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In the early tenure of our relationship, Mr. Meat and Potatoes and I would occasionally go to Zen Zero for dinner, which always surprised me given his penchant for food that is hot, brown, and plenty of it.

I thought Thai-esque cuisine might be out of his usual range. I’d order my usual: gyoza for appetizer, Pad Thai for main course, and I’d whip out my chopsticks.

Mr. Meat and Potatoes would pick up his chopsticks every time, without fail and repeat the same joke: “Do you know what these are good for?” [Here, he’d point the chopsticks at my silverware.] “Can you hand me that fork?”

He had two standard dishes at Zen Zero, and was suspect of my dumplings and my chopsticks. To be fair, he’s come a long way since then and is now more adept with the chopsticks than I am, and downs sushi, dumplings, and all manner of other “new” food with me as frequently as we can afford it.

I don’t care what you call them: gyoza, pot stickers, mandu, dumplings… they’re fabulous. Mr. Meat and Potatoes is a dumpling (and chopstick) convert. He cannot get enough. I credit myself.

Pot stickers are versatile little suckers, and can mean hours of family fun, impressive parties, or romantic dinners while feeding one another with your newfound chopstick skills. They can be fried, boiled, or steamed. They can include sweet or savory fillings, and can be dunked in sauces that vary as wide as your imagination can carry you.

I suppose there are probably rules to “real” potstickers, and regional differences that should be observed in terms of whether you fry or boil, what kind of dipping sauce goes with what kind of filling, etc. I am sure, as an American, I have bastardized the pot sticker much as we have bastardized sushi, and really, I gotta say, I’m okay with that. If the end result tastes good and is fun to eat, I don’t see the problem, gauche as I may be.

Do not confuse the pot sticker with the wanton. Wonton wrappers are a different bird altogether than pot sticker dough, no matter what Alton Brown says.

If you want to do it right, make your dough yourself. The stuff you buy at the store will more likely be a wanton wrapper cut in a circle than a real dumpling dough. If you’re in a pinch, fine, use the store-bought stuff, but know what you’re serving is more of a wonton than a dumpling and just go with that.

For the dough

Most recipes will suggest that dumpling dough is simply three parts flour to one part BOILING water. This usually works pretty well, and I’d also add a dash of salt to the mix.

Start by mixing 3 cups flour to 1 cup water, and then start kneading. If you have a dough hook, here’s where it’s really handy. You need to knead it for probably 20 minutes to get the dough soft. Once you get the desired consistency, separate the dough into two portions and roll it into a log. When you are ready to use it, slice it into thin “cookies” and then use a rolling pin to further thin and flatten each circle.

For the filling

Here’s where it’s fun. I suggest you start sort of traditionally and move away from that filling as you get more confident with what flavors you like to combine and what you want out of the dumpling.

Basic Pork Filling
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb cooked shrimp, finely chopped
2 T green onion, finely chopped
1 C napa cabbage, finely chopped
1 small can water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 Tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 T chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tsp hot chili oil
Salt and pepper

Cook the pork and the shrimp and then mix with the rest of the ingredients. It's easiest to just give all the ingredients (minus the pork) a good turn in the food processor, and then add the pork in. Set aside.

For the dipping sauce

Oh, I love a good dipping sauce. Usually I order dumplings just because of the sauces. Here is a very basic one. Again, there are a million ways to go with this, from sweeter to spicier to creamy. I could take a bath in the creamy sauce at Zen Zero. Hello, lover.

Straight ahead sauce
1/3 C soy sauce
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 T sesame oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp thai chili sauce (or, to taste)

Simmer together in a small saucepan over low heat for 10 minutes or so, until warm and flavors have blended.

To assemble

Lay your “skins” out on a cookie sheet or other flat, clean surface. Wet the skins around the edges so they’ll stick. If you’re a purist (I am not) you’ll do the traditional “pleating” technique, which I find to be fussy and time consuming, but it does look cool.

Start by putting a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Then pull two sides up to where they meet above the filling in the center, and pinch just that one center spot shut, like a snap. On just one side (what we’ll consider the top), begin folding a small amount of dough over itself, and continue along the top edge until the whole thing has nice pleats. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll seal it all the way down and then crimp like you would a pie crust. Much easier, but not for purists.

To cook

Here is where you decide the real fate of your dumpling. I, of course, prefer them fried.

However, a real traditionalist will do a fry/steam combo. To do so, you put about 1 T of oil in a non-stick pan and heat it to almost the smoking point. Put the pot stickers in, flat side down, and fry for about one minute. Then add 1/2 cup of water to the pan, and cover with a lid. Steam them in there for another 3 minutes or so over medium heat, and then turn off the heat and let them simmer for another minute. You’ll end up with a great combination of crispy and soft textures.

But don’t stop here.

Consider making dessert dumplings with chutney or apples inside.

Consider putting a dollop of ice cream inside a wrapper and frying that little sucker for just a minute on each side.

Make sauces out of any ingredients you can find in your house.

Go vegetarian and sauté your garden squash with some brown sugar, green onion, and cabbage for a vegan feast.

You can do virtually anything with these. Be sure to practice your chopstick skills, and happy dipping!

Note: Congratulations to Megan, who as of this week, no longer has a parasite in her belly — rather a beautiful baby boy, Johnny.