Chipotle Ranch Chicken Avocado Potstickers with Cilantro Lime Dip

Ma's week with the kids. Grandma Boot Camp, summer edition. This time she added a new subject to the curriculum: the stories. Tyler called me Wednesday night and said, "Dad, Ba Noi told us about the boat." My stomach dropped. "What did she say?" He said, "Everything. The fishing boat. The eleven days. The people who died. She told us about Ong Noi's nightmares. She told us about the refugee camp." I was quiet for a long time. Tyler said, "Are you there?" I said, "I'm here. How are you feeling?" He said, "Weird. Like... I didn't know any of this." I said, "I know. I should have told you sooner." He said, "Why didn't you?" I said, "Because some stories are hard to tell." Emma got on the phone next. She was quieter than Tyler. She said, "Ba Noi cried. I've never seen her cry." I said, "She doesn't, usually." Emma said, "She told us about her parents, the ones she left in Saigon. She never saw them again." I didn't say anything. What do you say? "She showed us the photographs," Emma said. "The old ones, in the box in her closet. Her parents. Her sisters. All of them." I've seen those photographs once. When Huy was dying, he asked Ma to show them to him. She brought the box to the hospice and they looked at them together without speaking. I stood in the doorway and watched and left before they saw me. Lily didn't call. She's eleven. She processed it by making spring rolls with Ma the next morning, which is how the Tran family processes everything — with food, in silence, together. I didn't cook this week. I went to Ma's on Saturday for pho and I sat at her table and I looked at her — seventy-one years old, five-foot-one, thin as a reed, stirring a pot of broth she's made a thousand times — and I thought about the girl she was when she got on that boat. Twenty-three years old. Pregnant. Starving. Watching people die around her. Choosing to live. The pho was perfect. It's always perfect. I ate three bowls and didn't say anything about the boat or the stories or the photographs. She didn't bring it up. We just ate. That's how we talk in this family. We eat and the food says what we can't. Ma, if you ever read this: I know what you survived. I know what it cost. Thank you for getting on the boat.

Lily didn’t call me that night — she made spring rolls instead, and that image hasn’t left me. There’s something about folded food, about the quiet rhythm of filling and wrapping and pressing the edges closed, that has always been how this family holds itself together. These chipotle ranch chicken avocado potstickers aren’t Ma’s recipe — nothing will ever be Ma’s recipe — but the act of making them, of standing at a counter and folding something small and whole out of separate parts, felt right after a week like this one. Make them with someone you love, or make them alone and think about someone you’re not ready to talk to yet. Either way, the folding helps.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6 (about 30 potstickers)

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
1 large ripe avocado, diced small
2 tablespoons chipotle ranch dressing, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 package round dumpling wrappers (about 30 wrappers)
2 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable or avocado oil)
1/3 cup water (for steaming)
For the Cilantro Lime Dip:
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste

Instructions

Make the dipping sauce. Whisk together sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, chipotle ranch dressing, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and green onions. Mix until just combined — do not overmix. Gently fold in the diced avocado last, keeping the pieces as intact as possible.
Fill the wrappers. Place a dumpling wrapper flat on a clean surface. Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling into the center. Dip your finger in water and run it around the edge of the wrapper. Fold in half and press to seal, pleating the edge as you go. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
Pan-fry the potstickers. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, place potstickers flat-side down in the pan without crowding. Cook undisturbed for 2—3 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.
Steam to finish. Carefully pour 1/3 cup water into the skillet and immediately cover with a lid. Let steam for 4—5 minutes until the wrappers are translucent and the filling is cooked through. Remove the lid and let any remaining water evaporate, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining potstickers and oil.
Serve. Transfer to a plate and serve hot alongside the cilantro lime dip and extra chipotle ranch dressing if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chipotle Ranch Chicken Avocado Potstickers with Cilantro Lime Dip — The Folded Things We Make When Words Run Out