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make it again

Susie Cushner

These small dumplings come with both a story and a significant history. According to legend, they were born in the imperial kitchen when a cook, making dumplings for the emperor, forgot a batch that was slowly cooking. They were singed brown, slightly burned. With no time to spare, and an impatient, hungry emperor waiting, the cook, a nimble and adaptive fellow, arranged the dumplings on a platter, burned sides up, and presented them to the emperor as a new dish that he called, quotie, which means "stuck bottom." The emperor was delighted. Legend or not, it is a fact that these browned half-moons filled with pork and vegetables were eventually sold daily by the thousands from small streetside stands to satisfy the morning habits of people in Beijing and Tianjin, who called them jiaozi, or "little dumplings." It is a tradition that exists to this day.

As popular foods do, these jiaozi migrated to Shanghai, where they became known by their imperial name of quotie, to describe their cooking process. The habit of morning pot stickers swept Shanghai, and to this day they are sold, as in Beijing, from small streetside stands. Over the years, they migrated south to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, carried by Shanghainese fleeing the Japanese invasion of their city, and sold first by refugees on the streets as a way of making a living.

They have become part of the accommodating dim sum repertoire, and are referred to in Cantonese as wor tip, or "pot stickers." Serve them with a ginger-vinegar sauce (see note).

Makes 36 dumplings, or 8 to 10 servings


  1. Filling
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 tablespoon salt plus 1 teaspoon
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)
    • 3/4 cup sliced bok choy stalks (1/4-inch-wide pieces)
    • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed sliced bok choy leaves (1/4-inch-wide pieces)
    • 14 ounces ground pork
    • 1/3 cup finely sliced scallions
    • 2 teaspoons peeled and grated ginger
    • 2 teaspoons white rice wine
    • 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce
    • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • Pinch of white pepper
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  2. Dough
    • 2 cups Pillsbury Best All-Purpose Flour
    • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
    • 6 tablespoons peanut oil
    • 1 cup water


    1. 1. To make the filling, first water blanch the bok choy. In a pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon salt and the baking soda (if using). When the water returns to a boil, add the bok choy stalks and allow the water to return to a boil. Add the bok choy leaves and blanch for 1 minute, or until the leaves turn bright green. Immediately turn off the heat. Run cold water into the pot, then drain off the water. Repeat.
    2. 2. In a large bowl, place the bok choy, the 1 teaspoon salt, and all of the remaining filling ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or 2 pairs of wooden chopsticks, mix the ingredients together, stirring them in one direction. Stirring in this way ensures the mixture will become a cohesive filling. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. The longer it rests, the easier it will be to work with.
    3. 3. To make the dough: In a large bowl, place the flour and make a well in the center. Gradually add the water to the well, and use your fingers to combine it with the flour until it is absorbed and a firm dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. Knead the dough in the bowl for about 15 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 1 1/2 hours.
    4. 4. Dust a work surface with flour. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Work with 1 piece at a time, and keep the others covered with the damp cloth. Using your palms, roll into a log 12 inches long. Cut crosswise into 12 equal pieces. Using a small rolling pin, roll out each piece into a 3-inch round. Keep the work surface well dusted with flour as you work.
    5. 5. Place 1 round on the palm of one hand, place 1 tablespoon of the filling on the center, and fold the round into a half-moon. Using the thumb and forefinger of the other hand pleat the seam closed, making from 5 to 7 pleats. Repeat to form more dumplings until all of the rounds are used. Cover the dumplings with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out, then repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough in two batches to make a total of 36 dumplings.
    6. 6. In a cast-iron frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the peanut oil over high heat. When a wisp of white smoke appears, turn off the heat and place 18 of the dumplings in the pan. Turn on the heat to medium and allow the dumplings to cook for 3 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the water into the pan and allow the dumplings to cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the water evaporates. Reduce the heat to low and allow the dumplings to cook for about 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the bottom and the skins are translucent on top. To ensure the dumplings cook evenly, move the pan back and forth on the burner to distribute the heat evenly and prevent sticking.
    7. 7. Remove to a heated dish and serve. Because these dumplings are best eaten hot, serve in batches.
These dumplings can be frozen uncooked for up to 6 weeks. Dust them liberally with flour to prevent sticking, then stack them neatly, separating the layers with sheets of waxed paper. Next, wrap them in a double layer of plastic wrap, and then wrap again in heavy-duty aluminum foil and slip into the freezer. To cook them, thaw and allow to come to room temperature, then cook as directed. These dumplings are eaten with a ginger-vinegar dipping sauce that is as traditional as they are. In a bowl, mix together 1/3 cup red rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup peeled and finely shredded ginger. Let stand for 30 minutes before use. Then serve the sauce in a common bowl, from which each diner can spoon the sauce over a dumpling. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

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Nutritional Info

  • Calories82
  • Carbohydrates6 g(2%)
  • Fat5 g(8%)
  • Protein3 g(6%)
  • Saturated Fat1 g(7%)
  • Sodium211 mg(9%)
  • Polyunsaturated Fat1 g
  • Fiber0 g(1%)
  • Monounsaturated Fat2 g
  • Cholesterol12 mg(4%)

Recent Reviews

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Can't rate the finished product yet. The filling seems fine, but the dough is a nightmare! Made exactly as instructed...ended up adding at least twice as much flour, and it is the stickiest dough I've ever seen. After adding at least twice as much flour as it called for, and kneading for 15 minutes, the dough seemed ok. Let it rest for 2 hours. Started rolling it into logs, and the dough became very sticky and limp. Managed it cut it into 36 pieces (no way could I slice the logs into rounds). Formed balls of the pieces, rolled them in more flour, tried rolling them out....needed still more flour. Finally got them all rolled out, putting them in one layer between waxed paper. Started filling and pinching. By the time I got to the second to bottom layer the last few were a sticky mess. I will never try this again. Btw, i humidity was low today. What did I do wrong???

These were delicious. I used store bought frozen won ton wrappers and they worked out very nicely. There was some filling leftover and I fried it in a pan with a scrambled egg and put it over rice with shoyu sauce....made me want to use it all for rice and egg topping!

Great recipe. For the reviewer that mentioned not adding the water: the water is just for blanching the bok choy. The bok choy is then strained, so the water doesn't stay in the recipe. I made this with turkey and spinach instead of pork and bok choy (not authentic, I know), as they were the ingredients I had on hand. Everything turned out great even with the substitutions. My only other note is that I browned the turkey before putting it in the filling mix, because I really didn't trust having raw meat in there. A great recipe and I would make it again for sure!

Dont add the 4 cups of water to the filling ! Seemed a little odd but I did it then ended up draining it out. Awesome recipe ! Very delicious.

time consuming but great recipe

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