October 6, 2013

Potsticker Pork Dumplings 鍋貼

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By Published: 2013-10-06
Yum, yum, yum, yum.  We love potstickers!  You can't eat just one of these little beauties and there's nothing quite like whipping up a couple dozen potstickers to keep in your freezer for, you know, those times when you're gripped with terrible tummy hungry grumbles!  

Would you believe that I can eat a whole dinner plateful of these pan fried potsticker pork dumplings in one go!  And when I was a skinny little chinese girl I could polish off two dinner platefuls!  (Seriously, I tell no lie:  I ate a lot then!)  

But, to be honest, to this day, well actually to yesterday, I have never been quite satisfied with my homemade potsticker pork dumplings.  Yes I know, it's a common dish, a chinese comfort dish even, and everyone and their Chinese mother can make them.  But before yesterday my potstickers have always been a little teensy bit disappointing to me. You know...not perfect, not eat and die from eating this yummy food kind of thing.  

So I experimented:  more fat, less fat, more ginger, less ginger, more mixing, less mixing... Ah! The little quibbles that make cooking at lifetime of fun and frustration.  

So anyways, finally, finally, I think that yesterday I made family cooking history and made a batch of very very yummy potsticker pork dumplings that disappeared faster than I could say "Perfect!"  At last!

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Napa Cabbage

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Pork and chopped cabbage

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Round dumpling wrappers

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A tablespoon of filling

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Wrapped dumpling on the plate

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Potstickers into the cast iron pan


For more detail on dumpling wrapping please check out our post How to Fold a Chinese Dumpling.  Happy Chinese Dumpling adventures!  
Potsticker Pork Dumplings Recipe 鍋貼
(makes 55 dumplings)  (Prep time: 45 mins  Cook time: 13 mins)

Ingredients:


Directions:

Wash cabbage leaves and chop to 1/4" strips.  Put in colander and sprinkle of 1/4 tsp salt.  Let sit for at least 1/2 hour.  Squeeze the leaves to release as much liquid as possible.  Reserve squeezed cabbage liquid.  Finely chop cabbage.

In large mixing bowl add pork and all seasonings except for the starch.  Mix the pork, stirring in one direction only.  Let marinate for 10 minutes.  Add cabbage and mix.

Add water to squeezed cabbage liquid until you have approx. 1/2 cup liquid.  Slowly add the liquid mix to meat mix, stirring constantly in one direction only, until the mixture seems almost pourable and quite fluffy.  You don't have to use all the liquid.  Sprinkle the starch over mixture and stir in, again in one direction only.

Update: We have a video on How to Fold a Chinese Dumpling now, yeah!


Clear a work space where you can sit down at a table.  Prepare a small bowl of water for wetting the dumpling skin before sealing.  Have your dumpling skins and meat filling on the table.  Leave your dumpling skins covered as you wrap, otherwise they will dry out and be hard to fold.  Have a large flat plate ready to receive the wrapped dumplings.  Sprinkle a bit of cornstarch on the plate, this will help prevent wrapped dumpling from sticking to the plate.

For more detail on dumpling wrapping please check out our post How to Fold a Chinese Dumpling.

Wrap dumplings and place on the plate as you go.  When you have filled one plate take it to the freezer (unless you are planning to eat it right away) and freeze for 15-20 minutes, or until the potsticker pork dumpling is hard but not yet frozen to the plate.  

Once the dumplings holds its shape you can pack them neatly in a ziplock bag for freezer storage.  Or else keep them on the plates until all dumplings are wrapped and then cook them right away.

To Cook the Potsticker Pork Dumplings:

Pan fried potsticker pork dumplings:  You may cook either fresh or frozen potstickers this way.  Using a non stick pan (we use a lovely little cast iron skillet ), heat to medium hot and add 1 tbsp oil (or just enough to cover the pan).  Swirl oil till all surface is covered.  

Fill the pan with potstickers carefully, shaking the pan back and forth lightly as you go to help prevent sticking.  Add a bit more oil if needed.  Let cook for approx. 2 mins, until the bottom of dumplings are light golden color.  

Hold the pan cover over 98% of the pan, add 3/4 cup water at the edge of the pan, being very careful of oil splatters, and quickly cover the pan with lid.  Let steam for 10 mins, being sure to check and add a bit water if the pan becomes dry before time is up.  

At 10 minutes the pan should be almost dry, remove the lid, lower heat and cook another minute or so until the bottom of potsticker is a golden crispy brown and the top juicy and tender.  Use spatula to remove from pan.  

Serve potsticker pork dumplings hot with a small dipping bowl each of soy sauce or chinese black rice vinegar.  Or 50/50 soy sauce and ChinKiang Vinegar (my personal favorite).

Boiled pork dumplings:  You may also boil fresh or frozen pork dumplings.  Heat up a large pot of water until boiling.  Add the pork dumplings, swirling the water gently as you add the dumplings to prevent sticking.  Partially cover and cook for 10 minutes at med heat after the water reboils.  

Scoop out and serve hot with a small dipping bowl each of soy sauce or vinegar.

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2 comments:

  1. I use this recipe all the time! These dumplings are delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Diana - Yay! So happy you liked our dumplings!😊 ~ellen

    ReplyDelete