Tai Pei Potstickers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkFtBWmP3HY

I love Chinese food, and we have a few good (although somewhat beyond my budget) Chinese restaurants in my area. (We also have a Panda Express.) As a result, I don’t often get Chinese food from them, but I have been enjoying the Tai Pei line of frozen foods. These used to come in a little box that was shaped a typical Chinese take out food box, but they switched a few years ago to these odd oval boxes.

Anyway, most of these have a fairly simple preparation: you take off the plastic band that keeps the lid on, pop them in the microwave for four to five minutes, leave them to sit for a minute or two, and they’re ready to eat. Couldn’t be simpler. But potstickers are an altogether different story, because the entire point of a potsticker is that it’s crunchy on the bottom.

I cooked the pork potstickers following the microwave directions. (Add 1 tablespoon of water, replace the lid, microwave on high for two minutes, and allow to rest for one minute.) The filling was delicious, but they didn’t steam well—the wrapper became tough and chewy. Nevertheless, the filling was delicious and each potsticker was well filled. I tried the sauce packet that was included, but I did not like it at all. I much preferred using some low-sodium Kikkoman soy sauce that I usually have on hand.

I cooked the chicken potstickers in a skillet, which is the recommended method, and these were absolutely amazing. The filling is tasty, the bottoms are delightfully crunchy, and they taste just like the potstickers you get in a restaurant. I will buy these again, but I definitely will go through the trouble of cooking these in a pan.

Preparation Instructions

I’ve tried a lot of the Tai Pei products and they’re pretty good in the microwave, but this one was an exception. Because these need to be crisp on the bottom, it really is worth the extra trouble to pan fry these. The instructions call out for medium-high heat, but I found that to be too hot for my stove. I suggest starting out on medium heat and going with a longer cooking time if necessary. Once the water evaporates (you’ll be able to tell from the sound), the bottom will start to crisp, so make sure the tops are well steamed at that point. If they aren’t, add another 1/4 cup of water.

Nutritional Information

Pork Potstickers:

I had seven potstickers in each container, so I’m assuming about three and a half potstickers per serving. Overall, these nutrition numbers are not bad: There’s not too much fat or cholesterol in these, and a fair amount of protein. If you eat the entire container (and I did) you get a fourth of your daily requirement for protein. But there are 760 mg of sodium in a single serving. I have to assume that a lot of this comes from the soy sauce packet, which I ended up not using.

Chicken Potstickers:

The nutrition for the chicken potstickers are very similar to the pork potstickers, but oddly, they have even more cholesterol and sodium.

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