Demo and I had chinese food the other day. We ordered one of my favorite foods, Fried Dumplings, which is what I have always called them. Now, I have heard them called Pot Stickers before, but I thought it was kind of a slang term. Demo believes the actual name of the appetizer is Pot Sticker and that Dumpling is just a descriptive term.
What are they actually called?
eek, manny, don’t hurt me. Although I genuinely want a factual answer on this, it might become an IMHO thread, if so, try to make the move painless. 
I’ve always called them dumplings. I only here the kids calling them pot stickers.
From Barron’s Food Lover’s Companion:
“pot stickers Small dumplings made of won ton skins filled with ground meat or shellfish, chopped water chestnuts, scallions and seasonings. The pot stickers are browned on one side, then turned and simmered in broth.”
Looks like a pot sticker combines the charms of the fried dumpling and the boiled dumpling…you fry one side, then finish it in broth.
They both start out as dumplings, as far as my experience goes, but if they’re browned on a hot griddle (or pot, to which the doughy dough is very likely to stick) they’re called potstickers.
In the Chinese restaurants I frequent, they have the same ingredients, but undergo different cooking methods.
Calling them both dumplings would be like calling toast “bread.”
Also (sorry for posting twice; forgot something), they’re not made with won ton skins, but with a very distinctive dough. At least in the restaurants I eat at, one of which is extremely old-world traditional.
“Dumplings” refers to any kind of dumpling.
“Potstickers” refers to a specific type of dumpling. They are called “gyoza” in Japanese.
Oh, and I should have said that gyoza are only called potstickers when they are browned in a pan. You can eat them steamed or boiled in soup, too.
“Pot Stckers” may be right, but it sounds stupid to me.
It brings up this mental image of the Cook running after this semi-cooked dumpling, then cornering it in a pot and sticking it with the banboo skewers from the Teriyaki Beef appetizer.Gotcha!
Then they bring it to the table and expect you to eat it.
Green Bean is right. Every civilization across the globe has developed the Dumpling. The Italian ravioli, the East European Jewish kreplach, the German nockerln, the Hungarian spaetzle, etc. etc. etc.
The Chinese dumpling just earned a stupid name, that’s all. Like “chopsticks.” D’ya think the Emperor of China called those things “chopsticks” ?
Yah. It would sound a lot less stupid if you put another vowel in it. 
Technically, “gyoza” is the generic term, but if you went into a restaurant in Japan and just asked for “gyoza,” you’d get the grilled type. The actual name, if they’ve been grilled in a pan, is “yakigyoza”. If they’ve been steamed, they’re “suigyoza”.
itadakimasu!
–sublight.
Hmmm… does “yaki” mean “grilled?” I am thinking of “teriyaki” and “yakitori” and “negima-yaki.”
I’m getting hungry. I have a bag of potstickers in my freezer. Guess what I’m gonna have for lunch!
In India and Nepal, they are called Mo-mos. I don’t know if that’s any less silly, but it’s an alternative.
Hon, ya really oughtta believe me when I tell you…
:: running and hiding! ::
“Gyoza” is the Japanese name for the dumpling in question.
It is a Japanese pronunciation of the Mandarin (pardon bad phonetics) “shao tse,” I think. Anyway, it uses the same characters as the Chinese, and the word seems to mean something like “little fried thing.” In Cantonese, the dumping is called “kuo teh.” All are pan-fried (i.e. steamed then toasted in a pan until crunchy on the bottonm) unless otherwise requested. I’d guess the dumplings would have different names if they were steamed or deep-fried, but I dunno.
Another thought on english translation: here in the West/Midwest, restaurants call these things “pot stickers.” In the east, I usually see them called “dumplings.” But in Rhode Island, that most backward of New England states, they are alrways called “Asian Ravioli.” What the hell is up with that?
Hmmmmmm…
Akash
P.S. The finest dumplings I ever had were in Calcutta, India, and they were indeed called “pork mo-mos.”
WTF???!!! Ike, please stay away from the cooking sherry.
Spaetzli are a typical dish from Switzerland.
The Koreans call 'em “man-doo” if they’re made with wonton skins. But with the dough lissner is thinking of, I think they’d be closer to Korean beef buns…can anyone shed some light on that?
Oh you guys, you are making me totally hungry!!!
Dumplings. Mmmmm. So many variations, all SOOOO good!!
Gyoza: Japanese pot stickers shaped like a half moon. Traditionally served with soy sauce and vinegar. The garlic makes it strong! Mmmmm my favorite! Very easy to make a vegetarian version (using onions and cabbage).
Dim sum: Chinese dumplings of all shapes and ingredients. Traditionally, dim sum is eaten for lunch (although you can still find the occasional eatery that sells them for dinner). The waitresses walk by with carts full of dim sum in little bamboo steamer containers. You get to choose which ones you want. Be careful – if you’re not going with a Chinese person, the language barrier might be a problem in explaining ingredients. (“Did you say chicken FEET, or chicken FEED?”). There are as many different types of dim sum as there are Jelly Belly jelly beans.
Pot stickers: A generic phrase used to refer to gyoza, or dim sum.
Shumai (pronounced “shoe-my”): Sounds Chinese, but I’m used to eating it in Japan. Shaped like round dim sum, shumai uses thin won ton skins and is heavier on meat than veggies. [I believe these are called “sui-mei” in Chinese)
Won ton: small little pot stickers, either deep fried with ends touching like croissants, or boiled and plopped into a bowl of soup. Soup an be augmented with long noodles to make won ton noodle soup.
Green Bean asks: Hmmm… does “yaki” mean “grilled?” I am thinking of “teriyaki” and “yakitori” and “negima-yaki.”
Yuppers, that’s pretty close! It has to do with the use of an open fire, not necessarily that the food itself is grilled. Take your traditional sukiyaki, for example. The flames are never in contact with the food.
Sublight – AFAIK the DEAULT for an order of gyoza in Japan is to get it pan fried.