Chives Dumpling (Pot-Sticker) 锅贴

My two growing-up boys are always hungry.  I have to ensure that my fridge is always packed with ready-to-eat food.  This is one good recipe to prepare ahead and store in your freezer.  Use ready-made dumpling skins to save you preparation time.  Uncooked Chives Dumpling can be stored in the freezer for up to a month. 

Chives Dumpling or Pot Stickers 锅贴 (Yield 36 pieces) 

Ingredients:

Dumpling skins are easily available at supermarkets

1 packet              Shanghai Dumpling Skin (approx. 200g)

Filling:

500g               Minced Pork
4                    Large Prawns, diced
150g               Chives, cut into 1cm length


Marinate:
3 tbsp             Oyster Sauce
1 tsp               Chicken Stock Granules
2 tsp               Sugar
1 tsp               Sesame Seed Oil
1 tsp               Chinese Cooking Wine

Direction:  

1. Put minced pork, diced prawns and chopped chives in a big bowl. 
2. Add in all marinate ingredients and mix well.  Chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
3. Take 1 big teaspoon of filling and place it in the center of the dumpling skin.  Seal the edge with a little water.
4. Tradition pot stickers are cooked using the fry-steam-fry method.  Heat up 2 tsp of oil in a large non-stick pan.  Fill up the whole pan with pot stickers and pan fry them over high heat for about 1 minute.  Then add some water, enough to fill 1/3 of your pan, and cover the pan with a lid.  Let it simmer and steam for about 6-7 minutes.  Remove the lid and continue to fry the pot sticker for another minute or until all the liquid has dried up.  A nice brown crust will form on the bottom of the pot stickers.   
5. The pot stickers could also be deep fried - giving a crispy skin on the outside and juicy fillings on the inside.
6. Serve hot. 

Tips

• Serve pot stickers with chinese vinegar and finely shredded young ginger.
• Uncooked pot stickers can be kept frozen for up to 1 month.  Do not pack them too tightly together.  If you need to stack them, put a layer of plastic sheet in between to prevent sticking.  Cook immediately after removing from freezer, do not defroze.