Pork Dumplings (Potstickers)

April 29th, 2009 by katie

Blogging the Recession: Freezer Foods

I LOVE Dumplings.  Love them.  I always have a stash in the freezer for a quick meal. When I decided to make some myself, I went straight to the source: Jen from use real butter has an awesome recipe plus photos that make the process really easy.  I made the pork dumplings pretty much exactly to the recipe and they were delicious.  It took about three hours start to finish, and I had to make two batches of dough to have enough for all the filling, but the great thing is I got about 50 dumplings from the original recipe so I have a bunch in the freezer for another night.  This would go a lot faster using pre-made dumpling wrappers (usually near the refrigerated tofu at our grocery stores) but don’t be afraid to make them yourself, it was a lot easier than I expected.  There were no blow-outs or other dumpling mishaps despite my shoddy pleating, actually they were a lot more forgiving than the usual freezer-aisle ones during the frying process.

Cost analysis:

  • 1 lb grass fed pork: $5.99
  • 1 piece of ginger: $0.56
  • 3 green onions: $0.35
  • 4 napa cabbage leaves: $0.56
  • 7 fresh shitake mushrooms: $1.12
  • Total cost for 6 servings or 50 dumplings: $8.58 or $1.43 per serving or 17¢ per dumpling

Thanks Jen!  I can’t wait to try the shrimp filling!

Posted in Budget, Main Dish, Snacks/Appetizers

13 Responses

  1. YankeeScents

    I would have never thought of freezing these. Sounds great — definitely going to try these with pork or chicken some night. Thanks!

  2. marguerite

    Those look fabulous!

  3. noble pig

    These turned out beautifully! I mean they are actualy cute and sound delicious.

  4. Melissa

    Well, who else but Jen for the dumpling recipe? 🙂

    I love dumplings that much too. Your photo looks AWESOME Katie. I am impressed. I know you say it’s easy to make my own, still scared, buuuut damn, you make it look tempting. I really really want to grab one right out of your picture.

    Thanks! I confess, though, mrChaos shot these for me. This was the second batch, the first batch was gone in a second with me going, “Hey, did anybody remember to take a picture?” -Katie

  5. Jen Yu

    Woohoo! Look at you ROCKIN’ the dumplings! Great job and I’m sooo glad you like them. We’ll just have to convert the world to making them from scratch, eh? Good on ya!

  6. Jessica

    These look just as beautiful as the dumplings my grandfather used to make! Lovely. I’d love to do a vegetarian version with mushroom and vermicelli.

  7. Marianne

    NICE… I remember making dumplings when I was growing up! They are so yummy!!

  8. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

    I love dumplings too. When I attempt to make them (and I will) I will use Jen’s recipe too. I’m so glad that there are so many talented bloggers around.

  9. RecipeOfTheWeek

    Little pockets of goodness! I love it!

  10. cheryl

    Whenever we go out for Asian food, the first thing we do is order 2-3 plates of dumplings. We’ve determined that having too many is the best way to ensure familial harmony.

    I can just imagine the raves if I were to make them myself using Jen’s recipe. I thank you in advance.

  11. sweetbird

    I have a potsticker addiction – sometimes the husband and I eat a meal of only potstickers.

    I am, however, not bad ass enough to make my own wrappers. When I make them I usually go through about 3 packages of the ready-made kind, and my back just can’t handle pleating that many, plus making the dough.

    I bow to your culinary bad-assery.

  12. Danielle--the culturistas

    Hey—just discovered your blog and wanted say we love your recipes!

    xoxo
    The Culturistas

  13. May

    can’t you also cook the pork flling first, roll it, then cook it?

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