Chinese Dumpling (Gyoza)

Actually, more like the Japanese version of the Chinese delicacy !

Some ingredients might be a bit difficult to find,
but you can easily change them for something similar

Ingredients
Make for around 35-40 gyoza

• 1/4 Cabage


• Leek


• 350g Ground pork


• 1tbsp Cooking sake


• 1tbsp Soy sauce


• 1 1/2tbsp tobanjan (Chinese Miso)


• 1tbsp Sesame Oil


• 1tsp Sichuan Pepper (Chinese Pepper), can be replace with normal pepper


• Pinch of salt


• 1tbsp Potato Starch or Corn Starch


• Gyoza sheet

Preparation
Chop the vegetables in small pieces and put in a bol. Add salt and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Squeeze the mix over the sink to remove as much water as possible. The mix should nearly half in size.

Add the meat and mix together then add the potato starch and mix some more. Add the sake, soy sauce, miso, chinese pepper and sesame oil. Mix everything.

Take a gyoza sheet and put some of the mix in the middle (leave about 1 or 2 centimeter free on the side), wet the side by dipping your finger in water and passing it around the outside of the gyoza sheet then close the sheet by folding one side over the other in a zigzag shape.


There is two ways of cooking gyoza. The first one is fried gyoza and the second one is boiled gyoza. Fried Gyoza are more dry and easier (in my opinion) to pick up with chopsticks. Boiled gyoza are easier to make especially when they are frozen.

Fried Gyoza

Put a bit of oil in a frying pan and put the gyoza flat on the frying pan. Cook at medium power the gyoza until the bottom becomes golden. Add about 50ml of water for 10 gyoza. If your frying pan is bigger you might need more water. Cover and let it cook until the water evaporates (around 5 to 6 minutes).


Boiled Gyoza
Put water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the gyoza and let it boil until the gyoza float to the surface. This can take anything between 10 minutes to 20 minutes if the gyoza are frozen.

Note : Gyoza are great to eat with some rice and miso soup. You can also use them as a side dish with Ramen or the sort.

They go very well in the freezer. Ideally, put the plate in the freezer for a while until they start to harden and then you can throw them in a bag at the back of the freezer without damaging them and you can keep them for a long time.

In Japan the Gyoza sheets are round but chinese gyoza sheets are often square but the technique to make them is quite similar.

Usually you eat gyoza with some kind of sauce. The two common one are : Soy Sauce with a bit of Rahyu (some spicy oil) or with Chinese Vinegar. Personally I like the chinese vinegar, my parents prefered the soy sauce + spicy oil mix, it's up to you to find out !

The basic principle of gyoza is green vegetables and meat in a wrap so don't hesitate to change the vegetables and the meat to discovert great new tastes ! Carrots or potato and the sort might be strange, but chinese radish, garlic, ginger or any chinese vegetables will be a sure threat !