Guo Tie (Pot Stickers) Recipe

Guo tie, which are also known as potstickers, are a wonderful Chinese dish. These delicious little treats are one of the mainstays of Chinese cuisine, and they are prepared as a snack, staple, treat, or appetiser, as well around the Lunar New Year. Making them is often a social ritual because all the family can come together and rustle up a big batch. Sometimes hundreds of these will be prepared at once.

Recipes for guo tie vary, because there is no single way to make them, and different cooks have their own ideas and recipes, many of which have been handed down the generations. Pork is a typical filling, and Chinese cooks like to use fatty pork such as belly pork or minced pork with a high fat content. Not only is this very flavourful, but the gummy fat also helps hold the filling together. In the West fat is often avoided but in the East it is prized for the incredible flavour it can add to dishes.

Sometimes beef is used instead of pork, and shrimp sometimes features too. Some potstickers might have cabbage while others have dried mushrooms. If you want to prepare a nice dipping sauce for these, whisk 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, and a little minced fresh ginger and/or chilli oil if you like. This is optional but really tasty with the potstickers.

Although the wrappers for potstickers can be handmade, it is also possible to find them in supermarkets. These are round not square (like wonton wrappers are) and a little thicker so they can stick to the pan without tearing apart.

Because these take a while to make, it is best to make a batch of them. You can even double or triple this recipe if you want, because they freeze well. To freeze them, arrange them on a baking sheet, freeze them for an hour, then put them in a re-sealable plastic bag. To cook them from frozen, steam them for 8 minutes, then let them brown when the water has evaporated. Use a nonstick pan to brown these, else you will discover the reason they are nicknamed ‘potstickers’!