Potstickers

Crispy-bottomed potstickers filled with seasoned ground pork, ginger, garlic, and green onions, wrapped in wonton skins and cooked using the classic fry-then-steam method. Served with a quick soy-vinegar dipping sauce that takes 30 seconds to throw together.

The filling is straightforward: ground pork mixed by hand with soy sauce, dry sherry, sesame oil, fresh ginger, garlic, and an egg bound with cornstarch. Mixing by hand is important because it lets you feel when the filling is just combined. Overmixing makes the filling dense and pasty instead of juicy.

The cooking technique is what makes these potstickers, not just dumplings. Fry them in oil until the bottoms turn golden and crispy, then pour in chicken broth and slap the lid on. The broth steams the tops and cooks the filling through while the bottoms stay crunchy. That contrast of crispy base and soft, steamed wrapper is the whole point.

Kitchen Tips

• Moisten the wrapper edges with water before pressing. Dry wonton wrappers won’t seal and the filling leaks out during cooking.
• Use only 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of filling per wrapper. Overstuffed potstickers burst open in the pan.
• Don’t move them once they’re in the pan. Let the bottoms crisp undisturbed before adding the broth.
• The dipping sauce is 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part rice vinegar, grated ginger, and chopped green onion.

Variations

• Use ground chicken or shrimp instead of pork for a lighter filling.
• Add finely shredded napa cabbage to the pork mixture for extra moisture and texture.
• Pan-fry in a mix of vegetable oil and a drop of sesame oil for a nuttier, more aromatic crust.