On December 7, 2008, I tore this very recipe out of Chicago Tribune Magazine. Since then, it has been lost among a flurry of other recipes, stuffed into a folder for future use. I rediscovered it a few weeks ago when I decided to tackle the huge task of organizing everything. At least something good came out of it, right?

For a little background, Urban Belly is a popular Chicago “noodle shop with a twist.” I recently wrote about the restaurant in this post, where they catered a party I attended. Urban Belly’s food is awesome and so are these potstickers, which are relatively simple (yet a tad time consuming) to make at home, but pack a TON of flavor.

I ended up freezing about half the potstickers, which I may end up throwing in my recipe for Weeknight Wonton Soup one of these days. I love delicious leftovers.

Urban Belly Pork Potstickers (makes approximately 35 potstickers)

Adapted from Urban Belly for Chicago Tribune Magazine

What you need:

For the potstickers:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil (Thai preferably, if you can find it)
• 1 (12-ounce) package dumpling or egg roll wrappers
• Canola or peanut oil

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallion

How you do it:

1. In a large bowl, gently combine all ingredients (except wrappers, oil and dipping sauce ingredients).
2. Depending on what kind of wrappers you find, you may have to cut them like I did. Mine were approximately 2″ x 2″ squares post-cutting. Before filling, dip your finger in water and run it around the edge of each wrapper. That’ll help hold the potsticker together once it’s filled. Fill each with about 2 teaspoons of filling and press edges together to seal, gently pushing the air out as you close them up. Set filled potstickers aside and cover with a clean kitchen towel while shaping the remaining potstickers.
3. To cook, measure approximately 2 teaspoons of oil, canola or peanut, in a large skillet over medium heat. Fit as many potstickers in the pan as you can and crisp the bottoms; approximately one minute. Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan and cover, steaming the potstickers until the pork is cooked through and the tops are translucent; approximately six minutes. Repeat with remaining potstickers.
4. Meanwhile, mix up your dipping sauce.
5. Dip. Eat. Repeat.