I don’t know about you, but when i get a craving for Asian foods it hits me HARD. Like a ton of dumpling-shaped bricks and my appetite for those flavors becomes insatiable. Last week the craving hit and I high tailed it over to East Lansing to hit up my favorite Asian markets for essentials…I have two, one pan-Asian market and one Korean market, and they are conveniently located within a few blocks of each other. WIN! I like to buy round dumpling wrappers from the freezer section of the Asian market, though you could use the refrigerated wonton wrappers from the grocery store. I go for whatever brand has the shortest ingredient list. This is also where I find my favorite, crepe-like, spring/egg roll wrappers.
So when I decide to make a batch of dumplings or spring rolls or kimchi…I make A LOT. This batch of kale, apple, and pork filled potstickers were no exception. These tasty little dumplings are filled with lots of savory vegetables, apple for a little sweetness, and lots of fragrant garlic and ginger. The vegetables and apple get sauteed and sweated, which both deepens and marries the flavors, the garlic and ginger just get a few moments on the heat to retain their punchy aroma and flavor, and the pork helps to bind the filling and bring it’s delicious pork-y flavor that goes so well with the kale and apple, while the dumpling skins are the perfect chewy envelope. All of the ingredients combined make for dumplings that are basically addictive, little flavor bombs. To get the pretty pleats, just watch videos after searching “how-to pleat dumplings”. There are a ton out there, but this one is pretty simple and straight forward. Though, I never do that many pleats because I’m just not that skilled…or dedicated…the faster dumplings get in my face, the better.
So, make these for yourself (and freeze the rest), or make them to share…your friends will appreciate your dumpling skills, promise.
Pork, Kale, and Apple Potstickers
Makes about 50 dumplings.
There’s a lot of chopping happening here and if you don’t want to spend all that time honing your knife skills like a weirdo (ahem, me…), go ahead and pulse up the filling ingredients in a food processor. Also, I like my dumplings a little on the onion-y side…feel free to switch up the filling ratios…follow your heart! This recipe makes a large batch of dumplings, which are great for freezing. It’s tough to say exactly how many dumplings you will yield…depending on how much you fill them and what size your wrappers are, but you will get a lot with this recipe.
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded apple (I used a honeycrisp)
4 cups finely chopped kale
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves finely minced garlic
2-4 teaspoons grated ginger root
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg white
salt
40-60 round dumpling skins
water for sealing
In a large skillet over medium high heat sauté the onion, cabbage, carrot, and apple with a pinch of salt until softened and any liquid has evaporated. Add in the kale, in batches if necessary, and cook until wilted and any additional liquid evaporates. Stir in the green onions, garlic, and ginger (however much you’d like) and cook an additional minute. Taste the mixture for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Remove the vegetable mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool completely.
Once the vegetables are completely cooled stir in the ground pork and the egg white to combine. I like to use my (clean) hands to do this. I call it the “claw-method” and I stir the mixture rapidly with my scary-claw hand in one direction until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. I find this method also helps with keeping the filling from getting crumbly.
Pour some water into a small dish and set out your dumpling skins. You may want to cover the dumplings with a slightly damp tea towel to keep them from drying out while you form and pleat. Scoop small spoonfuls of the vegetable-pork mixture into the center of the dumpling wrapper, lightly wet the edges with water, fold into a half moon and pleat (or just press to seal, whatever works). Repeat with remaining dumpling skins and filling.
To cook dumplings, add about 1 tablespoon of oil (or butter, melted) to a large nonstick skillet with a lid and arrange dumplings in an even layer. Add a scant 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat with the lid on until the dumpling skins become a bit translucent, the water has evaporated, and the bottoms of the dumplings are golden. Remove from the heat and place a plate over the pan and flip out the dumplings in one fell swoop…or just remove them from the pan individually and set on a plate. I like to serve these simply with sriracha.
To freeze, place the uncooked dumplings onto a parchment-lined sheet pan in an even layer and freeze until frozen solid—a few hours. Remove the frozen dumplings from the freezer and place in a gallon-size freezer bag and place back in the freezer. Cook the same way as you would fresh dumplings with just a bit more water few more minutes of cooking time. [/recipe]
Amy | Club Narwhal
Well, don’t these just look absolutely dreamy? I used to have a potsticker party in college and you are inspiring me to bring it back 🙂
cindy
that sounds so fun!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I will take 15 of these pleasseee (minus the pork)! Gorgeous as usual girlfriend! : )
cindy
thanks! I have totally made these with tofu…just as delish!
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
Potstickers have a special place in my heart, even though I’ve only ever eaten them from a frozen Costco-sized pack. Something tells me that homemade potstickers are pretty magical. Might have to have a potsticker making party on a lazy Sunday in the near future!
cindy
they’re easy to love! thanks Amanda!
Erika
I’ve never made Potstickers… I need to get up on that.. These look amazin!!!
cindy
it’s a labor of delicious love!
Nicole
These are gorgeous!! I love the sound of that filling combo! The black sesame seeds are perfect sprinkled on top.
cindy
thanks Nicole! Black sesame seeds make everything pretty 🙂
Eileen
I definitely hear you on making tons of dumplings! They’re so useful to have in the freezer at short notice. This pork, kale, & apple combination sounds great, & entirely appropriate for blustery weather. 🙂
cindy
yes…with dumplings more is better, right?!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
APPLE IN THE DUMPLINGS?? Genius.
cindy
yeah, girl! thanks!
Tieghan
Incredible Cindy!! These are dream food to me! I love Asian food, but these? These are so different. I love the fall twist!! And the black sesame seeds!! Oh man! I need to make these!! Oh and I am so jealous of you markets. I have NONE of those were I live. It’s all amazon.
cindy
Thank goodness for Amazon!!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
These look and sound SO incredibly delicious. Love the addition of apple!
cindy
thanks, Nicole!
Molly @ yestoyolks.com
UM, these look amazing! Kale in a potsticker!? You are a genius. I will be making these very soon. My hubby is going to be a happy guy.
cindy
yes! let me know how it goes.
Danguole
I’ve been waiting to see these! Love the pork-apple-kale combo. I’ll take half a dozen please (ok, 3/4 of a dozen is probably more like it).
DanS
Great recipe & Amazing photos!
Very creative use of Kale and apple! Love it!
Thanks for sharing!
Billy
POTSTICKER QUEEN! I love this flavor combo aaand I love your instructions and it’s important because I can’t find a good potsticker up here to save my life.
cindy
it’s a potsticker desert over here too, sometimes you just gotta DIY that shiz.
Amanda
I made these tonight but turned them into wonton soup. Pretty good! I feel like cheese should be involved though.
Scott
Does the ground pork go in uncooked or do you cook it before putting it in the filling?
cindy
The pork goes in uncooked.
Jessica
Do you cook the pork first?
cindy
No, the pork goes in raw and gets cooked when you steam/fry them.