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Take a simple sourdough dough, add a juicy and flavorful pork filling, and you’ve got the most delicious sourdough dumplings you can imagine! These dumplings, inspired by Chinese jiaozi and Japanese gyoza, are a new family favorite in my house. With their crispy golden-brown bottoms, savory pork filling, and subtle sourdough tang, plus an easy homemade dipping sauce, you won’t be able to stop eating them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Surprisingly Simple – You might think making dumplings from scratch will be a lot of work, but with the help of a stand mixer and food processor, the dough and filling can both be done within minutes! Of course you can do either one by hand, but the appliances will save you a good arm workout from kneading and chopping.
Fun For The Whole Family – My kids LOVE eating dumplings, and they enjoy making them too! This dough is very forgiving, and I’ve shaped them using a very basic circle folded in half, so my kids can get in on the folding fun.
Oh So Delicious – This pork filling is seasoned with fresh ginger and garlic, plus soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and it pairs so beautifully with the sourdough dough. You’re going to be craving these sourdough dumplings all the time!
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – Regular all purpose flour works perfectly for these dumpling wrappers and gives them a lovely chewy texture once cooked.
- Sourdough Starter – You can use active starter or sourdough discard for this recipe. The discard adds a really lovely depth of flavor to the dough.
- Neutral Oil – Use something mild like avocado, vegetable, or canola oil for both the dough and for cooking so it doesn’t overpower the filling.
- Hot Water – You want almost, but not quite boiling water. I bring a kettle to the boil, then let it cool for about a minute. Keep in mind you won’t use all the water right away, but hold some back as the dough may not need it.
- Scallions – Also called green onions or spring onions. You want to trim the very tips, then use the white, light green, and dark green parts. I like to set some aside to use as garnish for the sauce as well.
- Garlic and Ginger – You want to use fresh ginger and garlic cloves here for the best flavor.
- Ground Pork – I recommend a fattier blend for more flavor.
- Egg – I’ve made this with a large egg and a small egg. Any size will work.
- Sesame Oil – Gives the filling a rich, nutty flavor that works so well with the pork.
- Soy Sauce – Adds saltiness and umami to the filling.
- Salt
- Dipping Sauce – A simple mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and chili crunch oil makes the perfect salty, tangy dipping sauce for these dumplings. Use toasted sesame oil, which is a rich dark brown and super nutty, for best flavor.
How To Make Sourdough Potstickers
These sourdough potstickers have a few steps, but they’re quite simple to make, and completely worth it! Plus, if you make a big batch, you can freeze uncooked extras. They cook from frozen beautifully! I LOVE doing this because it saves me time on busy weeknights!
Make The Dough
Combine the flour, sourdough discard, oil, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Measure out 100 grams of the hot water and slowly drizzle it into the bowl while stirring the flour mixture with a wooden spoon.
Keep stirring to bring the ingredients together into a very rough shaggy dough. If you can’t incorporate all the flour in, add about a teaspoon more hot water until all the flour comes together from the bottom of the bowl.
Knead the dough with the dough hook in the stand mixer on speed 3 for about 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth and dense. Alternatively, you can knead by hand for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes. If you want to do this in advance, wrap the dough well in lightly oiled plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Make The Filling
While the dough rests, add the scallions, garlic and ginger to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely diced but stop before it turns into a puree.
Add the pork, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and salt and pulse until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined into a thick paste.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Tasting Tip
I always like to taste the pork filling and make sure it tastes the way I like it before folding it all into the dumplings. To taste the filling, cook a tablespoon in a skillet or in the microwave so you can check the seasoning and add more salt or sauce as needed.
Assemble The Dumplings
Once your dough has rested, divide the dough into four equal pieces with a dough cutter or knife. Put three of the pieces back under the cloth or plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Divide the remaining piece into six equal-sized balls. If you want to use a digital scale, the balls should be about 18 to 20 grams each.
Flatten each ball with your palm so you have a thick flat circle, then use a rolling pin to roll each circle into a flat dumpling wrapper about 4-in/10-cm across.
To fill each dumpling, take a wrapper in your hand and place about 1 tablespoon/20g of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half so the opposite sides meet and pinch the edges shut so you have a sealed dumpling.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Folding Tip
Don’t stress about folding them perfectly! A simple rustic look is all you need. As long as the edges are joined and holding the filling inside, you’re good!
Repeat with the remaining small dough balls, placing each finished dumpling on a lightly floured tray or plate so they don’t stick. Continue with each large piece of dough until you have used up all the dough and filling.
Cook The Dumplings and Make The Dipping Sauce
To cook the dumplings, lightly oil the bottom of a skillet for which you have a lid. Heat over medium heat, then add as many dumplings as you can comfortably fit into the pan. I recommend freezing any dumplings you don’t plan to cook.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Cooking Tip
A nonstick pan will help with making sure the dumplings don’t stick, plus making sure the bottom of the pan is well-oiled.
Have patience right at the end. The dumplings may stick when there is still water in the pan, but once all the water cooks off and the dumplings fry a bit in the remaining oil, they should release easily with a spatula.
Pan-fry the dumplings until they turn golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour ½ cup of water straight into the pan and cover it immediately with the lid to steam them. Be careful when you add the water as the hot oil and water will sizzle up!
Steam the dumplings for about 7 minutes, or until the dumplings are piping hot and the filling is completely cooked. You’ll notice that the water level in the pan will start to go down as the water evaporates. If the water is completely gone and you think the dumplings need more time to cook, add a splash more water and re-cover the pan. If you think the dumplings are done but there’s still water in the pan, remove the lid and cook until the water evaporates.
While the dumplings steam, make the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Once all the water has cooked off, let the dumplings cook for a minute or two more in the residual oil, which will crisp up the bottoms of the dumplings again.
Transfer the cooked dumplings to a serving plate and serve alongside the dipping sauce! If you plan to cook a second batch, wipe any browned bits out of the skillet so they don’t burn and repeat the cooking process until all your dumplings are cooked.
How To Serve Sourdough Potstickers
Sourdough potstickers are great on their own for lunch, served with the dipping sauce and a little chili crunch oil. They also pair really well with a light salad, steamed rice, or fried rice for a sourdough dinner idea.
They make such a fun party snack too! Since they’re bite-sized finger food, they fit perfectly onto a party spread alongside sourdough sausage balls, sourdough pizza rolls, and sourdough pinwheels for a hearty snacking option.
How To Store + Freeze
These sourdough dumplings are best enjoyed fresh and hot from the skillet, but leftovers store surprisingly well. Store cooked dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Before eating, reheat them in the microwave or cook them the same way as above for a few minutes until piping hot.
To Freeze
Uncooked dumplings freeze beautifully and are perfect for easy dinners later on. Place the assembled dumplings onto a lightly floured tray or parchment-lined plate and freeze until solid.
Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and press out as much air as possible. They’ll keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can cook the dumplings straight from frozen. Just follow the same cooking method and add an extra 2 to 3 minutes to the steaming time to make sure the filling is cooked through.
Frequently Asked Questions
The easiest way to tell is with a cooking thermometer, which should reach 165ºF (73ºC) for ground meat. If you don’t have one, you can break open a dumpling to check that the center is cooked, similarly to how you would check if a meatball is cooked. This is my preferred method!
Yes, these sourdough dumplings are so good boiled or steamed as well! You can set up a steamer over boiling water and steam for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, although it will depend on your setup. Boiling in water or broth usually takes about 6 to 8 minutes.
A nonstick pan is certainly easiest, but I have also used well-seasoned cast iron and carbon steel pans to make dumplings and they’ve worked fine. Waiting for the bottoms to crisp back up before trying to lift the dumplings really helps. Luckily, even if your dumplings stick to the pot a bit, they’ll still be delicious!
Sourdough Dumplings (Potstickers)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Food Processor
- Cookie Scoop or tablespoon
- Rolling Pin or dowel
Ingredients
Dumpling Dough
- 250 g All-Purpose Flour
- 100 g Sourdough Starter
- 5 g Oil, neutral oil like canola, vegetable, or avocado
- 120 g Water, boiled and let cool for1 minute
Pork Filling
- 45 g Scallions
- 25 g Garlic Cloves, roughly chopped
- 15 g Ginger, fresh, minced
- 375 g Ground Pork
- 1 Egg
- 25 g Sesame Oil
- 25 g Soy Sauce
- 5 g Salt
Dipping Sauce
- 40 g Soy Sauce
- 10 g Black Vinegar, or rice vinegar
- 5 g Sugar
- 5 g Chili Crunch Oil, homemade chili crunch oil, store-bought, or chili flakes will work
- 5 g Toasted Sesame Oil
Instructions
Make The Dough
- Combine the flour, sourdough discard, oil, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Measure out 100 grams of the hot water and slowly drizzle it into the bowl while stirring the flour mixture with a wooden spoon.
- Keep stirring to bring the ingredients together into a very rough shaggy dough. If you can’t incorporate all the flour in, add about a teaspoon more hot water until all the flour comes together from the bottom of the bowl.
- Knead the dough with the dough hook in the stand mixer on speed 3 for about 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth and dense. Alternatively, you can knead by hand for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes. If you want to do this in advance, wrap the dough well in lightly oiled plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Make The Filling
- While the dough rests, add the scallions, garlic and ginger to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely diced but stop before it turns into a puree.
- Add the pork, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and salt and pulse until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined into a thick paste. To taste the mixture, cook a tablespoon in a skillet or in the microwave so you can check the seasoning and add more salt or sauce as needed.
Assemble The Dumplings
- Once your dough has rested, divide the dough into four equal pieces with a dough cutter or knife. Put three of the pieces back under the cloth or plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t dry out.
- Divide the remaining piece into six equal-sized balls. If you want to use a digital scale, the balls should be about 18 to 20 grams each.
- Flatten each ball with your palm so you have a thick flat circle, then use a rolling pin to roll each circle into a flat dumpling wrapper about 4-in/10-cm across.
- To fill each dumpling, take a wrapper in your hand and place about 1 tablespoon/20g of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half so the opposite sides meet and pinch the edges shut so you have a sealed dumpling.
- Repeat with the remaining small dough balls, placing each finished dumpling on a lightly floured tray or plate so they don’t stick. Continue with each large piece of dough until you have used up all the dough and filling.
Cook The Dumplings and Make The Dipping Sauce
- To cook the dumplings, lightly oil the bottom of a skillet for which you have a lid. Heat over medium heat, then add as many dumplings as you can comfortably fit into the pan. I recommend freezing any dumplings you don’t plan to cook (see note below).
- Pan-fry the dumplings until they turn golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour ½ cup of water straight into the pan and cover it immediately with the lid to steam them. Be careful when you add the water as the hot oil and water will sizzle up!
- Steam the dumplings for about 7 minutes, or until the dumplings are piping hot and the filling is completely cooked. You’ll notice that the water level in the pan will start to go down as the water evaporates. If the water is completely gone and you think the dumplings need more time to cook, add a splash more water and re-cover the pan. If you think the dumplings are done but there’s still water in the pan, remove the lid and cook until the water evaporates.
- While the dumplings steam, make the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Once all the water has cooked off, let the dumplings cook for a minute or two more in the residual oil, which will crisp up the bottoms of the dumplings again.
- Transfer the cooked dumplings to a serving plate and serve alongside the dipping sauce! If you plan to cook a second batch, wipe any browned bits out of the skillet so they don’t burn and repeat the cooking process until all your dumplings are cooked.
Notes
- Don’t worry if you’ve never folded dumplings or gyoza before, this half-circle is so easy. We’re not doing any complicated folds because I like the simple rustic look, plus it means dinner is on the table faster!
- These dumplings are known as potstickers for a reason! A nonstick pan will help with making sure the dumplings don’t stick, plus making sure the bottom of the pan is well-oiled (although don’t use so much oil that it pools and spatters up when you add the water).
- Have patience right at the end. The dumplings may stick when there is still water in the pan, but once all the water cooks off and the dumplings fry a bit in the remaining oil, they should release easily with a spatula.
- I always like to taste the pork filling and make sure it tastes the way I like it before folding it all into the dumplings. To taste the filling, cook a tablespoon in a skillet or in the microwave so you can check the seasoning and add more salt or sauce as needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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