Pork Dumplings With Homemade Wrappers (Jiaozi/Potstickers)

Pork dumplings. Jiaozi. Potsitckers. No matter what you call them, they are universally recognized as one of the greatest things you can put in your mouth in one bite. Although many other dumplings are contenders.

Is there any special flavor that comes from making your own dumpling wrappers? Not really, but I’m going to show you how to do it anyway. The real flavor is in the filling.

This filling is made with bok choy, green onion, cabbage, ground pork, and a special sauce. The result, is a juicy jiaozi. I forgot to even make a dipping sauce. These pork dumplings don’t need one!

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Pork Dumplings Tips

I included a video with the recipe card, so hopefully any questions you have about pork dumplings not answered there are answered here. If not, comment below and I’ll be sure to respond!

The Filling

For the cabbage, we are only using the green outer layers. They have a lower moisture content than the inner layers, which could mess up the jiaozi. For the bok choy, also just the green part. A little of the white stem is okay. Green onion, you guessed it. The green part.

Normally, a special Chinese cooking wine is used in the marinade of the pork dumplings. You don’t need to make a special trip for that, any dry red is fine. Cabernet and merlot are both good options.

It might seem like a lot of salt, but we have a lot of filling to season. Plus, the salt helps wilt the cabbage and bok choy, which makes it incorporate into the mixture better.

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The Wrappers

If you want to make your own jiaozi wrappers, you will definitely want some help. It will take a lot of time to roll out the wrappers. I recommend your best friends or your most hated enemies.

Your friends because they will make it less miserable. Your enemies because then they can experience hell with you.

Roll them as thin as you can. Also, heavily flour your counter and your rolling pin. Roll from the center towards the edges. If you have multiple people, do an assembly line where one person rolls, one fills and folds.

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Different Ways to Cook Pork Dumplings

The only other method of cooking these pork dumplings that I can confirm will work is boiling them. Since they have raw pork, you have to steam them at some point to cook the pork.

I’m not sure about deep frying. There’s a lot of moisture inside, so if the wrappers come undone, you could have oil spattering all over the place (if someone tries this let me know if it works).

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Why Use Cast Iron?

I like cast iron cause it gets ripping hot. That’s important so you can get a nice sear on the bottom of the dumplings, and also make the steam hot enough to cook the pork inside thoroughly. If you want one, this is the one I have. Just never grab the handle with your bare hand while cooking, you will cry.

Cool fact, you can wash cast iron with soap. In the past, soap was made with lye which is what reacted badly with the cast iron. Cast iron is also super durable, and lets you use metal utensils without fear of scratching the coating. If you ever need to re-season the pan, wipe it with some oil and pop it in the oven.

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If you like this recipe, try my putu piring for dessert. It’s a steamed rice cake with palm sugar and coconut. Or, for other desserts to pair this with, check out my Chinese dessert guide. I compiled 83 recipes for you to choose from!

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