One of my favorite things to eat at a Chinese restaurant are potstickers. I have loved pot-stickers since I was in nursing school in the early 1980's. Three friends and I would go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch, where I was first introduced to pot-stickers. They sold them by the dozen on huge, round, wooden lazy Susan's with little glass bowls of the most delicious sauce. I cannot tell you how many pot-stickers I ate before becoming a registered nurse. We never told anyone else where we disappeared to at lunch time. If the secret got out, the place would be mobbed, and we couldn't get our order in time to eat and get back to campus. I know, selfish.
I made potstickers from scratch today for the first time. The result was simply delicious restaurant style potstickers! Just like the ones we ate on our nursing school lunch breaks!
Michael ate a big plateful with a side of potsticker sauce and Chinese hot mustard. I ate mine with potsticker sauce swimming in hot pepper oil. There isn't enough antacid in the world to fix that! But, it was oh-so-worth-it.
Restaurant Style Potstickers
Equipment
- Large skillet with lid
Ingredients
For the filling:
- ¾ lb country pork sausage not Italian sausage
- ¼ cup sliced scallions
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili paste
- 1 TBS brown sugar
- 2 TBS soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Chinese hot mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the potstickers:
- 1 slightly beaten egg with 1 TBS water added
- 24 Round wonton wrappers
- 3 tbs Vegetable oil for frying
- 2 cups chicken stock for steaming
For the dipping sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
Garnishes:
- Sliced scallions
- Hot pepper oil
- Chinese hot mustard
Instructions
For the dipping sauce:
- Combine all three ingredients for the sauce and set aside in a small bowl. You can get creative with the sauce if you like by adding ginger, fish sauce, etc.
For the filling:
- Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl. Set aside. Open the package of wonton wrappers and remove four or five. Place the others back in the bag to prevent them drying out. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg/water mixture to the outer edge of the wonton wrapper.
- Place a tablespoon of filling onto the center of the wonton wrapper, Fold the wonton wrapper over the filling and securely crimp the edges. (See video)
- Keep the wontons covered in plastic wrap until all are filled and crimped.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potstickers to the pan, one at a time, with one side down. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do two batches if needed. They need their space to cook the filling properly. Cook until the wrapper is nicely seared then flip them over and cook the opposite side.
- When both sides are seared, grab a lid for the skillet. With the heat still on medium, pour 1 cup of chicken stock in to the pan and quickly place the lid on top. Steam the potstickers until the filling is cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees. You will be able to fell that the filling has firmed up. Remove the potstickers from the pan and keep warm in a low oven if you have to cook in batches. If the chicken broth evaporates, add more. Do not let the potstickers burn!
- Serve on a platter garnished with scallions with side dishes of dipping sauce, hot chili oil, and Chinese mustard.
Nutrition
Approximate nutrition information is provided as a convenience and courtesy only. You are encouraged to do your own calculations if precise data is required.
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