Plant-Based Potstickers

Potstickers look fancy and are far easier to make than you’d assume. Fill them with veggies, fold, and cook. It’s that simple!

These plump dumplings are crispy on the bottom and deliciously tender on the inside, and served with a sweet-salty dipping sauce.

Ingredients

Potsticker Dumpling Filling

1 cup diced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1” ginger, grated

2 cups mushrooms, chopped - I like a combination of cremini and shitake

1 cup shredded napa cabbage

1 cup shredded and chopped carrot

1 celery stalk, minced

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari

1/2 teaspoon sweetener such as date paste, maply syrup or cane sugar

36 round or square wonton wrappers - look for vegan wrappers as many do contain egg

Garnish with 2-3 green onions, sliced thin

Dipping Sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2-3 teaspoons tahini

2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

1/2 teaspoon cane sugar

1-2 tablespoons sriracha

3 teaspoons maple syrup

1 garlic clove, minced

sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions

Potsticker Veggie Filling

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, ginger, and garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes adding a teaspoon or two of water as needed to prevent sticking.

2. Add mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and celery, stirring until the veggies release their water and the liquid is evaporated and veggies begin to caramelize, 8-10 minutes.

3. Stir together soy sauce and sugar. Pour into veggies and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat.

Dipping Sauce

1. Whisk together dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust the flavor to your liking; vinegar for sourness, tahini for nutty richness, soy sauce for umami and saltiness, sriracha for heat, and maple syrup for sweetness.

Assembling Potstickers

1. Set up a clean and spacious area to fill and fold potstickers on your counter. Have a damp cloth ready to place over unused wrappers so they don’t dry out. Small bowl of water to use to secure wonton edges together.

2. Place a slight tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper, do not leave any filling near the edges or you will not be able to seal the edge. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to search and watch on how to fold potstickers and dumplings.

3. Lightly moisten the edges of the wrapper with water, fold over and gently pinch, pleat or crimp the edge to seal each potsticker so there are no holes. Place each potsticker on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Be sure not to have any of the potstickers touching or you’ll risk tearing the wrapper when you pull them apart.

4. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Freeze if you’re not going to be cooking them immediately.

Fry-Steam-Fry

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure you have a lid that fits on this skillet. I’m partial to GreenPans Premier Ceramic.

2. Add the dumplings to the skillet, gently pressing down to flatten the bottom, just enough so they don’t touch, you’ll need to cook these in batches.

3. Cook for 2-3 minutes, checking the bottom of the dumpling to see if it’s golden, adjust heat if necessary.

4. Now we’re going to steam them. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup water into the pan and cover with the lid. Let the potstickers steam for 3-5 minutes or until the wrapper pleats are cooked.

5. Remove the lid, but leave the pan on the heat for another 2 minutes or so, until the liquid has completely evaporated and the bottoms of the dumplings are crisp again.

6. Plate and serve immediately topped with sliced green onions and dipping sauce on the side.