Chicken Potstickers / Chinese Dumplings

I have always been intimidated by the thought of making dumplings as even though they do look ridiculously tasty, they just seemed tedious and difficult to grasp. Well, how wrong was I. After a few days of recipe researching, dumpling folding studying and mixture tasting, I managed to nail a great recipe for these easy chicken potstickers. They’re crisp on the bottom and incredibly juicy on the inside but mind you, the folding part is still pending.

The best thing about this dumpling recipe, aside from tasting good, is that you can mix up the filling to your liking. Don’t like mushrooms? Get rid of ‘em. Want to add shredded carrots? Go for it. These are also great for making in batch and freezing so that you can whip up a quick dinner at a later date! 

CHICKEN POTSTICKERS (CHINESE DUMPLINGS) RECIPE

This recipe has been adapted from RecipeTinEats, Damn Delicious and Chef John on AllRecipes 

INGREDIENTS

500g chicken thigh mince *
3 spring onions, chopped finely
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms**, chopped finely 
1/2 napa cabbage***, chopped finely
1 tsp white pepper (or black) ****
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce 
1 heaped tsp garlic 
½ tsp ginger 
30-35 round dumpling wrappers 
2 tbsp water 
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the dipping sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 heaped tsp chilli oil 
1 spring onion, chopped finely
½ tsp sesame seeds
½ tsp Chinese rice vinegar 
½ tsp sugar, optional

METHOD

1. In a bowl, add the napa cabbage and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of salt over it. Mix with your hands and leave to the side for 10 minutes. This will take the water out of the cabbage so you don’t get a soggy dumpling.
2. In a new bowl, mix together the chicken mince, spring onions, shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger paste, garlic paste and white pepper. 
3. Squeeze the chopped napa cabbage really tight to drain it from water and add it to the bowl with the meat mixture. Mix it up and leave aside. 
4. Get your dumpling wrapper and add a small teaspoon of the mixture in the middle. Wet your finger and rub it alongside the edge of the dumpling wrapper and then pinch the dumpling shut by the middle. Proceed to make pleats going towards the centre on both sides and place the dumpling standing up on a floured tray. Make sure there are no gaps as you don’t want air bubbles to form in the dumpling.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and once shimmering, add in a few dumplings at a time. Let the bottom cook until they are golden and crisp and then pour in a little bit of water and close the pan immediately. Let the dumplings steam for up to 5 minutes (depending on the size) and then uncover the pan. Leave this to cook, letting all of the water evaporate, until the bottoms are crisp again. Be sure the filling is cooked through. 
6. Serve with chilli oil, soy sauce or a combination of soy sauce, chilli oil, Chinese rice vinegar, spring onions and sesame seeds. 

NOTES

* We’ve used chicken thigh mince instead of regular chicken mince as it has more fat leading to a juicier dumpling. Feel free to use chicken breast mince if you like. 

** If you can’t get a hold of fresh shiitake mushrooms, you can use the dried version but make sure to soak it before using. Otherwise regular mushrooms are good. 

*** Also known as Chinese cabbage in the supermarket. 

 ****You may notice we haven’t used salt in the recipe but we find that the soy sauce does a good job at replacing the salt plus the dipping sauce adds a salty kick too!