Crispy Vegetable Potstickers Recipe

Bursting from their perfectly pinched seams with culinary possibilities, dumplings top the charts of comfort foods. Stuffed with ingredients like meat and veggies, they provide a filling bite catered to every taste — not to mention their pocket-like shape that's perfectly suited for dunking into your dip of choice. Mashed recipe developer Feta Topalu shares these crispy vegetable potstickers, highlighting the aforementioned amazing things about dumplings and more. Although similar to Japanese gyoza, potstickers have a slightly doughier outer shell and span a wider variety of fillings and sauces.

Aside from being loaded with assorted veggies and seasoned with a salty soy-based sauce, these potstickers live up to their crispy title. "The contrast between the crunchy exterior and the soft, savory interior is a highlight for me when it comes to these potstickers," Topalu shares. They're cooked in a couple of steps, first steamed to heat through before being finished off in a hot pan to get that extra desirable dumpling crispy bottom.

For this recipe, you'll need vegetable oil, finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped cabbage, grated carrot, minced garlic cloves, grated ginger, and finely chopped green onion for the filling. Next, get soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, granulated sugar, salt, and black pepper to season the vegetable mixture, as well as round dumpling wrappers to wrap the potstickers. 

Topalu notes that you can modify your choice of vegetables depending on your taste and what is available. "Some popular choices include bell peppers, spinach, edamame, and water chestnuts," she suggests. Dumpling wrappers are fairly straightforward to work with, but freshness is important. "If using store-bought wrappers, make sure they are not dried out or cracked," Topalu says. "When working with dumpling wrappers, work quickly to prevent the wrappers from drying out; otherwise, keep them covered with a damp towel."

To prepare the filling, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large pan and place over medium heat.

Add mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add cabbage and carrots and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, until vegetables are softened.

Remove pan from the heat and stir in garlic, ginger, and green onion.

Let vegetable mixture cool completely at room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sugar.

Stir soy sauce mixture into the cooled filling until well combined, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the potstickers, take one dumpling wrapper, moisten the edges with a little water, and place about 1 tablespoon filling in the center.

Fold wrapper in half to form a half-moon shape and press edges together to seal. Optionally, pleat the edges. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

To cook the potstickers, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large pan and place over medium-high heat.

Once hot, carefully place potstickers in the pan, ensuring they are not overlapping, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. (You may need to cook them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.)

Add ¼ cup water to the pan, immediately cover with a lid, and reduce heat to medium-low. Let potstickers steam for 8-10 minutes, or until the wrappers are cooked through.

Remove lid to let any excess water evaporate and crisp up the bottoms of the potstickers, about 1-2 minutes.

Repeat cooking process with the remaining potstickers.

Transfer potstickers to a serving plate, garnish with chopped green onion, and serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce.

Crispy vegetable potstickers are the perfect option if you're looking for an impressive dish. "They make for a great appetizer for parties or gatherings, and they can also serve as a satisfying main course, especially when accompanied by a side dish or salad," Topalu suggests. If you're looking for vegetarian sides to accompany these savory bites, she recommends steamed broccoli, sesame-ginger bok choy, kimchi, or steamed rice. Alternatively, stir-fried meat or tofu makes an excellent pairing. 

Topalu leaves the choice of dipping sauce up to personal preference, but she offers some advice if you haven't yet found your go-to. "Common dipping sauces for vegetable potstickers include soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, or a combination of these." She also suggests adding textured ingredients to the dip to infuse it with flavor, such as sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, or green onions. 

Once you get the hang of folding and sealing the stuffed dumpling wrappers, the method is fairly straightforward. However, if you're entertaining guests or want to meal prep for the upcoming week, you can also prepare these potstickers ahead of time and freeze them. Topalu provides some guidance to avoid ending up with a mass of clumped dumplings.

"After assembling the potstickers, arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place them in the freezer until they are firm. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container for storage," she says. This prevents the dumplings from sticking together as they freeze, which will likely cause the wrappers to tear when you try to separate them. When you're ready to cook the potstickers, you can boil them directly from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the cooking time.

The worst outcome when making crispy vegetable potstickers would be if they didn't turn out crispy. And while the combination of steaming and pan-frying typically offers consistent results, a few factors can help increase your chances of success. For starters, the last thing you want is for the dumpling wrappers to stick to the pan and tear, letting the contents spill out. To avoid this issue, Topalu recommends using a nonstick pan and the full amount of oil specified in the recipe.

Additionally, you might think that cooking all the potstickers at once means you get to eat faster, but that's not the case. Topalu warns to "avoid overcrowding the pan, as this can cause the potstickers to stick together and to the pan." Leaving space between them guarantees more even cooking results, which is far better than a couple dozen mushy dumplings. Cook them in batches, and snack on a few in between if you just can't wait.