Potstickers are one of my favorite kitchen projects because the process is almost as enjoyable as eating them. I love sitting down with a stack of wrappers and a bowl of filling, folding dumplings while I chat with family or listen to a podcast. These pan fried dumplings have a savory pork and cabbage filling, crisp bottoms, and chewy wrappers that are made for dipping in soy sauce.
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One batch makes 30 to 40 dumplings, plenty for dinner with leftovers to freeze. The pork-and-cabbage filling is seasoned with garlic, ginger, and sesame oil, then wrapped in the thin dough rounds, and pan-fried until the bottoms turn deep golden brown. A splash of water steams them until the filling is fully cooked and the wrappers’ tops are perfectly tender.
The textural contrast is what keeps me coming back to this recipe. The bottoms crisp up in the skillet while the tops stay tender from the steam, so every bite has a little crunch against a little softness. Dunk one in the tangy soy dipping sauce and you get that crunch, the tender wrapper, and the savory pork filling all at once.
Potstickers also work hard for the amount of effort they take. Serve a few as a starter, build a whole meal around a platter of them, or fold a double batch and freeze half for a night when you don’t want to cook from scratch. Once you’ve made them a couple of times, the folding goes fast.
Ingredient Notes
You only need a handful of ingredients for these, but a few are worth a closer look.
For the ground pork, choose one with a bit of fat. Lean pork dries out in the filling and won’t hold together as well once it’s cooked.
Fresh ginger and garlic give the filling its backbone. Napa cabbage adds moisture and a little crunch, so chop it finely enough that it disappears into the pork rather than clumping on its own.
Sesame oil is strong, so a tablespoon is enough to perfume the whole batch without taking over. Rice vinegar shows up twice, once in the filling for brightness and again in the dipping sauce, where it’s doing the real work. The sauce is just soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, but the vinegar is what cuts through the richness of the pork fat. Without it, the sauce tastes flat.
Look for round dumpling wrappers near the produce section at most grocery stores, or in the refrigerated case at any Asian market. Square wonton wrappers will work in a pinch, but they leave little corners poking out instead of folding cleanly into a half-moon. Keep whichever wrapper you use covered with a damp towel while you work. They dry out and crack fast.
How To Make Homemade Potstickers
Mix the pork with the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, and seasonings, then chill the filling for about 30 minutes. The short rest firms up the mixture so it holds its shape instead of squishing out the sides when you seal each wrapper.
To fill, moisten the edge of a wrapper with a little water, add about a teaspoon of filling to the center, then fold it over into a half-moon and press out the air as you seal it. A plain seal is fine if it’s your first time folding dumplings. Pleating the edge looks more polished and helps the dumpling stand upright in the pan, but it’s a skill that comes with repetition, not a requirement for a good potsticker.
Cook them in batches. Brown the bottoms in hot oil first, then add a splash of water and cover immediately. The hot oil sets the bottom crisp before the steam ever touches it, which is why the order matters. Skip straight to steaming and you lose the crust; skip the steam and the filling won’t cook through. A few minutes covered finishes the filling and softens the wrapper on top.
If you want to get ahead, fold the dumplings and freeze them raw on a tray before cooking any of them. Once they’re solid, they go into a freezer bag and cook straight from frozen, no thawing required, just a few extra minutes in the pan. (Full freezing instructions are in the recipe notes below.)
What to Serve With Your Homemade Potstickers
These savory pork potstickers work as a starter for a bigger meal, or as the centerpiece of a casual lunch or dinner. A simple Cucumber Salad adds something cool and crisp next to all that richness, and Hot and Sour Soup is a natural follow-up. For a heartier spread, pair them with a sizzling platter of Crispy Beef or Szechuan Shrimp and steamed rice or Fried Rice.
Potstickers
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
For the potstickers
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup finely chopped napa cabbage
- 3 finely chopped green onions
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 30 to 40 round dumpling wrappers
For cooking
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil divided
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water per batch
For the dipping sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, and black pepper. Mix until everything is evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place a dumpling wrapper on a clean work surface. Lightly moisten the edges with water using your fingertip. Place about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center.
- Fold the wrapper over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly to seal, removing any trapped air. Pleat the edges if desired. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Arrange the dumplings in a single layer, leaving a little space between them. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Carefully add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to the skillet and immediately cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the filling is cooked through and the wrappers are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked dumplings to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining dumplings and oil until all of the dumplings are cooked.
- In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and sliced green onion.
- Serve the dumplings hot with the dipping sauce alongside.
