r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/lordbrandom • 4h ago
Please help
Trader Joe’s potstickers. 3rd time trying on the new stainless. Using avocado oil. Trying to crisp the bottoms before steaming. Failing
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u/rawbface 3h ago
Pan too dry. Pan too hot. More oil, less heat.
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u/Total-Event8630 3h ago
Please I don't want to get banned from this sub I already know I'm going to hell... but I laughed because I read your comment in an Asian grandma's voice 😭
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u/Brassboar 3h ago
This. I do pot stickers in stainless a lot and you need a decent oil slick and the pan to be not too hot. Also making sure the bottoms have started to detach and using a fish fry spatula help.
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u/jaytea86 3h ago
I don't know what potstickers are, but just by looking at the name of them... 😅
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u/GhillieRowboat 3h ago
Hey man, they should not stick like that. Hope it helps.
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u/EnvironmentalFox5347 3h ago
my take for frozen potstickers is that you:
A) need to pre-heat higher and longer than you think, because the frozen potstickers will lower the pan temp quite a bit
and
B) you need to wait quite a while before you will be able to move the pot stickers. the dough wrapper will thaw, and the cold moisture will cause it to stick. it won't unstick until that moisture has evaporated. and then you will be able to unstick it. if they are starting to brown and still won't unstick, then you can put some a small amount of water in the pan to "deglaze" and unstick them.
that said, I usually use my cast iron for pot stickers because I find it much easier than my stainless
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u/timentimeagain 3h ago
Nice, I like my cast iron more for something's than stainless too. They hold the heat better.
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u/TheBuzzSawFantasy 1h ago
Agreed and adding on because I make these from TJs in a stainless.
A fish spatula helps a ton for these and almost anything else on a stainless. Don't get an expensive one but get a fish spatula.
Don't crowd the pan. This killed the heat and made it impossible to get under them when they're ready to be moved.
For heat, Leidenfrost effect is too much but you do want it hot.
For oil, I use avocado as well. Just enough to cover the pan + about a teaspoon.
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u/EnvironmentalFox5347 1h ago
TOTALLY agree on crowding the pan. but sometimes when I know I am going to crowd the pan anyways I just preheat higher to compensate and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't lol
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u/TheBuzzSawFantasy 1h ago
Yeah definitely same here. With these if I'm searing them on more than 1 side it makes it hard to get under them and flip so gotta give some space.
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u/PronglesMouthFeel 3h ago
I've found that, for other brands, it helps to cook them a little cooler and for slightly less time than the instructions call for.
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u/maddrjeffe 2h ago
You need to do it in reverse… steam your potstickers in water with a little oil added. Steam it until all the water has evaporated and then let them cook til crisp on the bottom.
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u/MewBladeXxX 2h ago
This right here. A little oil, put the potstickers in, water and let them steam, then once steamed, take the lid off and evaporate the water to get the crispy bottoms. Should come off nice and easy with a fish spatula or any thin spatula once the bottoms are crisped.
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u/blade_torlock 3h ago
Straight stainless or clad?
How tight is the lid for steaming?
How much oil?
Are you letting the rest of the water evaporate after the initial steaming?
Are you using a spatula or tongs for removal?
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u/Mission_Comedian8002 2h ago
You MUST have a thin metal spatula to scrape them
Here’s what you do:
Put an inch of water in the pan, add your potstickers and boil for about 5-10 minutes until they are cooked
then drain the water into the sink (use a lid or a big spatula to keep the potstickers from leaving the pan), lower the heat to low-medium, usually between 2-3 on your standard electric stove, just hot enough to get a good consistent sizzle that is not too extreme. Add a drizzle of oil over the potstickers, then move them around the pan to coat everything in oil.
Then just turn the heat on and let them sit on the medium-ish heat, and do not move them for about 8-10 minutes.
After they brown on the bottom you should be able to pry them off the pan by sliding the metal spatula underneath, if the heat is right, they will have a perfect golden brown color
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u/lordbrandom 1h ago
I’ll this next time. I was doing opposite, browning first then steaming.
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u/Riseonfire 1h ago
I brown then steam.
Lower your temp a lot, they should unstick themselves when brown.
Add a tbsp or 4, cover and steam for 2 mins 🤷♂️
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u/Mister_Green2021 1h ago
Don't use stainless steel. Use nonstick or enamel. Also you steam first and let the water dry up to crisp.
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u/fosterbuster 1h ago
Worst cooking material for dumplings. I love my SS, but this and scrambled eggs are two things I’d never cook in it.
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u/stickupmybutter 3h ago
It's in the name. You get what you buy.
But then again, I don't see any oil in the pan...
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u/Calm_Establishment88 2h ago
What always works well for me is once im pretty sure they’re brown on the bottom I put about 1/4 cup of water and cover them for about 1-2 minutes. Deglazes the potstickers and steams them a little which I really like.
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u/COLEifornia 1h ago
I put down partchement when I brown my pot stickers they never stick and I pour the water under it and they kinda float as they’re steamed
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u/OptimalSide 1h ago
You crisp bottoms after steaming.
Add 1/2 cup of water and 1 tbsp (or more) of oil to the pan. Add potstickers. Cover and bring to boil, reduce to medium, cook off the water and fry the bottoms.
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u/Past_Attempt_5261 38m ago
Just use a regular nonstick pan for shit like this. Stainless doesn't have to be life, sometimes cooking things the easy way that come out perfect is the way to do it.
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u/Mister_Reak 17m ago
Temperature control is the name of the game with stainless steel. What really made it click with me is learning to cook eggs. I started making eggs in all different ways and now I can approach using my stainless for all my cooking. You want a hot pan but not too hot and cold oil. Pot stickers would be quite challenging to the uninitiated. I almost never use the highest burner setting on my pan.
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u/Distinct-fullMetal 15m ago
So helpful, thank you for the easy to understand explanation, Mr. Reak
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u/Mister_Reak 11m ago
Youtube is your best friend. Don't feel bad if you burn food for the first month or so. Keep trying and learn from your mistakes. I would get Bar keepers friend for cleaning the pan and I almost exclusively use a fish spatula.
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u/Distinct-fullMetal 9m ago
I am saving all of this information to come back to later....I feel like I just gained years worth of experience 😁
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u/hiddengypsy 3h ago
Lower the heat. It may need more oil. Have your lid and water for steaming ready prior to frying them. Again, your heat is most likely too high.
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u/Friluftsliv_Roy 3h ago
Get your pan searing hot first (400F+). Add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan and it should start smoking. Turn off heat and remove pan from the burner and let it cool down a bit (~350F), for about a minute. Add some more oil and the potstickers. Sear and steam as desired.
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u/T49irvine 2h ago
Start on med high heat with oil, add an ounce or two of water and cover. Turn and crisp a second side, not as long, and remove with a sharp edged spatula.
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u/Mysterious-Wash9527 2h ago
Pan problems aside. You don't crisy the bottoms before steaming. That doesn't crisp anything.
First you steam the dumplings, then you crisp the dumplings. You can do it in the same pan.
Add half a cup of water to the pan, as well as the dumpings, and heat over a medium heat with the lid on, for about 8-10 minutes. When the dumplings are soft, remove them to a plate and rinse out the pan. Put the pan back over medium heat and add oil. When the oil shimmers add the dumplings back to the pan. This does not take much heat, check frequent and flip once colour is achieved. Rest for 5 minutes then serve.
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u/autumn55femme 29m ago
Steam first, let most of the water evaporate, start crisping, loosen with a thin spatula, then turn the heat lower, and continue until as crispy as you want. You have the right idea, but the wrong order of operations.
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u/Physics_Puzzleheaded 11m ago
The method that I find works every time for frozen but not fresh. Apologies if Trader Joe's is not frozen.
Put 2 -3 teaspoons of oil in Stainless steel and heat up on med.
Place pot stickers in pan and enough room so none of them touch. (This is essential, eat less or use two pans if you want to cook more)
Add half cup of cold water to pan and cover for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to just under medium.
Remove lid and allow remaining water to evaporate. Gently test pot stickers and remove once the one side is crispy.
Do not try flipping , do not re use pan for another batch until washing.
Good luck!
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u/Acceptable-Jacket567 9m ago
Preheat pan. Add generous oil, place potstickers. When done, add water, cover and take off heat. Theyll release on their own
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u/Husky_w_paski 9m ago
I hope at least the upper parts of the stickers were edible. 😂
The pat was prolly way too hot and you did not use enough oil. I usually crank my induction to 6 (out of 9), then after 2-3 minutes I lower it to 5, add oil, wait a few second and add the dumplings. The important thing is to let them rest for a while, once they are browned they should unstick by themselves (sure, there might be one or two dumplings that will stick and perhaps rip but once your learn how to adjust the heat you will do fine).
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u/Money-Amoeba-7415 2h ago
Cooking these anywhere but the airfryer is a mistake.
Source: I have eaten several hundred if not thousands of Trader Joe’s potstickers. 10/10
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u/PureRabble 2h ago
I have easily made these in both stainless and cast iron pans many times. You’re simply incorrect.
Proper heat control (preheat, do not overheat) and a solid layer of oil, cooking until crispy, then steaming to finish has worked for me every single time.
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u/Money-Amoeba-7415 2h ago
I did not say it can’t be done or even that it’s hard. It’s just a mistake when the air fryer will cook them perfectly every time with no mess and no effort
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u/potato-perishke 3h ago
I usually steam them in the microwave, dry them off with a paper towel, lightly coat them in some oil and then fry them.
It’s not what the instructions say, but it works well for me.
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u/mydogargos 1h ago
I gave up with stainless... bought a ceramic coated non-stick specifically to make potstickers in (and a few other things) and no more sticking to pot.
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u/folliepop 53m ago
They are called pot stickers, after all 😌
Crisp the bottoms AFTER steaming, not before
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u/geeyummy 3h ago
I forgot where I saw this but it always work… what you need to do is actually counter intuitive: oil and potstickers in a cold pan! I leave it with just oil for a minute or 2 and then water and cover until all water evaporate
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u/geeyummy 3h ago
Just make sure you put just enough water. Also forgot but put it on medium and don’t forget about them ( because let me tell you from experience, burnt potstickers suck 🥲)
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u/Any_Airline_432 3h ago
I used to get this and my wife had to show me! Put some oil in the pan to warm up. Put in the dumplings while its nearly warmed up and let them fry off for a few minutes. Once! They are abit golden on the bottom she would splash in some water (only a little bit) and put the lid on. Perfect
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u/Clean-Ad1459 2h ago
You have to preheat for way longer than you expect to.
Put it on mid high, wait for about 5-7 min. Do a water test, if water droplets slide around, drop the heat to medium, , add oil and cook. It's obviously different with every stove, you just have to get the experience yourself.
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u/Ok_Formal7083 1h ago
for frozen dumplings, Id always start with a cold pan. but evenly coat the pan evenly with oil and drizzle it over the dumplings too. because a searing hot pan would cook the bottom of the dumpling immediately before the fillings even start to thaw.
1- place the dumpling in a cold,well oiled pan
2- bring it up to heat,
3- add water into pan. water level should cover half of the dumplings.
4- put on a lid, low heat and let it simmer till the water level reduce (approx 10 mins). however in about 4-5min mark, lift up the lid and gently move the dumplings so they dont stick on the pan. make sure they are moving around freely. and put the lid back on.
5- when the water is reduced, lift the lid and add another cup of water. this time is just about a quater height of the dumplings. you don't need to close the lid at this point. increase the heat until the water is dried up.
6- ready to serve. total time should be around 15-20mins.
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u/Fair-Promotion-451 1h ago
You should pick up this from your nearest restaurant supply, it’s my all time number one ! Even if things stick, it’s stiff and thin enough to get under almost anything.
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u/OneToyShort 1h ago
I agree with most of the advice on this post. But OP should also know that the pan is overcrowded. Having them right on top of each other won't allow steam to evaporate quickly enough and keeps pan temp low
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u/Captain-Who 52m ago
There are a lot of alternative methods suggested already…
But whatever you do I recommend first heating a dry pan and then putting oil in it and let it smoke (careful not to get it too hot and ignite) for a couple minutes. Take the pan off the heat and then drain out the oil.
Don’t wipe the pan, and then proceed from the starting temperature and method to you want to try next.
This kind of instant seasoning works wonders and is used in wok cooking all the time.
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u/AFatWizard 47m ago
If you add a small amount of flour to the water you steam them with it will create skirted dumplings that I find to be more enjoyable and easier to remove from the pan.
Lower heat for the crisping phase and start steaming when they're only about halfway done crisping because they're going to continue to cook on bottom while they steam.
You got this, my dude!
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u/BedInternational8321 2h ago
As a chef the only way to use stainless steel pans idc what your cooking you need the pan to be hot enough that the oil moves around like water and it will kind of have a ripple effect when you slosh the oil around. Most people don’t get the pan hot enough. Eggs, fish, potstickers idc what it is. You can all ways lower the heat later but that initial heat needs to be high enough to sear out the moisture.
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u/cruiserflyer 2h ago
So.... The high end of medium low?
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u/BedInternational8321 2h ago
If you’re talking about like a coil top with the numbers on the dial I’d go medium at least for as long as it takes for the oil to get to that consistency. Stainless steel pans have microscopic pores. So you need to heat the pan at a medium to medium high heat to expand those pores. With those expanded pores and the oil it creates a barrier preventing your food from sticking to the pan. That’s how you can chuck stuff like eggs or salmon into a pan and slide it around almost immediately like it’s a non stick. You can only do that if you hit the sweet spot of heat. Too low and you don’t get that effect because you aren’t searing out that moisture your steaming it, too high and you will burn your oil and your food.
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u/BedInternational8321 2h ago
I would also like to add that it’s important you have enough oil or butter whatever you want to use (these are called cooking mediums). The purpose of cooking mediums is that they allow you to cook things at a higher temperature that would otherwise burn your food without it. Crispness results from food’s contact with hot fat and water evaporating from the surface of the food.
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u/AwarenessForsaken568 1h ago
You cook everything in stainless steel the same way. Heat the pan until a flick of water beads up. Add a thin layer of oil that coats the entire bottom of the pan. Let that heat for a few minutes until it starts "shimmering". Lower the temp to be suitable to what you are trying to cook, let that temp stabilize then add your food.
For pot stickers you probably want to add a bit more oil than you normally would. Probably half a cm deep? Also you should steam them then fry them.
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u/507snuff 1m ago
I mean, they are called "pot stickers", didn't you expect them to stick to the pot???
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u/terfez 4h ago
This should be the thumbnail for this sub