This past Saturday, I had a few friends over to make dumplings and potstickers. Sounds like a simple get-together, but this was my first step towards a potential side-business idea of mine. One day, I hope to share what I’ve learned about cooking with a wider range of people in a “professional” setting (i.e. not out of my own home), with the ultimate goal of making people feel both passionate about cooking and confident in the kitchen. I haven’t quite conceptualized what that looks like, but one idea that has been developing over the years includes opening up a cooking school for low-income, jobless, or homeless people to equip them with a marketable skill. Or, it could be a simple once-a-month workshop I hold at a rented kitchen space, like a Central Market class, but cheaper and even more hands on. Anyhoo, I digress. And I dream.

Shrimp and Pork Potstickers (makes 100+ large potstickers)

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds of ground pork
• 1 pound of shrimp, de-veined and peeled, cut into 3rds
• 4 leaves of napa cabbage, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 8 green onion stalks, finely diced
• 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 3 eggs
• S&P
• 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 100+ dumpling wrappers

For the filling, you’ll want to combine the first 9 ingredients together and stir until everything is even.

So, I probably should have recorded a video of me making the potstickers (note to self: do this the next time you make potstickers), but in the meantime, just youtube “how to fold potstickers.”

After some good girl talk and gossip, time flies, and soon enough, you’ll have 100+ potstickers wrapped! Note: place flour underneath the wrapped dumplings so that they don’t stick to your plate.

If you are making dumplings, just bring a pot of water to a boil on high heat, put in your dumplings, wait for the water to boil again and then turn the heat to medium-high. When the dumpling skins look translucent and the dumplings are floating at the top of the water (5-7 minutes), ladle out the dumplings.

If you are making potstickers, pour a teaspoon of oil into a frying pan over high heat. When the oil gets hot, gently place your potsticker–flat side down–into the pan. Careful for splattering hot oil.

After the bottom of the flat side becomes seared to a golden brown, pour in enough water to cover up 1/3 of the dumpling (this assumes you have a full pan of potstickers). Turn the heat down to medium and cover the pan with a lid. Do not remove the lid until most of the water is absorbed (6-9 minutes). Afterwards, carefully remove each potsticker (I like using a rubber spatula).

For the dipping sauce, I use a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, red vinegar, and chili garlic paste. Proportions vary by person. =)