My boys love Chinese food any time, but it is especially fun for us when Chinese New Year rolls around each year. We enjoy learning about different cultures, and China has been an especially fun country to learn about in our history studies.
Cooking with Kids: Celebrating Chinese New Year
This easy and fun recipe for pot stickers makes a good school-day lunch to accompany some easy homemade fried rice and hot tea.
Easy Pot Stickers
You will need:
- Won Ton wrappers
- 2 large carrots, grated or chopped fine
- 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
- other veggies as you desire, but my kids are super picky!
- you can also add cooked meat, such as ground beef or chicken, but we prefer ours with veggies only
- vegetable oil for cooking
- a cup of water for sealing pot stickers
- for sauce–mix 1 clove chopped garlic,1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1T Sesame oil, 2T apple cider vinegar
Here’s how we made them:
- Mix sauce and set aside.
- Chop and grate veggies and mix together in large bowl. Pour half of sauce into veggie mixture and combine. Set aside the rest of the sauce for dipping your cooked pot stickers.
- Heat enough oil to cover the bottom in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Place each Won Ton wrapper on a plate and add a spoonful of the veggie mixture. Dip your clean finger in water and wipe the edges of the wrapper, then fold over and press gently to seal.
- Cook each pot sticker in oil for about two minutes, then flip over and cook about two minutes more. Set on paper towel lined plate to drain. Add more oil to pan as needed. Hint: only cook 4 or 5 pot stickers at a time, depending on the size of your pan, to make it easier to flip them and prevent them from sticking together.
- Once pot stickers have cooled a bit, eat and enjoy!
Some things to do while the pot stickers are cooking:
- Free Learn With Me Program from Panda Express
- {The Year of the Horse} Money Envelope Horses craft from Let’s Go Fly a Kite
- More New Year activities on Pinterest
Also see these related posts for more ideas:
- What to Read Wednesday: Chinese New Year Books for Kids
- Real Teen Read The House of Sixty Fathers
- Hands-On Activities for The House of Sixty Fathers
Love this!!!
I am so excited to try the pot stickers recipe! I’ve never quite ventured into making Asian foods yet but it’s something I really want to try because my daughter has Asian roots on her father’s side and I want to bring some of her culture into our home. Thanks for the recipe!
Looks like a fun project to do with the kids and a great chance to talk about Chinese New Year. I love pot stickers!
That looks like it was a fun day and a great meal!
I love potstickers! We’ve never made them from scratch so I’m excited to have a recipe to try. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, making them from scratch! That’s brave, but looks like fun. Maybe I’ll have to try making pot stickers with my family
Mmm, I love Chinese food! What a great way to teach kids about Chinese New Year and to learn about and experience a different culture at the same time.
These seem so easy to make and pot stickers are one of my husband’s faves. I always thought they were so difficult to make. Chinese food is one of my absolute must have’s-whether its the new year or not. Happy Chinese New Year!
Potstickers are one of my favorite dishes to make! They are so delicious. I love that you get your kids involved!
I’ve seen won ton wrappers but never tried them in any recipes. This would be fun to try!