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Homemade Chicken and Cabbage Dumplings (Potstickers)

Recipe by The Cozy Bowl Kitchen

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  • Total Time55 minutes
  • Yield30 dumplings (3 to 5 servings) 1x

Juicy chicken thigh, ginger and Chinese cabbage dumplings made with shop-bought wrappers, cooked potsticker style for a crisp golden base and a soft steamed top. Makes 30, and they freeze beautifully.

Ingredients

Scale

For the filling

  • 200 g Chinese cabbage, very finely shredded
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt, for drawing out water
  • 400 g chicken thigh mince
  • 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 20 g fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine, or dry sherry
  • 1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
  • 2 tbsp cold chicken stock or cold water

For assembling and cooking

  • 30 round dumpling wrappers, thawed if frozen
  • Small bowl of cold water, for sealing
  • Plain flour or cornflour, for dusting the tray
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, per panful
  • 80 ml water, per panful

For the dipping sauce

  • 3 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 to 2 tsp chilli oil, to taste
  • 1 spring onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Toss the shredded cabbage with the salt in a colander and leave for 15 minutes. Then gather it in a clean tea towel or your hands and squeeze hard to remove the liquid. Squeeze a second time. It should look compressed and slightly translucent.
  2. Put the squeezed cabbage, chicken mince, spring onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper in a large bowl.
  3. Stir firmly in one direction only, with a spatula or chopsticks, for about a minute, until the mixture turns sticky and cohesive and pulls away from the sides of the bowl as a mass.
  4. Add the cold stock a tablespoon at a time, still stirring in the same direction, until fully absorbed. The filling should be soft but hold its shape on a spoon.
  5. Dust a tray with flour. Keep the wrappers under a damp tea towel and work with a few at a time.
  6. Put a level 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling in the centre of a wrapper. Dip a finger in water and run it around the outer half of the edge.
  7. Fold the wrapper in half and press the centre point closed. Either press the whole edge flat for a half-moon, or make 3 to 4 small pleats along one side, pressing each against the flat back edge. Set on the floured tray, seam up and not touching. Repeat with the rest.
  8. Fry one test dumpling and taste it, adjusting the seasoning of the remaining filling if needed.
  9. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan with a lid, over a medium-high heat. Arrange the dumplings flat-side down in a single layer, close but not touching.
  10. Fry undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bases are deep golden. Lift one to check.
  11. With the lid in your other hand, pour in 80 ml water. It will spit. Clamp the lid on immediately and steam for 6 to 7 minutes, until the water has all gone.
  12. Remove the lid and fry for a final minute to re-crisp the bases. Slide out onto a plate, crisp side up.
  13. Stir all the dipping sauce ingredients together and serve alongside, straight away.

Notes

Freezing (the whole point): Space the uncooked dumplings out on a floured tray and freeze for 2 hours until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Cook from frozen using exactly the same method, adding 2 minutes to the steaming time. Do not thaw first, and never freeze them in a bag from the start or they will fuse together.

The mistake to avoid: Not salting and squeezing the cabbage. It is mostly water, and that water ends up inside the wrapper. Fifteen minutes with salt and two hard squeezes is the difference between a juicy dumpling and a leaking one.

Variations: Use pork mince for the traditional version, swap 100 g of the chicken for chopped raw king prawns, or steam them for 8 to 10 minutes instead of frying, which is the better choice if they are going into a ramen bowl. Boil the thicker wrappers for 5 to 6 minutes.

Cook one first: You cannot taste raw chicken filling, so always fry a single test dumpling and check the seasoning before filling the whole batch.

Equipment: A colander, a clean tea towel, a large bowl, a large non-stick frying pan with a well-fitting lid, floured trays and freezer bags.

Food safety: This filling contains raw chicken. Handle it hygienically, wash hands and equipment thoroughly, and cook until the filling reaches at least 75°C throughout.

Allergen note: Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.

Take particular care with the dumpling wrappers (wheat), soy sauce (soya, wheat), Shaoxing wine (wheat, sulphites), oyster or chilli oils (may contain molluscs, fish or soya), sesame oil (sesame) and stock (celery, wheat). Allergen information must be confirmed by The Cozy Bowl before it is relied upon.

This is a home recipe inspired by a dish or flavour available at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.

Find it online: https://thecozybowl.co.uk/homemade-chicken-dumplings-potstickers/