Potsticker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A culinary creation consisting of a filled dough wrapper, usually containing meat or vegetables, that is fried on one side for crispiness and steamed on the other for softness
2. This dish features a thin pastry filled with various ingredients that is pan-fried on one side to form a crispy exterior while maintaining a tender, steamed interior
3. A type of dumpling characterized by a thin dough skin filled with meat, vegetables, or both, which is typically cooked by frying on one side and steaming on the other

Etymology: The name "potsticker" is a translation rather than an English invention in the usual sense. It was built from the Mandarin term 鍋貼 (guōtiē), which literally combines words for "pot" and "stick to," describing a dumpling fried in a pan until its base adheres to the surface. The English word was a calque, meaning each part of the Chinese was translated into a matching English part: "pot" for 鍋 and "sticker" for 貼. The term was coined by Buwei Yang Chao in 1963, in the fourth edition of her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese. Chao was a Chinese-American cookbook author, and her translation gave English speakers a memorable name for a dish that had no settled equivalent in the language. The word therefore dates from the mid-twentieth century, and its origin lies in a deliberate choice by a single writer rather than in gradual popular use.

Synonyms: dumpling, filled pastry