Gyoza

Gyoza is a popular dish for men and women in all ages among Japanese, but now I know it's been popular in universally. Many people from the world came to take gyoza

cooking class and hope they cook the dish at home country.

The ingredients of gyoza are easy to get, I would say everywhere in the world cities. If there is an Asian super market nearby, you are lucky!, you can get all the ingredients.

・Ground pork

・Cabbages or Nappa cabbage

・Scallions

・Soy sauce

・Oyster sauce if possible

・Sake or you can omit this

・Ginger and garlic

・Gyoza wrappers You can get it in Asian market or you can make it with AP flour and bread flour ・

・Starch either potato starch or corn starch

・Cabbages or Napa cabbage use it doesn't contain MSG. I can tell all the outside gyoza use MSG for producing better taste and good umami. Since I am sensitive for MSG, I will be parched after eating. I like gyoza very much, so if I want to eat, I cook them at home.

Gyoza is originally from China and it is deformed in Japan, such as steamed or boiled style in China and steam-fried style in Japan. Gyoza wrappers are different. Chinese gyoza wrappers are thicker and more chewy and Japanese gyoza is more crispy with thin wrappers. I like Chinese style gyoza.

When I worked as a flight attendant, the crew flew to Dalian round trip in a day. We had small rest in Dalian in the cabin, not allowed to leave airplane because of the aviation act. While we stayed in the cabin, the airport staff treated us for right cooked steamed gyoza. The gyoza was really delicious and can't forget the taste and reminds me of how sweet they are. Always good food tastes accompany with good memories.

I've been trying many recipes for cooking perfect gyoza, so my recipe will never stop evolving. I'd like to stay the ingredients simple, but techniques are improving each times when I cook gyoza myself.

So my recipe might change in near future, but this is my original recipe and many people tried this in my cooking class. They really enjoy the taste and textures.

Ingredients for 20-25 pieces

<Filling>

Ground pork 150g

Cabbage 3 big leaves minced

Chinese chives 100g minced *can be omitted if not available

Green onion 1/2 ea minced

Ginger 20g grated

Garlic 1 clove grated of finely minced

Oyster sauce 1/2 Tablespoon *can be omitted if not available

Sake 1 Table spoon * can be omitted if not available

Soy sauce 1 Table spoon

Sesame oil 1/2 Table spoon

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Gyoza wrappers 20-25 sheets

Vegetable oil 1 Table spoon

Sesame oil 1 Table spoon

<Dipping sauce>

Soy sauce 1 table spoon

Rice vinegar 1 table spoon

Chinese chili oil (ra-yu) as needed

Directions

1 Salt cabbage and mix well for dehydrating cabbage about 10 min. In a mean while

prepare another medium bowl, add ground pork, oyster sauce, sake, soy sauce and sesame oil and mix well until the ground pork become sticky.

Squeeze the liquid out of cabbage roughly and add into the pork mixture into the cabbage bowl. Add minced Chinese chives and minced green onion, and mix them lightly, and completely. Store the bowl in a fridge for about 30 min to incorporate the flavor of meat and vegetables.

2 Prepare about 50 mil of water in a small bowl. Place a wrapper in your palm and place approximately a table spoon of the filling in the center. Wet your pointer with water in the bowl and apply the water along the edge of the circle with your finger. Fold the wrapper in half with the filling in the middle, pinch the edges of the semi-circle at several places to make pleats and seal. Make sure to remove the air in the inside of the wrapper.

3 Prepare a pan, preferably non-stick, with spread vegetable oil and turn on the medium heat. Place the dumplings, sealed- side up, in a single layer in the pan. Cook the dumplings over medium –high heat until the bottoms are golden brown.

4 Add about 50ml of hot water, or cover1/3 level of the dumplings along the edge of the pan and cover and keep cooking over medium heat. Let the dumplings steam until the water is gone, for approx.5 min.

5 Uncover and add 1 Table spoon of sesame oil and cook over high heat until the bottom of the dumplings become nice golden brown.

6 Transfer the dumplings on a serving plate bottom side up. Set the dipping sauce in a small dish and serve alongside. Serve gyoza with soy vinegar sauce and spicy sesame oil.

The Goza recipe on YouTube