What's up everyone?
Today we're making Chicken Potstickers
a dish my dad has made thousands of times.
Hi, everyone!
Today we'll be learning how to make potstickers.
We're using chicken and some vegetables today.
We have celery, green cabbage, and ginger.
The ingredients are very simple.
We'll chop up the chicken first.
My dad is using half chicken thigh and half chicken breast
for a total of about 1 lb.
It's partially frozen here to help with easier cutting.
First, we're going to cut it into very thin slices.
Then, we're going to lay them down and cut the slices into thin strips.
Lastly, we'll rotate the strips 90 degrees
and mince the chicken into very small pieces.
If you use pork, would you make it the same way?
It's the same. You can even buy pre-minced pork.
You can chop it up like me.
Whether chicken or pork, you'll mince it up just like this.
Is it better to mince it yourself?
I prefer to mince it myself.
Store-ground meat is like paste.
Mine is not like a paste.
Essentially, stores grind the meat really finely, so it turns out dense.
After the chicken is chopped up,
we'll start making a marinade to season it.
For the marinade, we'll be mixing 1 tbsp of oyster sauce,
1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp of fish sauce,
1 tsp of white pepper, 1 tbsp of chicken bouillon, 1 tsp of sugar,
1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp of corn starch and 2 tbsp of water.
We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com
along with step-by-step instructions and video clips
to guide you as you make the recipe at home.
Mix it evenly.
After mixing it up
it'll be much easier to mix it into the meat.
Pour it all in.
Mix it in with the meat.
Knead the meat until it's cohesive and sticky.
All right, let's put it aside for now.
Let's chop up the vegetables to add in.
This is the best way to cut celery.
Put it in a clean bag.
You can use a knife.
Or you can do this. This is the best way.
Now, watch this.
See, wasn't that easy?
Chop it again.
Chop it finely.
Mr. Martini from Patreon asked,
"What is your favorite vegetarian filling?"
Chives, green cabbage, you can use whatever you like!
Use vegetables with low water content, like mushrooms and corn.
You can pick something you like, whichever is your favorite.
Let's chop up the green cabbage.
We'll cut away the hard part.
The amounts we're using today are 1 lb of meat to 1 lb of vegetables.
You can make it with all meat if you'd like.
Belinda from Patreon asked,
"How do you keep the filling juicy?"
Make sure you add water into your marinade.
Also, with my recipe, it'll be half vegetables and half meat.
The vegetables hold their own water.
The meat won't turn out that dense.
Also, don't use too much cornstarch.
Too much starch makes it dense.
After we cut the cabbage, we're going to combine it with the cut celery
and blanch it with hot water to get rid of the grassy flavor.
We'll stir the vegetables just a bit
and after about a minute, we'll drain the water.
Okay, let's drain it.
Now, let's chop up the ginger.
We have about 1 oz of ginger.
Just like the chicken, we'll cut the ginger into slices,
then strips, then rotate to mince.
After the ginger is minced,
we'll squeeze any extra water from the drained vegetables.
Doing this ensures the filling won't be too wet,
which will make wrapping the dumplings easier.
Put the ginger in.
After mixing the ginger in,
we'll also add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and mix before adding in the chicken.
Mix the vegetables and the chicken.
Knead it.
Do you have to do it with your hands?
Can you use a spoon?
Of course! But it will take longer.
Some people have electric mixers, those are fine too.
You can see that the vegetables and meat are evenly mixed.
It's basically ready.
Time to wrap the potstickers!
The word "potsticker" comes from the Chinese word "wotip (鍋貼)",
which literally means "pot stick".
Generally, wotip refers to pan fried dumplings,
and this is just one of thousands of varieties of dumplings
found in cuisines all across the world.
Even just in Chinese cuisine, you'll find dumplings with savory or sweet fillings,
prepared in all sorts of methods like baking, frying, or steaming.
No one agrees on the exact origin of Chinese potstickers,
but by one account, these came about when a chef of the Imperial Court
accidentally left dumplings cooking in a wok,
burning the bottom and claiming them as his own special creation.
Nowadays, potstickers are enjoyed everywhere, on purpose,
for their crispy skin and scrumptious fillings
served with a perfectly paired dipping sauce.
First, have a bowl of water ready.
Lay the wrapper flat and put some filling in.
Brush some water along the edge.
Fold it up.
Use these fingers.
Push in here and pinch it.
Pinch it together.
And push in with this finger, and pinch it.
Push over with this finger.
Push over with this one, and pinch together with this one.
Just like this.
Pinch the ends.
You don't have to wrap your potstickers like I do. There are lots of ways.
If it's sealed so the filling can't burst out, then it's fine.
Belinda from Patreon asked,
"What brand of store-bought wrappers do you recommend?"
The brand we use is New Hong Kong Noodle.
This is the one I trust the most.
Of course, other ones are good too.
I'm not saying that other wrappers are bad, but I've always used this one.
We Cantonese people call these potstickers, wo tip.
but Northern Chinese people call them dumplings, seoi gaau.
Both dumplings and potstickers use the same wrapper.
The material and the skin is the same
but wo tip, or gaau zi, is a little thicker than seoi gaau.
So if you'd like to boil them, buy dumpling skins
but if you like the thicker one, buy potsticker skins.
If you make potstickers that you plan to pan-fry,
choose the thicker skin.
Like my dad mentioned, there are lots of different ways to wrap potstickers
and he actually thinks my mom is better than him at it,
so she'll be showing us three different ways to wrap them.
Welcome, Mommy Lau!
Let me try.
I'm not an expert with this, though.
Maybe I'll do it this way.
Remember to put some water on it.
Raise your head a bit.
Mommy wraps it even better than I do!
Wow, Mom, that's really pretty!
Wow! Mommy made it even prettier than I did!
How's that?
That's really pretty!
There are so many ways to wrap potstickers.
You can see it has two sides.
This side has flour, so that means it's the outside.
So the side without flour is the inside.
Put some water around the sides.
Maybe 2 tsp of filling.
I think this is really good filling.
The way I wrap is, you start it halfway.
Use this finger to push, and push down.
Push, and push down.
Push forward and down.
Push forward and down, about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
And then I can close it here, like that.
Close.
You're just pinching it closed?
Just pinch.
You can start from the middle first.
Is that good?
I'm better than Daddy!
Mommy's awesome!
I think there's one way you can fold it like...
like this, and like this.
I've seen that before.
And like this too.
I feel like that's easier.
It's easier but it doesn't look like a traditional potsticker.
Yeah, this is easier.
And then, the other one.
Water
and then put filling.
So 2 tsp.
2 tsp, yes.
Do one more way.
I like more filling inside.
When you eat it, you can feel, it's very, very chewy,
and it tastes great, the meat and the skin.
Three corners?
Yeah.
Is that good?
Okay, people are asking about freezing them and thawing them,
because you're probably not going to eat all the ones you make at once, right?
After we wrap the dumplings,
we do them one by one, put them on a tray,
put plastic down to separate them from the tray,
then you can put them down one by one,
and put it in the freezer.
You can't just throw it all in a bag?
No, no, no.
I see.
After they've firmed up, then put them in a bag.
Otherwise, they'll dry out.
Pour them in.
Wow!
Then into the freezer!
When you take them out, you can thaw them or you can skip thawing them.
If you thaw them, you shorten the cooking time, right?
If you don't thaw them, could you pan-fry them directly?
No problem!
Boil them, scoop them out, and pan-fry them.
How long do you boil for?
They're ready when they float to the top.
Just like wontons, they're cooked when they float to the top of the water.
We're not experts at wrapping potstickers
but we have this shape, Daddy's shape, Mommy Lau, and Mommy Lau.
Besides these four examples,
there are probably dozens of other ways to wrap a dumpling.
But as long as it stays together, there really is no right or wrong way.
I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our
wonderful Patreon supporters for helping bring this video to life.
If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly,
head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more!
We've made the potstickers, so let's start pan-frying them.
Put some oil in, about 1 tbsp.
Slowly place the potstickers in.
Don't put them too close together.
Put them down, and then turn on the stove.
It's still a little warm.
Could you put them down when they're cold?
It's best if you let them thaw first.
If you want them fast, you'll have to boil them first.
Boil, scoop them out, and pan-fry.
For the best outcome, Daddy's way tastes better,
because when you boil them, the skin becomes very soft.
You lose the chewy texture.
That's true.
Let's turn on the heat.
After the potstickers are in the pan,
we'll turn the heat to medium-high and pour in a half cup of water.
What if you add too much water?
Too much water will make them soft and mushy.
Use enough water so the potstickers are half submerged.
Put the lid on.
We'll cover the pan and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes,
turning the heat to low once we see the water boiling.
All right, the water has cooked off.
Take the lid off.
Move them around a bit to prevent them from sticking to the pan.
Cooking with the lid off for a minute and a half to 2 minutes,
we'll add 1 tbsp of oil to make the potstickers extra crispy,
making sure to move the potstickers around just a bit
to make sure they're not sticking to the pan.
Put the lid on.
We'll put the lid back on to cook for another 30 seconds or so,
until the oil is absorbed and the potstickers get crispy.
It's done, you can hear the crackling sounds.
How do you know when they're done?
Pick them up and look underneath.
Golden brown means they're nice and fragrant.
Use your chopsticks to flip them over like this.
Just take a look.
With the lid off, we'll flip all of the potstickers over
and cook them for one more minute.
Oh my god, they're gorgeous!
Aren't they beautiful? All right, turn off the stove.
I want to eat them.
Okay!
All right, let's make a dipping sauce.
1 tbsp of vinegar.
1 tsp of chili oil.
Stir it evenly.
Add a little sugar, about 1/2 tsp.
This sauce is tangy, sweet, and spicy.
The sauce is done.
Friends, our potstickers are done and ready to eat!
Hong Doy, come on out!
Daddy, Mommy...
Po Po...
Me too!
Mommy number two!
Wifey!
Cheers! Potstickers!
Did you guys have this in China?
Yes! Even very ordinary people eat this in China.
But in China, I didn't have that many chances to eat this,
but I saw my classmates and neighbors, they made the skins themselves.
I saw them do it, but I never had the chance to.
I'd ask them to share.
They didn't share?
No!
They kept it to themselves.
They ate them by themselves!
Rude!