with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 10 minutes.
• Wrap cabbage in a double layer of paper towels; firmly squeeze out excess liquid.
• Return cabbage to bowl and add pork, 3 finely chopped scallions, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
• Mix well with a fork or use your hands.
• Work with one wrapper at a time, and keep the rest covered with a damp towel.
• Spoon one level teaspoon of filling in center (if you try to use more, the wrappers won't seal right or may tear).
• With dampened fingers, wet the four edges.
• Fold wrapper in half over filling to make a triangle, making sure the ends meet and filling is centered; press edges down firmly to seal (sometimes I bring all four corners together to make a little pouch instead of a triangle, not as pretty, but faster!).
• Transfer to an oiled plate; cover with a damp towel to keep moist.
• Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling (Refrigerate leftover filling up to 2 days).
• In a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.
• Add half the wontons and cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side.
• Carefully add 1/2 cup water (oil may sputter), cover, and steam until translucent and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and wontons.
• Serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.

VEGETARIAN POT STICKERS WITH HOMEMADE DUMPLING WRAPPERS

Steps:

• Make the hot water dough: In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour, salt and two-thirds of the boiling water. Mix on medium speed while slowly adding the remaining water until well mixed and a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little flour if it gets too wet.
• On a floured surface, knead the dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Place back in the bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.
• Make the dumpling wrappers: Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out the dough to form a long 'noodle', 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter.
• Make the vegetarian filling: Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat, then saute the onions and season with a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon white pepper. Add the ginger and mushrooms and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives and season to taste. When the mixture is soft, place in a colander to drain. Add the cilantro and sesame oil when mixture is cooled. Check for seasoning.
• Make the dumplings: Place a small mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper. (Be very careful not to touch the edges with the filling as this will impede proper sealing of the dumplings. Nothing is worse than dumplings breaking during cooking.) Lightly brush the top half edge with water and fold the wrapper in half to form a half moon shape. Starting on one end fold/pinch the wrapper tightly together. Proceed with this fold/pinch method until the dumpling is completely sealed. There will be approximately 7 to 10 folds per dumpling. Rest the dumplings with the folded edges straight up.
• Cook the dumplings: In a nonstick saute pan coated well with 1 tablespoon oil, place the pot stickers flat side down, turn the heat to medium-high and cook until the bottom is browned. Have pan cover ready, add 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the pan and cover immediately. Be careful, the liquid will splatter! The water will steam the pot stickers. Check them in 5 minutes as more water may be needed. (Ideally, you add about 1/4 inch layer of liquid, depending on the size of the pan.) The trick here is that once the dumplings are firm and fully cooked the water will evaporate and the bottoms will crisp-up again. You can listen to the point no water is left, that is when you can take the lid off.
• Make the dim sum dipper: Combining all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Serve with the pot stickers.

BAKED POT STICKERS WITH DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in center of a wonton wrapper. (Cover rest of wrappers with a damp paper towel until ready to use.), Moisten wrapper edges with water. Fold edge over filling and roll to form a log; twist ends to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling., Place pot stickers on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; spritz each with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown., Meanwhile, place jelly in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave, covered, on high until melted. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce. Serve sauce with pot stickers.

BASIC POT STICKER WRAPPER

Steps:

• Mix the flour, salt, and water together and form a uniform smooth dough.
• Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into about 32 pieces. Roll each into circles or squares.