Light & Easy Weeknight Meals: Smashed Pea and Ginger Potstickers

In my life, I’ve always been a big fan of ingredients wrapped in something else. I love burritos, sandwich wraps and many forms of spring rolls. The outside vessel usually isn’t as important as the ingredients inside with the use of a hodgepodge of vegetables and spices.

My smashed pea and ginger potstickers fall right inline with my love of dishes with a flavor inside wrapped, ready to eat. Even better with this tasty asian cuisine-inspired recipe: these morsels are wonderfully bite-sized and ready for any party or light meal.

Don’t let the pleating fool you, it becomes muscle memory after a few times through making the potstickers. If you need a bit of inspiration for pleating and even for making your own wrappers (which I admit, I only do occasionally — potstickers have become a slightly quick meal for me, so I normally have store-purchased wrappers in the refrigerator), I recommend checking out Andrea’s online cooking class, Favorite Asian Dumplings from Scratch.

Once you get the hang of these dumplings, I urge you to experiment with fillings. The smashed peas in this recipe can easily be switched out for items in season: a bit of shredded Brussels sprouts in the fall, roasted sweet potatoes in winter or shredded/lightly sautéed spinach in the spring.

Of course, you could also go a bit more traditional and use cabbage. I’ll often whip up a batch of cabbage potstickers as a way to use up a bit of leftover cabbage from other meals. The red cabbage makes for a beautiful filling but any type of cabbage is great.

Recipe for smashed pea and ginger potstickers

Yields: 18-24 potstickers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sweet peas, boiled for 2-3 minutes if using fresh
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• red pepper flakes, optional
• 18-24 wonton wrappers (square or circles)
• 1 tablespoon peanut or olive oil

Step 1:

In a bowl, combine peas, ginger, sesame seeds, soy sauce, lime juice and red pepper flakes (if using). Using the back of a fork, press down on peas and mash together until mixture is combined.

Step 2:

Set up an assembling station with a small bowl of water, filling, and wrappers. Working with one skin at a time, place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in the water and run it along the entire edge of the wrapper. Fold both ends up (or corners if you are using square wrappers) and lightly pinch. Working with one side, pleat and pinch together making sure that once pleated, the potsticker is closed. Repeat with remaining filling.

Step 3:

Heat a tablespoon of peanut or olive oil over medium-high heat. Place potstickers in pan so that no potsticker is touching. Cook for 1- 1½ minutes until bottom is browned. Pour in ¼ cup of water, place a tight fitting lid on the pan, and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the wrappers are tender.

Step 4:

Serve with a drizzle of soy sauce if desired.

What’s your favorite potsticker filling? Do you like them steamed or fried?