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Potstickers




Bowl of potstickers with stir fried vegetables and chopsticks
I taught myself to make potstickers after we moved to Davis because there weren't any here as good as we could get in San Francisco.These are a great Lockdown cooking project, particularly if you have kids you can recruit to do the stuffing and folding.


Potstickers from Scratch
Makes 24
1 cup all purpose flour plus more for rolling
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. boiling water
1 1/2 cups filling*
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup broth or water
Soy sauce for serving

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in water. It will look awful. Let it cool for a minute or two (because boiling!) then knead together until it looks less awful, about 3 minutes. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes while you make your filling.

balls of dough divided with bench scraper and rolling pin on silicon mat Divide dough into 24 pieces. Look small, don’t they? Roll each piece into a ball and flatten with the heel of your hand. Roll out on a floured work surface until they’re fairly round and about the size of a wide-mouthed mason jar ring.

rounds of dough with filling in the middle. One round is sealed with pleated edges uprightDivide filling between rounds. Working one at a time, moisten the top half of the circle with a little dab of water. Fold over to cover filling and press edges together to seal. Flip potsticker up so the seal is pointing straight up and press down gently to make a flat bottom. Pleat edges to look pretty and help seal to hold. Place finished potsticker on a non-stick surface – a silicon baking mat or waxed paper work well. Repeat with remaining potstickers.

Potstickers being checked with digital thermometer inserted in center
Heat oil in a large skillet with a lid. Put potstickers in flat side down and not touching. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in broth and cover immediately. Cook 3 minutes without disturbing. Remove lid (use instant read thermometer to ensure internal temp reaches 165F if using raw meat) and continue to cook until liquid is evaporated, usually 3-4 minutes.

Serve with soy sauce, which you can fancy up to your heart’s content with ginger, green onions, chili oil and/or vinegar.

* Your filling can be anything that’s nicely seasoned and holds together in a clump. I used uncooked ground pork seasoned with salt, chopped green onions and pressed fresh garlic; tofu or veggie sausage would work nicely too.



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