Potsticker Party!! ((An Okie Girl’s Take on Potstickers))

One of our favorite people is in town during summer break for just one week and that can only mean one thing! Food and fun — wait, that is two things! Summer brain is a killer, haha! Our Luke is in from Columbia and oh how we have missed him! So dinner was his choice, which as you may guess from the title of this post, he picked potstickers.

A year ago, Luke may have picked sandwiches — but after soaking in all of the fantastic food around the Columbia campus, he has become a fast fan of Chinese yummies. I love potstickers – and find making them therapeutic, so I was immediately all in.

In order to get ready for our potsticker party, I gathered all of my favorite filling ingredients:

• ground pork
• carrots
• cabbage
• onion
• celery
• mushrooms
• cilantro
• fresh ginger
• garlic
• lemon ((for the zest))
• wonton wrappers

Luke and twin brother Zach ((who is our local college cousin)) arrived for dinner in time to — well, help cook ((just as I planned, haha)). They became fast pros at chopping, fine dicing and grating. In short order, the ingredients were prepped and it was time to cook the pork filling.

I like to brown the ground pork first, then add the veggies and season to taste. I am sure there are many filling variations, but I like to mimic a pork egg roll. The filling ingredients are assembled and cooked and I seasoned to taste with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

I divided the pork filling into three, turning some into spicy ((using 4 tablespoons of sriracha)), kid friendly ((or should I say friendly to my kids — with no mushrooms, cilantro and minimal veggies)) and original. A funny thing happened when the kiddos saw I was making a kid version, but I will tell you about that in a minute.

Dinner prep quickly turned from checking off a list of tasks into a fun opportunity to catch up on college life and a chance to give a bit of cooking instruction all at the same time. Yes, it turned into a potsticker party. ((This truth is evidenced by the fact that I have NO pretty ingredient, prep, cute cooking or gorgeous final product photos!! We were literally having too much fun to stop and take pictures, oops.))

Even my herd joined in the potsticker production line. After giving everyone a quick lesson in potsticker making, I started cooking the tiny treats in batches. My herd was initially apprehensive to try them but after watching Luke & Zach inhale them, they mustered their courage and tried the “kid-friendly” variety. 

We ended up filling over 100 of these little purses, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable meals we have had in a long time. Gracie wrapped hers like a “burrito” and Kade formed his into a tight round ball. The more they did, the better they looked, it was a self-confidence builder for sure!

And the taste? They were in love at first bite, and started eating the filling instead of filling the potstickers. As you can imagine, the “kid’s version” of the filling didn’t last long but the kids were having so much fun filling them that they started using loaded filling. They quickly lost track of what potstickers were theirs. You know what that means?? They ate the full veggie and mushroom ones to their heart’s content and never noticed.

Oh, but I noticed. It was a highlight of my evening. Yes, I find enjoyment in the simple things in life, like masking the flavors of mushrooms and green veggies so that my kids wont know the truth about what they are eating. I clearly have issues.

Next time you are wanting to bond with the fam or just entertain your posse, you should whip out the cutting boards, graters, and some wonton wrappers ((in addition to some filling ingredients)) and throw a potsticker party. I think you will be surprised at just how much fun it can be!