I learned how to make potstickers during college from an exchange student from Russian . . . yeah, I don’t know either. I never forgot how to make them and have done so periodically over the years. I don’t recall the original recipe and it’s not really all that important since you can pretty much but anything you want into potstickers. Shiitake mushrooms and tofu make excellent analogs for meat. The mushrooms in particular have a nice chewy consistency to them.
Save time by preparing your ingredients ahead of time. Press tofu with a tofu press if you have one; alternately, wrap it in a dish towel or paper towels and top with some heavy objects to squeeze out the excess water. Add crumbled tofu, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, and ginger in frying pan with olive oil and cook for a few minutes. The mushrooms and vegetables will begin to soften. Add in soy sauce, green onions, and sesame oil and cook a few more minutes.
Find a place to sit down where you can spread out a bit. Place about 1 tbsp. of filling on a gyoza wrapper. Dip finger in water/cornstarch mixture and moisten around the wrapper’s edge. Fold in half and use fingers to seal the potsticker closed. I found a baking sheet came in handy for holding all the completed potstickers.
Place potstickers in a lightly oiled frying pan set to medium-high heat. Add as many as possible without too much overlapping as they tend to stick together. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the undersides begin to brown. Steam the potstickers by adding about 1/4 cup water to the pan. Cover and cook an additional 2 minutes. Continue this process until all the potstickers have been cooked.
Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and serve immediately. I personally find them just as delicious hot or cold. I ate the leftovers from this batch the following day for lunch. Uncooked potstickers can also be stored in the freezer. Freeze flat on a cookie sheet or plate. Once frozen toss into a ziplock bag. I let them defrost slightly before cooking them as mentioned above.
- 1 package of gyoza wrappers
- 1 block of firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, diced small
- 2 cups napa cabbage, diced small
- 1 medium sized carrot, grated
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. liquid aminos
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp. ginger, minced
- 1 tsp. sesame seed oil
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup liquid aminos
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup of water
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sesame seed oil
- 1. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil to medium-high heat. Add in mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes.
- 2. Add green onions, sesame oil, and liquid aminos and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.Remove from heat and transfer into a large bowl.
- 3. Mix 1/2 cup water with cornstarch in a small bowl. This will be used to moisten and seal edges of the wrappers.
- 4. Spoon about 1 tbsp. of filling into center of wrapper. Dip finger into water bowl and moisten around the edge. Fold in half and pinch edges until sealed shut. Continue until all the filling is used. Place finished potstickers on a cookie sheet or cutting board.
- 5. Lightly oil a large frying pan to medium-high heat. Place as many potstickers in the pan as possible without too much overlapping as they tend to stick together. This might require cooking the potstickers in several batches.Pan fry for about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.
- 6. Pour in about 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- 7. Combine all ingredients for the sauce. Serve immediately.
