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golden brown crispy pork potstickers

Easy and Delicious Pork Potstickers Recipe (Cantonese Style)


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  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 60 Potstickers 1x

Description

This porky potsticker recipe is so easy to make and is one of our favorite dinners when we’re craving takeout. Filled with house-ground fatty pork belly and pork shoulder, chives, wood ear mushrooms, cabbage, and a ginger-infused Shaoxing wine, soy, and sesame sauce — this is a seriously delicious dumpling filling that’s only made better because of that tasty pan-sear before it gets steamed. Plus, we have the best dipping sauce to go with them♡.  This is a perfect recipe to MealPrep and make ahead and freeze — if you have the space, double the recipe for quick, wholesome dinners any night of the week with just about no cleanup whatsoever


Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE FILLING 

  • 1 pound of fatty ground pork (at least 80/20) (450g)
  • 1 pound (about 5 cups) napa cabbage, washed and shredded (500g)
  • 1/2 cup scallions, finely minced (or use Chinese chives) (55g)
  • 2/3 cup (1/2 ounce) dried wood ear mushrooms (or use shitakes) (15g)
  • 4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (60g)*
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (30g) (or sub regular soy)
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (2g)
  • 2 tablespoons high-quality fish sauce (optional but recommended) (30g)
  • 2 tablespoon ginger, cut into matchsticks (25g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (1/2g)
  • salt to taste

FOR ASSEMBLING THE POTSTICKERS 

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (7.5g) plus 1/2 cup of water (118g) combined (cornstarch slurry to seal potstickers)
  • 1 package of wonton or dumpling wrappers (50 to 60ct) (300 to 400g)

TO SERVE (traditional potsticker dipping sauce)

  • 1/3 cup Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang or Zhenjiang vinegar) (75g)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons regular soy sauce (35g)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (30g)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks (20g)
  • chili oil or sambal to taste (optional)

*If you use high-quality unsalted Shaoxing wine, you may need to increase the amount of salt you add. If you can’t find Shaoxing wine, use dry sherry in a 1:1 ratio. If you’re thinking about using mirin, it’s acceptable if that’s all you’ve got (but it really has a totally different flavor than Shaoxing wine and it’s also a bit sweet). 


Instructions

  1. Steep the ginger in the pork filling sauce. Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and fish sauce to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add the ginger matchsticks and allow the ginger to infuse the mixture while you prepare the rest of the filling.
  2. Rehydrate the mushrooms. Add the dried mushrooms to a bowl and cover with boiling water and allow to steep for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are rehydrated. Strain the mushrooms and squeeze out any excess water. Finely chop the mushrooms and set them aside. 
  3. Cook the cabbage. To a large wok or skillet, add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Just as the oil begins to smoke, add the shredded cabbage and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes until cooked and wilted. Remove from the heat and when cool enough wring out all the liquid from the cabbage. Add the strained cabbage to a cutting board and finely dice it. Add it to the bowl with the mushrooms. 
  4. Grind the pork (or use pre-ground pork). Dice the pork shoulder and belly into 2-inch cubes, toss it all together to combine, and place the meat into the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up, but do not allow it to freeze. This will help the meat move through the grinder more easily. Attach the KitchenAid food grinder attachment with the larger blade, and start adding the meat and grinding, using the pusher to get all of the meat through the blades. You may choose to grind the meat a second time, using the smaller grinder attachment, but I just gave it a good chop with my cleaver after grinding it only once. 
  5. Assemble the filling. To a large bowl, add the ground pork, mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, and white pepper. Give it a quick stir. Remove the ginger matchsticks from the pork filling sauce and add the sauce directly to the pork mixture. Stir the mixture in one direction (clockwise) with chopsticks, or a large spoon until the mixture becomes visibly “fluffy” and all of the ingredients are well combined (about 8 to 10 minutes by hand).
  6. Test the flavor of the pork filling. Pan fry a small amount of filling in a lightly oiled skillet to make sure the seasonings are just right. Adjust the salt and any seasonings as needed. Once you have the filling just right, you’re ready to assemble the potstickers.
  7. Assemble the potstickers. Add about 1 tablespoon of pork filling to the center of each wrapper. Dip your finger into the cornstarch slurry and brush two opposite sides of the wrapper and seal to create a triangle, pressing out any air inside the potsticker around the meat (no air bubbles). Set the filled potstickers on a parchment-lined tray without touching each other. *You may place parchment in between the potstickers if you need to stack them a bit to fit more on the tray.
  8. Cook the potstickers (jiaozi). Heat a large skillet or wok to medium-high and drizzle it with a little vegetable oil. Just before the pan starts to smoke, add the potstickers in a single layer to the skillet and cook them for a couple of minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Add about 3 tablespoons of water (or ice cubes) directly to the pan, cover immediately with a lid and allow the potstickers to steam until cooked through and the liquid has evaporated leaving you a glossy potsticker (about 3 to 4 minutes). *I prefer to get both sides golden brown before I add the water to steam them, but you can do it the traditional way if you like and only brown one side).  Remove the potstickers to a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you’re buying pre-ground pork mince, look for 80/20 pork to fat ratio, and even better if you can find 75/25 or 70/30.
  • If you can’t find fatty ground pork where you live, either ask the local grocery store butcher to grind it for you, or use fatty pork belly or pork shoulder as I’ve used in this recipe.
  • MealPrep potstickers by freezing them in a single layer on a tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until firm. Then throw place them into an airtight container or freezer bag until ready to cook. When ready to cook, place frozen potstickers into a preheated skillet with a little oil and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, add about 1/4 cup of water to the skillet, cover immediately and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until the water has evaporated and the filling has cooked through.
  • A trick I learned from my friend in Chengdu for how to get ginger flavor without ever biting into actual pieces of ginger. Infuse dumpling fillings with ginger matchsticks instead of grating it or dicing it and adding it to the filling. It adds just enough fragrant ginger flavor without ever being overpowering.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Dumplings + Dim Sum
  • Method: Skillet
  • Cuisine: Chinese

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6 Potstickers
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