Chinese Dumplings Recipe
Chinese Dumplings Recipe (Potstickers) – Steaming hot potstickers are soft yet crispy, and perfectly irresistible. You’ll love this easy Chinese dumplings recipe with homemade dipping sauce!
Why We Love This Easy Potstickers Recipe
Believe it or not, I learned to make Chinese dumplings on a coffee table in China over 25 years ago. When I was 17 years old, and fresh out of high school, I had the opportunity to go overseas on a mission/study trip to the north western province of Xinjiang, China. We spent our days studying Chinese history and language, exploring markets and monuments, and making friends.
Our Chinese friends taught us how to make an authentic Chinese potstickers recipe, a dish they told us they always made at family gatherings. We sat on the floor around a coffee table in a small apartment rolling out circles of dough and learning to properly crimp the Chinese dumplings… Laughing through our language barrier, smiling, and making memories that will last a lifetime.
Today’s potstickers are the Chinese dumplings I was taught to make so many years ago, with soft pork and vegetable filling and a homemade 2-ingredient dough that blows wonton wrappers out of the water. And let’s not forget the spicy soy dipping sauce. This authentic potsticker recipe is just as good, if not better, than any you’d pick up at a Chinese restaurant!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the dough required in our Chinese dumplings recipe, you only need 2 ingredients: all-purpose flour and VERY hot water. Seriously, that’s it!
Of course, you could substitute the dough for store-bought wonton wrappers as so many do, but you really do lose something in taste and texture. Real Chinese potstickers are made with doughy dumpling wrappers, not the thin wonton sheets.
Pork Filling:
- Ground pork – or ground turkey
- Eggs – adds moisture and works as a binding agent
- Sugar – helps balance the savory flavors
- Fresh ginger – grated
- Garlic – minced
- Bok choy – finely chopped (or napa cabbage)
- Water chestnuts – finely chopped
- Scallions – finely chopped
- Soy sauce – use low sodium
- Sesame oil – only a little, so it doesn’t overpower
- Dijon mustard – adds tanginess
- Salt and pepper – enhances the flavor
Dipping Sauce:
- Soy sauce – use low sodium
- Rice vinegar – staple in Chinese cooking
- Sesame oil – adds depth and richness
- Sugar – adds a hint of sweetness
- Garlic – minced
- Chile garlic sauce – adds spice
- Scallions – chopped
- Oil and water – for cooking
This sauce has precisely the right balance of salty, sweet, and spicy, and pairs perfectly with the fresh and savory flavors of the dumplings. I swear you’ll want to make this delicious potstickers recipe just as an excuse to have the dipping sauce.
How to Make Chinese Dumplings
While making a batch of potstickers can be a time-intensive task, the actual process is surprisingly easy.
In fact, if you make rolling and stuffing your dumplings a two-person job (or fun family affair as the Chinese do) it’s a pretty quick process.
First, here’s how you make the dough:
- Place the flour in the food processor with scalding hot water. (Water can be from the tap if your water runs really hot.) Turn on the food processor and “knead” until the dumpling dough comes together and pulls away from the sides.
- Then “knead” in the food processor for another 1-2 more minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and allow the dough to rest while you prepare the other components.
Next, make the filling and dipping sauce:
- Place all the pork filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix by hand until smooth, adding 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper towards the end.
- Mix the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Warm the dipping sauce (in the microwave) to dissolve the sugar, whisking in between short bursts of heat. Then allow it to cool completely, and set aside until ready to serve.
- After making the dough and filling, cut the dough into 50-60 equal little pieces. One by one, use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a ball and then roll out flat on a well-floured surface.
- Then, place a teaspoon of pork and veggie filling in the center of the wrapper and fold up like a taco. Pleat and crimp the edges together to seal.
Get the Complete Printable Chinese Dumplings Recipe (Potstickers) + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
To cook the dumplings:
- Heat a large skillet with oil and pan fry the dumplings to create a crispy crust, and then steam them with a bit of water in the same skillet. Be prepared, the aroma that will waft out of the pan is utterly intoxicating. *Detailed cooking instructions in the recipe card below!
- Dip the warm potstickers in the homemade spicy soy sauce and swoon over your made-from-scratch Chinese dumpling masterpieces.
Tips & Tricks
- They don’t have to look perfect! These take a lot of practice to make look good. They definitely don’t have to look perfect, just seal them enough so that the mixture stays in the middle!
- Don’t cook them in too much oil, since you are adding water at the end to steam them. You want just enough oil to coat the pan. Then when you add the water, there will be a lot of sizzling. Just add the water and then immediately top with the lid so that the steam stays inside to further cook these pan-fried dumplings!
- Serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauces!
Serving Suggestions
Serve these savory potstickers as a delicious appetizer with a little bit of soy sauce! Or turn them into a comforting wonton soup. If you want to make a Chinese-inspired feast, serve them with some of my favorites:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, use your favorite gluten free baking mix in place of the wheat flour for the dough. Then be sure to use gluten free soy sauce as well.
Potstickers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
It’s easiest in a food processor. However, you can make the dough with a good electric mixer as well. Hope this helps!
Try adding just a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is pliable, but still firm.
I would not recommend boiling them. However, you can steam them in a traditional bamboo steamer basket, or in a skillet with a shallow bit of water and a tight lid. Either way, cook for 5-6 minutes. There’s no need to cook the filling ahead of time.
We have frozen them a few times, uncooked, then sauteed a little longer than listed. The key is to freeze them flat on a wax paper-lined baking sheet so they don’t stick together. Happy Cooking!
Looking for more Asian-inspired recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Korean Bibimbap Recipe
- Pork Sukiyaki Recipe
- Easy Chicken Pad Thai Recipe
- Chinese Hot Pot Recipe
- Crunchy Asian Slaw Recipe with Peanut Dressing
- Skinny Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken Recipe
- Chinese Five Spice Shrimp with Coconut Rice Recipe
- Zesty Wor Wonton Soup Recipe
- Easy Low Carb Szechuan Beef Recipe
- Okonomiyaki Recipe (Japanese Pancakes)
Chinese Dumplings Recipe + VIDEO
Ingredients
For the Potsticker Dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
- 1 1/4 cups HOT water
For the Pork Filling:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup bok choy, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
For the Potsticker Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chile garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons scallions, chopped
- oil and water, for cooking
Instructions
For the Dough:
- Place the flour in the food processor with scalding hot water. (Water can be from the tap if your water runs really hot.) Turn on the food processor and "knead" until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides. Then "knead" in the food processor another 1-2 more minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and allow the dough to rest while you prepare the other components.
For the Filling and Dipping Sauce:
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix by hand until smooth, adding 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Then mix the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Warm the dipping sauce (in the microwave) to dissolve the sugar, then allow it to cool completely.
- Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface. Press out into an even rectangle and cut the dough into 50-60 segments.
- One at a time, roll the segments into a ball. Place each ball on a flour surface and roll into a flat thin circle 3 to 4 inches across. Don't worry about it being perfectly round, focus on thin! Then place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons pork filling in the center of the circle and bring the sides up to pinch at the top, forming a taco shape. Gently fold the sides toward the middle forming pleats against the back side of the dough. Pinch each pleat down to seal. Place the finished dumpling on a floured baking sheet, and repeat, repeat, repeat. (At this point you could flash freeze some of the dumplings to save for later.)
- Now place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Once it's hot, quickly place the potstickers down into the skillet to sear. Brown the bottoms for approximately 2 minutes, then quickly flip the potstickers and add about 1/2 cup warm water to the skillet–enough water to come a third of the way up the side of the potstickers. Cover and let the dumplings steam for 2-3 minutes, until the water has evaporated. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
- Serve warm with soy dipping sauce.
I love dumplings.
My dumpling-making technique needs some work, but this recipe is definitely a keeper just as is; no need to make any adjustments for us! Our attempt made 50 dumplings with a perfect ratio of dough to filling.
These were amazing. I did the wrappers by hand as described, and once I got the fold technique down it was easy and pretty fun! I was leery of the searing/steaming stage, but it was super straightforward and worked like a charm. Excellent recipe. I will make this again, after I go thru the three dozen that made it to the freezer!
Can you make the dough without a food processor?
Hi Nancy,
It’s easiest in a food processor. However, you can make the dough with a good electric mixer as well. Hope this helps!
My mom and I are having trouble getting the dough to work right. It’s either too stiff or crumbling. Any tips?
Hi Jennifer!
Try adding just a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is pliable, but still firm.
Can you boil these and if so would you cook the meat first?
Hi Jennifer,
I would not recommend boiling them. However, you can steam them in a traditional bamboo steam basket, or in a skillet with a shallow bit of water and a tight lid. Either way, cook for 5-6 minutes. There’s no need to cook the filling ahead of time. :)
SO good! Wow! Literally just did what you said and they are fantastic. Mine aren’t perfectly pretty but they aren’t going to stay that way long😜