Frozen potstickers (dumplings) falling apart in the pan

[Anonymous]

I have the same problem with following the directions on the bag. Ignore the bag and follow the directions of people on the thread.

[Anonymous]

First, best is to use a cast iron pan which is naturally non-stick, assuming it is properly seasoned. Also, like previous person noted, don't use olive oil. I use sesame oil because it has the flavor you want in the potstickers. Heat the pan first so it is hot. Then add oil and let it come to temp and then the potstickers. They can be touching, though they will stick together if they are. Add enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan where if you were to move the pan slightly, it will clear the water from a section. Cover it and let the water cook off as steam whcih will also cook the rest of teh dumpling. Once the water cooks off, cook until the bottoms are browned.

[Anonymous]

Several problems:
First, don't use stainless steel pans. They do not prevent adhesion when cooking starches. You need to use a non-stick surface like teflon, calphalon, or enamel.
Second, don't use olive oil. You need an oil with a high smoke point because it needs to quickly sear the dough before it softens and becomes glutenous and sticky. The olive oil will not heat hot enough to do this. If you want a healthier option use grapeseed oil, otherwise stick to canola, corn or vegetable oils.

I cook them much like the 15:23 and I learned from my Chinese mother who was a cooking teacher. I put just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (quantity depends on the size of the pan, but put it in, then turn the skillet back and forth until you have a nice thin coat across the entire surface). Wait until the oil is shimmering and you can see it ripple on the pan, if you aren't sure, dip your finger in water and drop a small drop of water, when the water sizzles and pops, then it's ready. Put the potstickers into the pan quickly as they will cause the oil to pop. You also want to add them as quickly as possible because as you add them, the surface temp of the pan/oil will drop with each one and you want as good a sear as possible on the dough. Cover the pan with a lid or a spatter-guard. Wait until you can just see a touch of brown around the edges (if you can't see the edge well, lift one dumpling from the middle of the pan to check), then add enough water to cover about 1/4 inch of the bottom of the pan and cover with a solid lid. Leave on 9-10 minutes to steam the top and check to make sure that the water has mostly evaporated (you don't want a solid layer of water, but only some puddles).

The one thing I don't do is turn them to grill the top, I make dumplines that are flat on the bottom and have a seam on the top so they don't sit flat on the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, best is to use a cast iron pan which is naturally non-stick, assuming it is properly seasoned. Also, like previous person noted, don't use olive oil. I use sesame oil because it has the flavor you want in the potstickers. Heat the pan first so it is hot. Then add oil and let it come to temp and then the potstickers. They can be touching, though they will stick together if they are. Add enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan where if you were to move the pan slightly, it will clear the water from a section. Cover it and let the water cook off as steam whcih will also cook the rest of teh dumpling. Once the water cooks off, cook until the bottoms are browned.

FYI, Chinese cook PP here. I would not use sesame oil because like olive oil, it has a very low smoke point and you won't get a high enough temperature. You'll have many of the same problems as you do with olive oil other than flavor. Either the inside will be undercooked or the outside will be overcooked. If you want the flavor of sesame oil, add it to the dipping sauce (which many Chinese do).

[Anonymous]

I buy the frozen Ling Ling ones from Costco (love them). Put oil in the pan and heat it until it gets hot (try a tiny drop of water and see that it sizzles). Then add the potstickers. Don't move until they release easily.

Non-stick pan will help immensely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:23PP here. Don't use olive oil. Use canola oil or other vegetable oil.

. Interesting! I was absolutely using olive oil and they were shredding apart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I buy the frozen Ling Ling ones from Costco (love them). Put oil in the pan and heat it until it gets hot (try a tiny drop of water and see that it sizzles). Then add the potstickers. Don't move until they release easily.

Non-stick pan will help immensely.

. Ling ling pot stickers tend to have the thickest pastry or wrap, I too tend to find that the Tei pei brand has the absolute thinnest.

[Anonymous]

Here's what you do -
Use a cast iron pan.
If the package says don't add oil to the pan, then don't because that means the potstickers are already oily.
Otherwise, use a little bit of oil to coat the pan.
Get it sizzling hot, then place the frozen pocket stickers in a circular radiating pattern, seam on top, flat body side down. Fill in the radial gaps with more pot stickers until your pan is full.
Next, add some water to steam.
I learned from my mother to mix a little water (say, +/-4 tablespoons) with flour, then pour that floured water into the pan to steam the dumplings, then put a lid on and turn down to medium, medium/low. The floured water helps form a crust for the dumpling base.
Depending on your cooktop, it can take 10-15 minutes to get a nice grilled coat on the base.
When the dumplings are done, take your serving plate, place it upside down on the pan like a lid. Then flip the entire pan so that the dumplings fall into the plate altogether (you'll have to use your other hand to hold the plate in place).
You will have a pretty plate of grilled dumplings in a circular radiating pattern held in place by that floured water.

For dipping, soy sauce, some rice vinegar and sesame oil. You can slice some scallions very thin and add it to the dipping bowl too.

[Anonymous]

OP posted 10 years ago so he probably figured it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's how I cook frozen potstickers: Heat up tbs oil in a pan, place frozen potstickers in pan and keep at med-high heat. Then add 1/4 cup of water, and put a cover on the pan. Leave for about 6-8 minutes. Then uncover and cook until water is gone. Turn potstickers over and cook another 3-4 minutes. Good luck!

This is the only right way. All the other suggestions are uniformed westerners trying to cook Asian food. This is literally how they do it in Japan as well. You have to heat the oil hot too when you're adding in the frozen dumplings. After you've added in the water and evaporated it off, one side will be browned. Turn them oveamd cook on high heat until the other sides are browned. Your problem is too low heat.