pot sticker dumplings

Pot Sticker Dumplings

Thin wrappers are filled with a savory mixture of ground meat, vegetables, and seasonings, then folded and sealed to create pot stickers. They are first seared in a hot pan to form a golden, crisp bottom, then steamed briefly with water to cook the filling and tenderize the wrapper.

During cooking, the combination of frying and steaming creates a contrast of textures—crispy on the bottom and tender, slightly chewy on top—while the filling absorbs aromatics and seasonings. The preparation emphasizes careful folding, precise cooking, and layering of textures to produce flavorful, well-balanced pot sticker dumplings.

Print Recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes
Small Plates
Asian
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • small skillet
  • covered frying pan or skillet

Ingredients

Filling

  • 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
  • 1 ½ cups cabbage, finely sliced
  • 2 Tbsp. ginger, grated or minced
  • 2 tsp. garlic, grated, pressed, or minced
  • ¼ cup scallions, chopped
  • 1 lb. 80/20 ground pork
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. corn starch
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 pkg. dumpling (gyoza) wrappers, 32 count

Sauce

  • ½ tsp. ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp. garlic, grated
  • 1 scallion, sliced
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 1 drizzle sesame oil

Instructions 

Filling

  • In a small skillet, heat 1 to 2 Tbsp. of oil.
  • Sauté the cabbage with scallions, ginger, and garlic for 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Once the cabbage is done, spread the vegetables on a plate to cool.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the pork, baking soda, corn starch and water until it becomes a paste.
  • Blend soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar to the pork mix.
  • Add the cooled vegetables and combine well.

Sauce

  • Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and scallions in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
  • Top the sauce with a drizzle of sesame oil.
  • Let the sauce sit and develop its flavor while preparing the dumplings.

Dumplings

  • For each dumpling, take a wrapper and moisten the edge with a water.
  • Place a ball of filling (about 1 to 1 ½ Tbsp.) in the center of the dumpling wrapper.
  • Fold the dumpling wrapper in half over the filling and pinch the dumpling closed. These can be just folded and pressed together, but are traditionally crimped with seven folds across the top layer. This can be done from one end or starting at the center and working out toward each end. Working from the center is slightly easier than working from one end.
  • Once all the dumplings are filled, heat 1 to 2 Tbsp. of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the dumplings to the skillet, flat side down, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes until they bottom is browned.
  • Reduce the heat to medium, add ¼ cup of water to the skillet, and cover with a lid. Let the dumplings steam for 6 minutes.