Pan-fried pork potstickers

Make these delicious dumplings with fresh pork mince at home – it’s fun and much easier than you think!

Cut:
Pan-fried pork potstickers

Ingredients

  • 18 round wonton wrappers (10cm D) 
  • a small bowl of water (this is the ‘glue’ that seals the dumplings) 
  • sunflower oil 
  • your favourite dipping sauce 

 

Filling 

  • about 250g of fresh pork mince 
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped 
  • 5ml chopped ginger
  • 5ml chopped garlic
  • 5ml chopped mild green chilli (or to taste) 
  • 15ml low-sodium soy sauce 
  • a generous pinch of salt and white pepper 
  • 15ml toasted sesame oil 

Method

1 Make the filling Using a fork, mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl until well combined and then set aside, ready to use.
Tip When ordering the fresh pork mince from your butcher, ask them to make sure that the fat ratio is higher than normal (about 25% at least) to ensure juicy dumplings.   

2 Fill and fold Spoon a heaped teaspoon of filling onto each wonton wrapper, working with one or two at a time.
Tip Keep the extra wrappers covered with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out while you work. 

3 Dip your finger into the water and wet the edge of the wrapper around the filling. 

4 Now fold the round wrapper into a half moon around the filling and pinch in the middle. To create the pleats, work on one side at a time and pleat just the side facing you. Make two pleats per side, pinching the pleats into the back of the wrapper to secure them in place. Repeat with all the dumplings.
Tip Make sure there are no air pockets around the filling; the dough must be snug against the filling to prevent the wontons from bursting during cooking.

5 Steam Heat a generous splash of sunflower oil in a large flat-bottomed pan or pot with a lid. Fry your wontons in a single layer until golden-brown on the bottom (about 1 minute). 

6 Add 80ml water to the pan and immediately put the lid on. Let the wontons steam for about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and let the excess moisture evaporate. 

7 Serve with your favourite dipping sauce – store-bought chilli sauce or hoisin sauce; alternatively, a combination of soy sauce and sesame oil flavoured with chopped chilli, ginger and fresh coriander is delicious!

Note Wonton wrappers are usually sold at Chinese supermarkets. You should also be able to find them at your local deli or check in the freezer at smaller speciality stores. If possible, choose the wrappers labelled “gyoza” for these potstickers. If you can only find square wrappers, cut them into circles using a round 10cm cookie cutter.