Darryn’s Dim Sum Pot Stickers

As you know there is always a story behind the food we like to eat and cook. Darryn’s Dim Sum Pot Stickers are no different. Sarah works around the corner from an asian supermarket and decided to buy dumpling skins a few years ago before returning home for the December holidays. When home, her and Darryn had committed to making dim sum pot stickers for us. We had no idea how to do it, so google came in handy. Darryn was tasked with finding a quick recipe. We had so much fun that night and of course lost the link to the recipe. So I can’t provide that specific recipe. Here is the one we cobbled together from memory and by this time I wrote it down to make sure we could always reference it in the future.

It’s a labour of Love and It takes time, but I promise you it’s worth it”

Dim Sum is a wide range of Chinese dishes served on small plates or bamboo baskets traditionally for lunch and with tea. I likened it to pintxos served in Spain. It’s a way of eating. You can get take aways, but I haven’t found a place here at home that makes them as good as I like them. This means we have to make them. It’s a labour of love and it takes time. It is best done with many hands in the kitchen and talking and sharing your day. For this batch I was on my own. Brian did come in and offer to help, but after seeing his attempt at folding a pleat in the pot stickers, I told him I’d manage. To be fair, I am by no means an expert, but I wanted to show the process here in this post and I needed my mind to be clear and not in teaching mode with Brian. Usually we do it together and I am not too particular about how he pleats and folds them.

If you choose to only use half of the mixture for the pot stickers and the other half for mini meatballs then try the Thai broth

Darryn’s Dim Sum Pot Stickers

Servings 80 pot stickers

Ingredients

• 500 g pork mince or mince of choice Beef and pork work well together
• 65 g celery finely chopped
• 50 g spring onion finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves minced
• 10 g flat leaf parsley or coriander finely chopped
• 4 cm ginger grated or 2 tsps
• 1 birds eye chilli finely chopped
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 10 ml sesame oil
• 80 dumpling skins 2 packs frozen from China Town Supermarket
• 8 tbls sesame oil for frying

Dipping Sauce

• per serving per person this will be enough dipping sauce for 8-10 pot stickers per person
• 1 tsp fermented soy beans
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 3 tsp hengshun vinegar
• sprinkle with chopped chives or spring onions

Instructions

• Add the mince to a bowl
  500 g pork mince or mince of choice
• Prepared all the ingredients
  65 g celery finely chopped, 50 g spring onion finely chopped, 3 large garlic cloves minced, 10 g flat leaf parsley or coriander finely chopped, 4 cm ginger grated or 2 tsps, 1 birds eye chilli finely chopped
• Once they are chopped, minced or grated as per instructions, add to them to mince along with the soy and sesame oil and mix well together
  30 ml soy sauce, 10 ml sesame oil
• Lay the dumpling skins on a clean work surface.
  80 dumpling skins
• Fill each skin with a little more than a teaspoon of filling and dab water around the edges of the skins
• fold in half to create a half-moon crescent pinching the edges as you go to ensure the filling stays neatly tucked inside the pocket.
• crimp or fold or pleat the edges -see photos. There are so many ways to fold dim sum, find what works best for you and go with it.
• Freeze until needed or proceed to fry and steam.

Fry and Steam

• Place a large pan on high heat. Drizzle 2 Tbs of sesame oil over base. Once heated add 16 – 20 pot stickers to the pan. Leave enough space around them. Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden on the base. turn on their sides and repeat the process. Now add about 80ml water to the pan, immediately cover with a lid and cook until all the water has steamed the pot stickers and evaporated. Should take about 1 minute. Serve with dipping sauce and chop sticks
  8 tbls sesame oil for frying

Dipping Sauce

• Place all the ingredients in individual dipping bowls and serve on a small plate or bamboo basket together with chopsticks
  1 tsp fermented soy beans, 2 tsp soy sauce, 3 tsp hengshun vinegar, sprinkle with chopped chives or spring onions

Notes

I buy the dumpling skins at the Chinese Supermarket’s frozen food section at China Town Beacon Bay. There are about 4o skins per pack.  I use 1 pack and make mini meatballs with the leftover filling.  This filling is enough for 80 pot stickers. 6 -8 will serve one person as a starter.  

Tip

You must chop the vegetables with a knife. Don’t be tempted to use a blender fitted with a blade attachment.  You don’t get the right texture or consistency.  It releases too much water from the vegetables and becomes mushy.  Trust me, Darryn already tried it to speed up the process. It was not the result we were looking for.

You can also add the water at the beginning of the cooking process and steam them first and then fry the pot sticker after all the water has evaporated. This could be a way to precook the pot stickers in advance before guests arrive, if you don’t want to be all hot and sweaty when they are there.  It all depends on the type of friends you have and whether you can keep focussed while everyone around you is chatting and drinking

Course: Light Meal, Lunch, Starter

Cuisine: Cantonese, Chinese