With Chinese New Year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to rally some helping hands and whip up a batch potsticker dumplings. The combo of a lush, juicy pork filling and crispy golden bottoms is so divine that stopping at one is impossible! The crescent-shaped beauties are also said to bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year because they look like the golden ingots (a form of currency) of ancient China.
And as for the meaning of the spicy dipping sauce? Well, we just like it spicy!
If you’re left with any extra filling, just form into patties and pan fry for a delicious burger.
Pork potsticker dumplings
From The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook
Our recipe makes 32 dumplings
Prep: 30-40 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes.
for the dough
300g plain flour
220mL boiling water
Pinch of salt
for the filling
300g pork shoulder or minced pork
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp corn flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Pinch of white pepper
3 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp rice wine (‘Shaoxing’ rice wine is the best if you can get your hands on it!)
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
200g bok choy, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tsp ginger, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
for the dipping sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp chilli oil
to cook
1 tbsp oil
100ml water
Let’s get started!
1. Using a pair of chopsticks or a fork, mix the flour, salt and boiling water in a large bowl. When the dough has come together into a rough ball shape, remove from bowl and knead for about 10 minutes knead until smooth. Divide the dough into two even pieces then use your thumbs to make a hole in the middle of each piece before stretching them out into bagel shapes with even thickness all around. Cover the ‘bagels’ with cling film and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
2. If using pork loin, ground the meat by cutting into 1cm pieces before chopping into a fine dice – a cleaver or heavy knife will make this step easier. If using mince, simply pop into a large mixing bowl. To the ground pork, add baking soda and corn flour, seasonings, and all of the liquid ingredients. Stir vigorously in one direction until all the liquid is absorbed and the pork begins to bind to itself. Mix in the bok choy, spring onions, ginger and garlic.
3. Lightly flour your work surface. Divide the each piece of rested wrapper dough into 16 even-sized pieces. The easiest way to do this is to cut the ‘bagel’ in half so you end up with two sausages of the same size. Give the sausages a quick roll so they are about even in thickness along their entire length. Line the two long sausages up lengthways and make a cut in the middle to create four mini sausages. Now line the four mini sausages lengthways to form a roughly square shape, before cutting through all four sausages three times to form 16 small pieces of dough. This will ensure that each piece of dough is a similar size, leading to equal-sized dumplings.
4. Lightly toss the dough pieces in plain flour. Place a piece onto the work surface with its cut side down, and flatten with a floured palm. Roll each piece of dough into a thin disc, roughly 8cm in diameter.
5. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling into the centre of each wrapper. Fold over into a half moon shape. Cradle the wrapper in one hand and use the other hand to create pleats along the edge furthest away from you, pinching the two edges together after each pleat as you go, to create a crescent shape. Avoid getting any filling on the edges and be sure to pinch firmly as you pleat to create a good seal. (See the video for a visual guide to potsticker folding.)
6. Cook the dumplings in two batches of 16. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the dumplings flat side down for about 2 minutes until a golden crust forms on the bottom. Add the cold water and immediately cover with a lid (or a heavy plate if your pan doesn’t have a lid). Let the steam cook the dumplings for 8 minutes or until all the water has evaporated, before removing the lid and allowing the dumplings to cook for a further 1 minute until they lift off from the bottom of the pan easily. You might need a spatula to help them along if they are a little sticky, being careful not to break the wrapper. Repeat with the second batch.
7. While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the spicy soy sauce by mixing sesame oil, soy sauce, and chilli oil.
8. Serve the dumplings in a big pile, making sure to show off the golden bottoms. Drizzle the spicy soy sauce on top, or serve on the side for dipping.
Thanks for all your videos and this video motivated me to make dumplings for the first time. Living in hk, not many of my family members know how to make this BC it too convenient for us to get it from shops. I plan to try your other recipes too! Please teach us how to make other dishes that we find in the 茶餐廳 too!
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Awesome!! Trying this recipe tonight. Wish me luck!!! 🙂
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You girls are amazing!! I love your youtube channel and your recipes
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Thanks procrastinatorcook! I just revisited your blog – you had me at ‘meltaway’ oh dang! Hope all is going well with you food adventures 🙂 Ax
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These are lovely!! Tried them tonight and they came out great (except I had the pan on too high & burnt a few near the centre) – thanks so much for this recipe/video guide! ^___^
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Glad you found it useful RM 🙂 We sometimes burn ours a bit too cos it can taste even better!
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Made these last night and they were super yummy. Better than any of the bought ones I have had in the past. Making the wrappers from scratch really was worth it too – they were softer, more pliable and tastier too.
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Fantastic! Thanks for the feedback, it’s great to hear that the recipe worked out well. Yes, it’s a little bit more work with the wrappers but we definitely think it makes for a better dumpling overall 🙂
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Are the big T’s tablespoons and the lowercase ones teaspoons?
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Yep!
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if i use chicken breast or meat, do i have to use the baking soda and corn flour?
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Yep, the same tip applies! Chicken breast in particular can become quite dry so the baking soda + cornflour addition makes a big difference 🙂
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I made these before I went into work today, refrigerated them, and cooked them when I got home. These are absolutely amazing! I’m usually not a fan of chinese foods, but I’ve decided to begin eating more vegetables and generally ‘healthy’ foods. These have made me able to eat some greens without having to choke them down 😛 Thank you so much for sharing this!
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Thanks for getting is touch Danya – it’s fantastic to hear that you had such a positive experience with our recipe! And yes, Chinese food is great for sneaking in veg 🙂 You might also enjoy our wonton soup recipe if you enjoyed the potstickers – they’re even easier *and* healthier. A&Jx
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I’ve had this recipe in my bookmark folder for such a long time. I’m finally so excited to try out the recipe once my exams are over which is in another two days time. I always get sudden cravings for dumplings or potstickers and these look so good! Can’t wait! (-:
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Hi girls, can I use all-purpose flour instead of plain flour in this recipe?
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Sorry for the delay! Yep they’re the same thing 🙂 ‘Plain’ in the UK is ‘All Purpose’ in the US. It’s confusing, we know! Hope you still went ahead with the recipe 🙂
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Can I use all-purpose flour instead of plain flour for the wrapper?
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Hi Sheila, yep, they are the same thing :)Good luck!
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I am a New Yorker who loves to cook, but I’ve never tried to cook Chinese, because it’s too easy to order good Chinese food and have it delivered to your door. Last year I moved to Italy and the Chinese food here is pretty icky, but I miss it so much! These dumplings were my first attempt ever at any Chinese food …. and they were easy and AMAZING!!!!! Yaaay!! Thank you!!
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Hi Alessandra – thanks for your kind comments! So pleased to hear that you’re starting to cook Chinese! We agree that good Chinese takeout is amazing, but it’s definitely satisfying (and easy!) to make your own too 🙂 Getting feedback like yours is why we love doing this! xx
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Hi, I really like your videos, you both are so sweet. I definitely will try the recipe. But I have two question, actually I was looking for 水餃 recipe, the same shape but cooked in water / steam dumpling. So using this same recipe, Can I steam them instead of frying? And can I use 大白菜 (Napa Cabbage) instead of bok choy (cant find this at my local market)?
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Yes you can absolutely steam these or cook them in water! They will still be delish. And Napa cabbage is perfect 🙂
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Thanks so much for your reply. Also I cant find rice wine at my local market here. is it possible to substitute it with apple vinegar ? or should I just eliminate it at all?
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Something like a dry sherry or dry white wine would work well as a substitute! But it is also okay to omit it altogether 🙂
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Hi I tried with chicken meat (even as double batch from yours), I susbtitute rice wine with apple vinegar, after hours of work, I was happy because they were super delicious and my husband went crazy for that dinner :):) One last question, how is the dough should be? I used 600gr flour+440ml water but find the dough was quite wet and sticky so I added about 10gr more flour but still it wasnt completely not sticking on my hand though I’ve been working on it more than 30mnts. Is it normal for the dough to be sticky a bit? or should it be completely not sticking like italian pasta dough?
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Hi there, so happy to find your videos. I need your advice. I am planning to have it for a meeting, can I made it few days in advance and store them in refrigerator or should I cook them trough and reheated on the day? Because I will need to feed around 30 people. Thank you and looking forward your reply.
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Hi there! The best thing to do is to freeze the raw dumplings once they have been formed. Refrigerating is not so good because the moisture will seep through the wrappers over time. To freeze: form the dumplings, pop some clingfilm on a flat baking tray and then freeze the raw dumplings in a single layer before transferring them to a bag or Tupperware for storage. They should keep for about 1.5-2 months. Cook them straight from frozen, just like we do for the fresh ones in the video, but add twice the amount of water and double the cooking time.
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Hi! i made these and result ulalala so good 😀 Thank you for the best tutorial/recipe ❤
PS. Can i use rice flour too? Thanks for advance 😉
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Hi Klaara! We’ve not tried it before, but a rice flour dough would probably be a bit too delicate for these dumplings unfortunately! But do let us know if you give it a go!
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Hi! I made these tonight (big hit~) and I have some prepared meat left over that I’m making the wrappers for tomorrow. My question is, can you freeze these?
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Heya Lisa! Glad to hear they were are big hit. Freezing is great! Just make them up, pop some clingfilm on a baking tray and freeze the raw dumplings in a single layer before transferring them to a bag or Tupperware for storage. They should keep for about 1.5-2 months. Cook them straight from frozen, just like we do for the fresh ones in the video, but add twice the amount of water and double the cooking time. Good luck!
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Hi , I made these at the weekend along with the boozy hoisin chicken and oh my! They were amazing! So scrumptious, I really couldn’t believe they turned out so well. I picked up all the sauces and veg in the chinese supermarket which in Dublin so was much better value than a mainstream supermarket even got a mini rolling pin (€1.50 a total steal) . I didn’t quite get the hang of the dough doughnuts so my pastry was a little think but i’ll know for next time and there will definitely be a next time 🙂 keep those yummy recipes coming 🙂
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Hi there! Thanks for this lovely recipe and awesome video! Sealing the dumplings in a nice folded way seemed to be quite elusive to me until I saw how you guys do it. Yey! 🙂
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Are the t for tablespoons or teaspoons?
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Hiya where we’ve used a lower case ‘t’ we mean teaspoons 🙂
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Hey! This recipe looks so good that I would love to try it, but bok choy is impossible to get around in my country! Do you have any substitute options for it?
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Hello!!
Love your recipes, you make it look so easy that we just have to try it out!! I love chinese cuisine and this blog and your youtube channel have so many yummy recipes!! Just a quick question, what would you say are the most important ingredients that a person need to have at home to always be ready to cook chinese recipes? Thank you very much!!
Looking forward to your next recipe ^^
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Hi. I love, love your videos. You girls are sooooo much fun to watch. Just wondering, did you use like a Chinese flour fir this ? Or would the all purpose flour here in the US would suffice?
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Can I use Cornstarch instead of Corn Flour???
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Absolutely – it’s called cornflour in the UK, cornstarch in the US 🙂 Happy cooking!
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kiwi here, trying to find shao xing rice wine in auckland. any advice?
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Hi there, apologies for the late reply! I don’t know Auckland well, but you will be able to find rice wine in any Asian/Chinese supermarket 🙂
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My wife, son , and I lived in central Taiwan for one year and we often would have as a condiment available on the table a what I would call a mellow thick soy sauce. Not at all salty like light soy sauce. Delicious! I see in the recipe above (which look like out favorite dumpling shop’s version from TW) calls for thick soy sauce. What is the name of this in Chinese so I can find in local Asian market. In Taiwan they called it jiangyou gou. Thank you for any help you can give. I LOVE your videos BTW.
Dave Lawrence
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Hi David,
In the recipe we use ‘dark soy sauce’. Like you said it’s mellower in taste and less in-your-face salty, because it’s been fermented for longer. If you ask for dark soy you should be able to get your hands on a bottle 🙂
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Hello! The video was so lovely and I can’t wait to try it out. However, I do have a question in relation to quantity… if I were making it for a larger family and wanted to make ~100 dumplings, do I triple everything in the recipe (ignoring the sauce and cooking part) ?? Just not too sure on the effect having 9 Tablespoons of water and 6 Tablespoons of sesame oil in the filling!
Thank you
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Hi Mindy,
Yes you could simply triple everything – although we find that the recipe can actually make anything between 30-40 dumplings because everyone makes them slightly differently 🙂 I would suggest adding the liquid ingredients in stages (e.g. 3-5 stages), letting the pork absorb each portion after stirring before adding the next. Meat is surprisingly absorbent! Good luck with the recipe!
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Hi Dumpling Sisters! Love this recipe – I’ve been using it for a year now and they’re the best. Just wondering whether I should use this wrapper recipe for other types of dumplings (i.e. just steamed) or whether I should use a different type? And if so, what type? Thanks!
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after the two equal size sausages from each dough ball is floured is cut into 16 equal pieces.
can the rest of the dough pieces stay out on the counter, until I’m done rolling out all of them, can I put each rolled out piece between wax paper & stack them or will they melt together?or should I work on one wrapper at time & refrigerate the rest of the dough? as I’ve tried the 1st method I mentioned with someone else’s wrapper recipe and after i had rolled out all of wrappers placing each between wax paper by the time i was done they had all melted together wax paper & all forty of them!!! it was a heart breaking disaster! should the dough pieces be covered with a damp towel while i roll out each one or is this not necessary.?
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Hey so with the filling…i am not steaming it first the meat that is?or does it cook when its frying…
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Hi there Sasha! The filling will cook whilst it is frying, and specifically when you add the water 🙂 The steam created is really powerful and it cooks the filling right through xx
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Hi there! I can’t find Napa cabbage or bak Choi where I live so would Savoy cabbage be the next best option? Thank you!
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Yes it will do the trick! But I’d chop it up smaller, as it is not quite as tender as the other vegetables ^_^
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If I use chicken breasts do how have to change any of the recipe quantities??
Thanks
Looks really tasty
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Hi there Aysha! You can just substitute chicken mince exactly and keep the other ingredients at the same quantities too 🙂
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Made this for the first time… it was easy and yummy! Husband loved it! 8/10🌟🌟 Have to work on rolling out round dumpling skins and folding the dumplings . Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe.
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Fantastic!! Very happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe ^_^
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Hi,
I have just returned home from three weeks in China where I feel in love with the food. So far it seems that your recipe is the closet to the dumplings we at while there. So I am going to try the recipe and see how i go. But I just have one question. What is the difference between dark and light soy and can you recommend any brands?
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Hi there, great question! We’ve actually written an article explaining exactly what you’ve asked! It’s called: Know Your Soy Sauce
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