Last week, before winter flattened me with lower back pain, I was still having foodie adventures in my kitchen. I was inspired to make Sunny Anderson’s recipe for Easy Shrimp Potstickers on a cold day in early March.
You are going to need a food processor to make the filling. The list of ingredients seemed a little too simple for my tastebuds but I wanted to stay true to the recipe so I left it as-is. The food processor makes easy work of bringing the shrimp filling together. Love that!
I did not have the round wrappers Sunny had on her episode so I used wonton wrappers instead. I put about a tablespoon of the filling in the middle. Then I lined the edges with an egg wash and brought the corners together.
I added the potstickers to the pan of hot oil and let them brown on the bottom. A crucial step, do not miss out on the browning!
While they were caramelizing on the stovetop I made the dipping sauce. I did not have ponzu (what the heck is ponzu?) so I did what Sunny suggested on her show, I used soy sauce instead and added the garlic, ginger, Sriracha and sugar.
After the potstickers browned I added ice cubes to the pan which immediately started to steam so I covered the pan and let cook for longer than three minutes. I was not worried about overcooking but I did want to make sure those dumplings were not raw!
The best part is always the dipping and getting all that sauce!
The next best thing? The stunning browned bottoms of the dumplings that makes potstickers so very special.
Sadly, these dumplings ended up being quite boring! A little too simple for my taste. The filling was under seasoned and the dipping sauce too salty. I wish they balanced each other out but they did not. I was surprised to see there was no ginger or oyster sauce in the filling. Garlic, scallions and soy sauce were just not enough which is such a shame, all that work for an OK dumpling is not good enough for me.
I give this recipe three out of five wooden spoons. Normally you can count on Sunny Anderson to deliver big and bold flavours but not this time. What a shame!
You always make the prettiest potstickers, and thanks to your past tutorials on your blog I’ve been duplicating them here at home and the family absolutely LOVES them. I’ve never made them before I met Suzie the Foodie!
Ponzu is just soya sauce with some added citrus, sort of lemony, I’ve tried it and it’s nothing special.
I don’t even follow any recipes for fillings anymore, I just add what I know tastes good and what I like. Believe it or not, the bagged coleslaw you get in the salad/produce section delivers some fabulous flavours and crunch to the filling, and I always like to add a bit of sesame oil as well for a little kick. Now I’m craving potstickers!
Well, they LOOK delicious!
For some reason the idea of shrimp all ground/chopped up like that always turns me off. Not sure why. Those pot stickers look lovely though – the browning on the bottom is beautiful.
For dipping sauce we always stick to the sauce that we used to get at our favorite Mandarin Chinese Restaurant (before they closed – wah!): 1 part light soy, 1 part black rice vinegar and a dash of sesame oil.
Thank you Ava and I am so glad that you are your family are now enjoying dumplings… joy! I do get the bagged cabbage too. The cabbages they sell in the store and huge and heavy, too much money and I can’t carry them home, LOL. Making your own filling choices is very wise, I will do that from now on.
Thanks Debra! Glad they’re pretty potstickers. That was a super tough shot to take with chopsticks!
JavaChick, they do the same with chicken dumplings, whiz is all up but I am sure you could chop instead. Wow, how on earth did you get that recipe from Mandarin? Now I have to find some black rice vinegar, nice! Thanks so much for sharing.
Well they do look pretty but I’m taking your word for it on this recipe. I still make a potsticker recipe you posted in the past, it was the first time I’d ever even eaten them and my family and I love that recipe and Imake it often.
I love those potstickers too! So glad you love them and make them, that makes me so very happy my friend. 🙂
We used to visit that Chinese restaurant weekly so we knew the owners pretty well. They also had a little Chinese grocery and they sold frozen dumplings, so when we asked about the dipping sauce they told us. Really miss that restaurant.
Speaking of Chinese restaurants; have you ever been to Cheelin in Halifax? They are in the Brewery Market. We go whenever we are in Halifax.
So cool that you knew the owners and could buy dumplings from them!
No, I haven’t been to Cheelin in downtown Halifax but I will keep my eye open next time I am down there, thanks! Do they cook with MSG though? My husband is allergic which is why we tend to avoid Chinese restaurants.