Sourdough Dumplings (Potstickers)

Crispy homemade sourdough potsticker held with chopsticks above spicy dipping sauce.

Sourdough Dumplings (Potstickers)

You’ll love these delicious sourdough dumplings, made with a simple dough stuffed with savory, juicy pork filling. Paired with a soy and chili dipping sauce, you’ve got a sourdough discard dinner that the whole family will adore!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword Sourdough Discard

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 5

Servings dumplings

Calories 105kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

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.

To Freeze: Place uncooked dumplings on a lightly floured tray or plate, and snap freeze them for a few hours. Once they’ve frozen enough that they won’t stick to each other, transfer them to a freezer bag and press all the air out. They'll last a few months in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, cook them directly from frozen the same way as the recipe instructions, but let them cook an additional 2 minutes or so.

Nutrition