Easy Pork Dumplings

Pork dumplings or potstickers are shaped like the ancient Chinese gold currency and represent wealth. It’s believed that the number of dumplings you eat during the new year corresponds to the amount of money you’ll make that year. That’s reason enough to eat a few extra! Original recipe by The Novice Chef Blog.

INGREDIENTS

Pork Filling:

  • 1 pound lean ground pork
  • 4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
  • 6 stalks green onions, minced
  • 7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried – rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
  • 1/2 cup bok choy, minced
  • 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons sriracha, optional (non-traditional but I like the flavor it adds!)

Dumplings:

  • 36 won ton wrappers
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • water, as needed
  • soy sauce, for serving
  • green onions, optional garnish

Potsticker Sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons rice wine
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil or chili sauce/paste, to taste (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Pork Filling:

  1. In a large bowl, combine all pork filling ingredients until well combined.

Form Dumplings:

  1. You will need a clean workspace, wonton wrappers, prepared pork filling, a small bowl of water, and chopsticks.
  2. Begin by filling the wonton wrapper with about a tablespoons worth of pork filling. Wet your finger, and run along the edges of the wonton wrapper. This will help to seal it closed.
  3. If your wrapper is round, fold the wrapper over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal. If you wrapper is square, scroll up to view the step by step images of how I fold my dumplings into a little purse dumpling.
  4. Once you have filled the dumplings you can freeze them or eat them fresh.

Freeze Dumplings:

  1. Place the dumplings in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes.
  2. Then place in a ziplock baggie, where they can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Pan Fry:

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the skillet and place dumplings in an even layer. Fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden.
  2. Add 1/3 cup of water and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low.
  3. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve with soy sauce and thinly sliced green onions.

Steam:

  1. Place dumplings in a steamer basket on a single layer of cabbage leaves or a piece of parchment paper and steam for about 8 minutes.

Potsticker Sauce:

  1. Whisk together all ingredients and serve in a shallow bowl to dip your potstickers in! You can make this ahead and store it in the fridge for up to a week.