I love potstickers – they are one of my favorite Chinese appetizers. When I came across this recipe for Fast Pot-Stickers on the New York Times Cooking website, I decided to give it a try. I’m not sure if “Fast” is the correct title for this recipe – it does take some time to seal and pleat each individual dumpling. But that’s easy enough to do and well worth the effort. I made a few minor changes to the recipe and created my own dipping sauce,which, by the way, is quite addictive!

Many Chinese families make pot stickers to celebrate their New Year and feel that these little morsels bring fortune and good luck, due to their resemblance to shoe-shaped gold or silver ingots. Just another reason to enjoy!

Ingredients for Pot Stickers

• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 cups Napa cabbage, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
• 6 garlic cloves, pressed
• 3 scallions, chopped small (both green and white parts)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Sea salt, to taste
• 50 dumpling wrappers
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 (or more) tablespoons of peanut oil
• 1 to 2 cups chicken stock
• Dipping Sauce (see ingredients and preparation below)

Preparation

Place ground pork, cabbage, ginger, garlic, scallions and soy sauce in a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Take a dumpling wrapper and brush the edges of it with the egg (I do several at a time.) Place approximately one teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of each dumpling.

Fold over the dumpling to create a moon shape and seal it by pinching the edges together. Make sure the dumpling is completely sealed.

Pleat the edges of the dumpling by taking a small portion of the dough and making a little fold, tucking a small part behind another portion of dough. Then press the fold down to create the pleats, about 7 or 8 of them per potsticker.

If you don’t want to use all 50 of the potstickers, they can be easily frozen by placing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and putting them in the freezer. Once frozen, place in a plastic bag, date and store up to 2 weeks.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil to medium high in a large skillet. Add the potstickers in a single layer and cook both sides until lightly browned.

Add ¾ cup of chicken stock, cover the skillet, reduce heat and let simmer about 3 to 5 minutes.

Uncover skillet, increase heat to medium high, and brown for another couple of minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat until all of the pot stickers are cooked. Serve with a dipping sauce (see below.)

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup scallions, cut small
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sambal (or to taste)
• Pinch of sugar

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Easy enough!

Serve as a main course with steamed rice and hot and sour soup or as a yummy appetizer on its own.

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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