How to Make Gyoza at Home

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How to Make Gyoza at Home

Gyoza is one of my favorite late night treats in Japan. These little garlic filled fried flavor bombs never fail to perk me up. Originally from China, gyoza are often served as a side with Ramen. Over the ages they have evolved from their dumpling and wonton cousins back in China.  They're so good that we sometimes make that at home. They aren't difficult but they are labor intensive. Simple yet labor intensive food is the perfect chance to call some friends over, break out the cocktail shaker and handle some raw pork.

What we need to make 40 Gyoza

• Minced Pork 300 grams
• Gyoza Skins
• 1/2 head of Cabbage or Napa Cabbage
• Chinese Chives (1/2 bunch, go easy on these if the smell seems too strong)
• Garlic 1 clove
• Ajinomoto Chicken Broth Powder (1 package, you will have lots left over)
• Perilla 10 leaves (this is optional we recommend making 20 Gyoza with Perilla and 20 without)
• Salt and Pepper to tatse
• Sesame Oil

NOTE: All of these can be easily obtained at an Asian Grocer if cooking in the US

1. Preparing our ingredients

• Chop the hell out of the cabbage
• After you've chopped the cabbage, steam it in the microwave for about 5 minutes or just enough for it to go soft
• Slice each Perilla leaf in half length wise down the center
• Press the garlic

2. Mix 

Add the minced pork, cabbage, chinese chives and garlic to a bowl. Then add 1 tsp of the Ajinomoto Chicken Broth Powder and some salt and pepper. Then mix until everything is blended together. The dark green in the photo above is the Chinese Chives, if you're wondering about the ratio. As you can see the final consistency is about half cabbage half minced pork.

Chef's Note: My questions about measurements are annoying him and he says you can't screw this up, it will be good no matter what

3. Prepare your work station

At your work station you will need:

• Your bowl of gyoza filling
• little spoons
• a dish filled with water
• a plate/tupperware to put your completed gyoza into

4. Wrap 'em up!

Without Perilla Leaf:

• Place a gyoza skin on your open palm
• dip fingers in water and rub water around the rim of the gyoza skin
• put a dollop of gyoza filling in the center of the skin
• fold in half but dont close the skin
• slowly pinch the top half rim of the skin towards the bottom half rim

With Perilla Leaf

• Simply put one half of the leaf on the gyoza skin and then follow the above instructions

5. Place in an oiled pan

Oil the pan thoroughly. We dont want the gyoza sticking. Arrange gyoza nicely. Then turn the heat up to high.

6. Add Water

Prepare about a half cup of hot water. Then, when the gyoza start getting real noisy pour a little less than half a cup of water over the gyoza. Then cover the pan. Once all the water has steamed off, remove the cover and sprinkle some sesame oil over all of the gyoza. Then wait a btt longer to make sure the skin is changing color to brown around the bottoms of the gyoza.

7. Cover with a Large Ceramic Plate and Flip

 

8. Eat the Gyoza!

Perfectly burnt on the bottom, soft and chewy on top, filled with garlic! Just writing about these has me wanting to run to the supermarket. Whoever said you can't have these for a meal? NO ONE, that's who. They've got some veggies inside, so go, treat yourself!

They can be eaten with a variety of dips:

• Soy Sauce
• Ponzo
• Sesame Dressing
• Vinegar
• and for some spice chili oil can be added to any of the above dips

Enjoy!