Why are they called “potstickers” and not “panstickers?”

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Why are they called “potstickers” and not “panstickers?”

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  1. Showerthoughts_Mod Avatar

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  2. BeMoreKnope Avatar

    I’m making some, and they definitely can stick to the bottom of the pan! But if you are cooking them in a pot, it’s probably soup, and then they don’t stick at all…

    I know it’s just the weirdness of etymology, but it struck me as odd that I’ve never questioned the name before.

  3. eloel- Avatar

    The same reason cookies are baked and bacon is cooked

  4. Chassian Avatar

    It’s just a matter of the arbitrary, as in Chinese, the word “guo 锅”, can mean either pot or pan.

  5. IKnowItCanSeeMe Avatar

    Because 90% of dishwashers are traumatized by pan stickers.

  6. Bo_Jim Avatar

    The term “potstickers” was already in common use, but it became the defacto standard reference after the publication of a 1945 book on Chinese cooking.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Cook_and_Eat_in_Chinese

  7. alienfreak51 Avatar

    Idk but I find boiling my potstickers always gets a better result than pan frying. Can always throw thin in a pan later minute to braise them a bit but potstickers in a pot of boiling water much better and evenly cooked imo

  8. Breaucephus Avatar

    I thought pan stickers are when you take a potsticker out of the boiling water and finish it off in the pan to give it a little bit of a crisp and browning, I’ve also gotten pan stickers where they all are kind of connected by a very thin layer of the wrapping, and you break them off to eat them.

  9. playr_4 Avatar

    Aren’t potstickers usually cooked in a pot? You’d only really use a pan if you’re crisping them up a bit.

  10. Agreen8er Avatar

    I boil them for a few minutes. Take them out & toss in sesame oil, soy sauce, & chili garlic. Then air fry

    Super untraditional but great & easy

  11. holyfire001202 Avatar

    Because they’re best after smoking some pot