Potsticker Skillet with Store-Bought Wrappers
Make beginner potstickers in a skillet with dumpling wrappers, pork cabbage filling, soy sauce, ginger, green onion, pan browning, and steaming.
Put the chopped cabbage in a bowl with the salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze it firmly over the sink or through a clean towel to remove extra water. This prevents the filling from becoming loose and leaking inside the wrappers.
Combine pork, squeezed cabbage, green onion, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil if using, and cornstarch if using. Stir in one direction until the mixture looks sticky. Sticky filling is easier to wrap and stays juicy after cooking.
Place one wrapper on a board and add about 1 teaspoon filling to the center. Wet the edge with water, fold it in half, and press firmly to seal. Pleats are optional; a tight half-moon seal is enough for a beginner.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Arrange potstickers flat-side down with a little space between them. Cook 2 to 3 minutes without moving them, until the bottoms look golden brown.
Carefully pour about 1/3 cup water into the skillet and immediately cover with a lid. The pan will hiss, so keep your face back. Steam for 5 to 7 minutes, until the wrappers look slightly translucent and the pork is cooked through.
Remove the lid and let the remaining water evaporate. Keep cooking until the bottoms crisp again and release from the pan. Move the potstickers with a spatula and serve hot with dumpling dipping sauce.
Round dumpling or gyoza wrappers are easiest for potstickers, but square wonton wrappers can be folded into simple triangles.
Ground pork with a little fat stays juicier than very lean pork.
Use ground chicken, turkey, shrimp, or finely chopped mushrooms instead of pork.
Use napa cabbage, green cabbage, or finely chopped bok choy stems in the filling.
Dumpling wrappers: Round dumpling wrappers, Gyoza wrappers, Square wonton wrappers. Round wrappers are easiest for half-moons, while square wrappers can be folded into triangles.
Ground pork: Ground chicken, Ground turkey, Chopped mushrooms. If using very lean meat, do not overcook after steaming or the filling can become dry.
Cabbage: Napa cabbage, Green cabbage, Bok choy stems. Salt and squeeze cabbage so the filling is juicy but not watery.
No. Pleats look nice, but a firmly sealed half-moon is enough for a beginner skillet version.
The wrappers should look tender and slightly translucent, and pork filling should be fully cooked with no pink center.
Can potstickers be frozen before cooking?
Yes. Freeze uncooked potstickers in one layer, then cook from frozen with a little more steaming time.