Chinese Shrimp and Pork Potstickers
This month’s Daring Cooks challenge is Chinese potstickers/dumplings from Jen Yu of Use Real Butter.
As any good Asian household, Son and I love most any sort of dumplings. Often we’ll eat them with ramen or rice, for a delicious meal. But aside from my grandmother’s wontons (which are nothing like Chinese wontons… and yes, I know those of you who have tried them want the recipe. I’ll make them soon, promise.), I’ve never made any sort of dumplings from scratch.
So this challenge was definitely a welcome challenge for me. I never would have made dumplings completely from scratch like this (we all know how easily intimidated I am by scary-looking recipes), so I appreciated the push from Daring Cooks to try this.
Holy cow these are good. I used Jen’s shrimp and pork filling recipe, and pan-fried them so they were potstickers. (For other filling recipes and instructions for boiling or steaming them, visit Jen’s blog.) Okay, so maybe mine weren’t nearly as pretty as hers are, but the way I see it, they’re like sushi – even if they’re falling apart and look terrible, they still taste pretty darn fantastic. They’re so good, and worth the extra work, I already have plans to make them again.
I made a double batch, and froze half. Put them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper (make sure they’re not touching) and freeze them. Then fry them like normal, just a little longer than you would if they were fresh. A word to the wise – make sure the potstickers are completely frozen before transferring them to a ziplock bag – otherwise they’ll stick together and you won’t be able to get some of them unstuck without tearing them, even if you throw the bag against the counter several times. Then you’ll just end up frying them as is, and have big lumps of potstickers instead of pretty little nicely formed ones. Not that I’m speaking from experience, or anything.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 4 c all-purpose flour
- 1 c warm water
- flour for work surface
Filling:
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 3 stalks green onion, minced
- 1/4 c ginger root, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp corn starch
Dipping Sauce:
- 2 parts soy sauce
- 1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
- a few drops of sesame oil
- chili garlic paste (optional)
- minced ginger (optional)
- minced garlic (optional)
- minced green onion (optional)
- sugar (optional)
Cooking Directions
- In a large bowl mix the flour with 1/2 of the water and stir until water is absorbed.
- Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch. If the dough is too hard or dry, feel free to add a little more water.
- Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.
- Take the dough and form a flattened dome.
- Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide.
- Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders.
- On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces.
- Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers).
- With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges.
- Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in this post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.
- Repeat until you have used up the dough and filling.
- Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil.
- Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden.
- Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low.
- Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.
- Mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce, and serve with the warm potstickers.
Bron 06/15/2009 at 12:40am
They look super Allison, they’re quite deliciously addictive I feel, love em!
Bron´s last blog post… My Fairies in their Cupcake Parlour Kitchen
Lisa 06/15/2009 at 02:20am
Not only do your potstickers look crispy and delicious, but they actually look flaky too, which is something that can only be achieved through perfect rolling and dough, and without any fat you still managed it! Beautiful and amazing dumpling/potstickers!
Lisa´s last blog post… How about a Dumpling, Dumplinโ?
LegalAlien 06/15/2009 at 04:00am
What a beautiful color and amazing texture!!
LegalAlien´s last blog post… Daring Cooks Challenge June 2009 – Chinese Dumplings and Potstickers
Audax Artifex 06/15/2009 at 05:32am
What lovely photos you did for this challenge – and the pleating is just fine. Good advice about the dumplings in the bag. Bravo on the effort and the results. Cheers from Audax in Australia
Audax Artifex´s last blog post… Daring Cooks’ #2 Chinese Dumplings
LauraJosie 06/15/2009 at 05:38am
Really lovely pictures. Good comment about making sure the dumplings are completely frozen before throwing them all together – this happened to me the first time I attempted this recipe, except I wasn’t even freezing them!
But great job, overall!
LauraJosie´s last blog post… Daring Cooks June Challenge!
JeanZ 06/15/2009 at 06:03am
Your advice about freezing made me laugh! Love how they turned out and glad that you enjoyed them.
Jen Yu 06/15/2009 at 08:09am
You go girl! Your dumplings look terrific and I’m so jazzed that you liked the recipe. I’ve had similar problems with the freezing of dumplings into one giant monstrosity… Everyone needs some elbow room. heeeeee. Way to rock the challenge ๐
Jen Yu´s last blog post… daring cooks: chive dumplings
margie 06/15/2009 at 08:09am
Your potstickers look golden and delicious! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one intimidated by the homemade wrapper challenge. Thanks for the tips on freezing; I’ve been in the same situation with gnocchi all freezing together into a solid mass.
margie´s last blog post… Chinese Potstickers
Valรฉrie 06/15/2009 at 08:43am
They have such a nice colour and look so deliciously crispy! Way to go!
Valรฉrie´s last blog post… Daring Cooks June Challenge: Chinese Dumplings / Potstickers
Michael Schoonmaker 06/15/2009 at 10:02am
These look wonderful. I’ll have to add them to my “To Cook With Friends” list!
Mary 06/15/2009 at 02:15pm
Your dumplings look delicious. I love the color you were able to achieve. Nicely done!
Mary´s last blog post… Lemony Buttermilk Bliss Bars – On A Blue Plate for Blue Monday
Allison 06/15/2009 at 05:03pm
Bron – Oh yes, they very much are addictive. Now I’m sad there aren’t any left in my freezer (fried up the last of them yesterday!) so I’m going to have to make another batch to get my fix. ๐
Lisa – Thank you! I looked at your blog, and I never would have thought to make dessert dumplings. Those deep-fried caramel apple dumplings of yours look amazing, and I’ve got ideas running through my head for other dessert-type dumplings as well. ๐
LegalAlien – Thanks!
Audax Artifax – Thank you. I’m looking through your post right now, and you’re completely ridiculous, in a very good way. I can’t believe all the dumplings you made! ๐
LauraJosie – Thanks! Yeah, they’re super duper sticky before they’re cooked… I made a couple and let them sit on the baking sheet for a little while, then when I tried to pull them off they completely fell apart! Oops…
JeanZ – Hehe, thanks. ๐
Jen – Thank you so much! It’s such a fantastic recipe – I’m definitely going to make them again. I wasn’t sure how I would like the shrimp/pork filling, but I absolutely loved it… not going to change a thing (aside from rolling them thinner) when I make them again.
margie – Thank you. Yeah, the whole idea of making everything – including the wrappers! – from scratch is a little intimidating when you’ve always used store-bought wrappers. But well worth it… ๐
Valerie – Thanks. ๐
Michael – Definitely. It takes a little while to make them all, but when I had Son rolling out the dough while I filled and folded them, it went a lot quicker. And it’s a lot more fun to do it with someone than by yourself.
Mary – Thank you!
Erushi 06/16/2009 at 02:06am
Your dumplings look wonderfully crisp, plump, and delicious. Lovely job! (Also, I think I’m not-so-secretly coveting your plate. *g*)
Erushi´s last blog post… Daring Cooks: Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers (June 2009)
Singing Horse 06/16/2009 at 09:06am
Beautiful potstickers and photos! Great job!
Singing Horse´s last blog post… Daring Cooks June 2009 Challenge: Chinese Dumplings / Potstickers
Nate 06/16/2009 at 12:35pm
Looks like you fried them on both sides?
Nate´s last blog post… Ahi Limu Poke
Allison 06/17/2009 at 01:55am
Erushi – Thank you! If I remember correctly, we got the plate from Ross, or one of those other stores that sell surplus or slightly damaged products. ๐
Singing Horse – Thank you!
Nate – Yes, just personal preference.
asti 06/17/2009 at 08:30pm
Fantastic!! your dumplings looked so scrumptious and enticing. Well done
asti´s last blog post… Dumpling dinner party – DC June 2009
Best Chinese Recipes 11/19/2009 at 06:33pm
Wow, the cooking method of this dish is great, I’ll try it later and I hope it tastes the way it look. Thanks for sharing!