Gochujang Potstickers

By Christie Vanover | Published January 11, 2014 | Last Updated December 29, 2022

My food trend pick for 2014 is Gochujang. It’s another way to add sweet heat to dishes without burning your tastebuds.

Gochujang is a fermented Korean red chile paste that has a little bit smokier flavor than sriracha. It has a thick consistency like tomato paste and is made from red chiles, glutinous rice, soybeans, seasoning and sweetener.

You can easily add it to condiments (like mayo or ketchup), dressings, sauces and marinades for a surprising accent.

My first creation with Gochujang was pan-fried potstickers. I knew I wanted to fill the wonton skins with pork, traditional Asian seasonings and gochujang, but I honestly wasn’t sure how to cook them.

I mentioned the dilemma to a coworker, and she shared the technique her mother used. Using a paper towel, her mother would coat a frying pan with sesame oil. I never dreamt of using sesame oil. It has such a strong flavor if you use too much. But if you follow her paper towel trick, it works perfectly and adds much more flavor than a vegetable or peanut oil.

After you get the nice brown coating on the dumplings, her mom adds just a hint of water and covers the pan tightly with a lid, until the potstickers are steamed. They came out perfect!

I accented them with a Gochujang Ponzu Sauce for dipping. You can use regular soy sauce, but I like ponzu because it has a hint of citrus, making it more Zestuous.

This recipe makes about 50 potstickers. I cooked about 20 for dinner (that’s all we ate), and froze the other 30 for another day. It does take a while to fold each little pocket of goodness, so it’s nice that I can pull a few out of the freezer next time I’m in the mood for this tasty appetizer.

Gochujang Potstickers

Gochujang Potstickers ~ an Asian pocket of pork with a mild red pepper, ponzu kick

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 50 potstickers

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Ingredients

 

• 1 lb ground pork
• 3 tablespoons ponzu sauce or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 2 tsps sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
• 50 wonton wrappers
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil for frying
• 1 cup water for steaming

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, use your hands to combine the pork, ponzu sauce, rice wine vinegar, green onions, garlic, gochujang, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and white pepper . Let rest for about 10 minutes for the flavors to combine.
  
• Place 1 wonton wrapper on the counter. Place about 1 teaspoon of the pork filling in the center.
  
• Using your finger, brush a small amount of water on two adjoining sides of the wonton wrapper.
• Fold the wrapper in half over the meat to form a triangle. Use your fingers to push the sides together. The water will help create a seal.
• Fold the two corners toward each other and seal together with a small bit of water. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
  
• Use a large skillet that has a tight-fitting lid. Place the skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan. Use a papertowel to spread the oil over the whole bottom surface.
  
• Place wontons in the pan, so they are not touching.
  
• Brown the bottoms for 3-5 minutes.
  
• Have the lid ready and pour in about ¼ cup water. Quickly place the lid on the pan and steam for about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the pan with a spatula and serve with the sauce.
  
• Continue cooking the remaining potstickers the same way. You may need to clean the pan in between batches, if the pan starts to build-up residue.

Nutrition

Calories: 51kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 69mgPotassium: 35mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.04gVitamin A: 7IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.3mg

This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator

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Gochujang Ponzu Sauce

Gochujang Potstickers ~ an Asian pocket of pork with a mild red pepper, ponzu kick

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

• ¼ cup ponzu sauce or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vineagar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 green onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon gochujang
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Serve with Gochujang Potstickers

This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator

Show Me the StarsDid you love it? Be sure to leave a rating and comment.