Pork and Spinach Potstickers

This is actually a Guy Fieri-inspired post, as we were watching his show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives when I thought of making this. Well, he featured a Chinese diner in California, particularly their dumplings. I remembered that I still have ground pork in the fridge, and it has been a long time since we've had dumplings, so I might as well make some.

As a bonus, I found some spinach in the freezer and I thought I'd make our meal a wee bit healthier by adding it. Also, instead of deep frying, I wanted to steam them in broth so it turned out to be potstickers instead.

This might be a case of "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," since potstickers, dumplings, and gyoza are basically the same things - meat/veggies wrapped in thin pieces of dough. The difference, I surmise, are in the shape and style of wrapping them. But of course, they all taste great! 


What you need: 

1 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 cups spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 can (8 oz) chicken broth
4 stalks green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
canola oil for frying
wonton skins
small bowl of water or egg wash (optional)


What to do:

Notice the egg wash on the corners of the wrapper (bottom left)

Boil spinach for about 20 seconds in briskly boiling water. Drain. When cool enough to handle, place them on a cutting board and chop until fine. Place in a bowl and add ground pork, green onion, sherry, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger and sugar. Mix well.

Place about half a tablespoonful of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Wet the edge of two sides of the wrapper with water or egg wash. Bring ends together forming a triangle and press, making sure you release air bubbles. Continue this process until you have used up all your fillings.

Over medium-low, heat a pan with about a teaspoon of Canola oil. Place several potstickers and let one side cook  for about a minute. Then add about 3 tablepoons of chicken broth and cover pan. Cook until liquid reduces to almost nothing. Repeat until you have cooked all your potstickers.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. This dish is so versatile - you can use chopped carrots or water chestnuts if you don't like spinach.
2. Use a measuring spoon when scooping up filling so you always get roughly the same amount in every wonton skin.
3. Non-stick pan works the best - less "potsticking" means more for eating!
4. When placing the potstickers in a pan, make sure not to overcrowd them. 
5. For dipping sauce, we like toyomansi (soy sauce with lime), but you can use sweet and sour sauce, or just regular soy sauce. 
6. For added heat, pour in a bit of chili oil to your dipping sauce.