Gyoza

by Tataya Kudo - February 27, 2012

As far as I can remember, Gyoza has always been one of my favorite Japanese foods. It is a damn tasty, economical dish loved by all in the family too. My son loves it so much that he does't look what 's inside. If your kid get a liking for it-like mine, it is a great idea to hide some vegetable in it.

Filling of Gyoza can be anything. While Gyoza filled with pork or chicken are quite safe choices for everybody, combination filling is always more exciting and satisfying. Today I created my Gyoza recipe with ground pork, shrimp, dried shiitake and negi. The addition of shrimp gives Gyoza unmistakable succulence and bounciness that common pork based Gyoza wouldn't. I guarantee you will love them.

For seasonings, I used mirin, sake, Japanese soy sauce and garlic, which are very common seasonings for Japanese cooking. You can either follow mine or try creating your own with different seasonings. For serving, my husband and I prefer slightly spicy dipping sauce. Our Gyoza are usually accompanied with a bowl of soy sauce and Chinese chili oil. The dipping sauce is up to what you like, some people in my family love vinegar, others chili or mustard!!!

Wrapping Gyoza can be tricky for a beginner. Please take note that practice makes perfect.

Ingredients

40 Gyoza wrapper

80 grams ground pork

80 grams ground shrimp

1 clove of garlic, chopped

10 cm. of negi (white part only) chopped

2 dried shitake, (soaked in some water, discard stem and chopped)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

little sesame oil

2/3 tablespoon shoyu

1/3 tablespoon mirin

1 teaspoon sake

Dipping Sauce

soy sauce

Chinese chili oil

vegetable oil and sesame oil for frying

Method

1. Combine all the filling ingredient in a medium bowl. Mix until sticky, cover and keep in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

2. Now, my favorite part, pleating!! Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the filling and place at the center of the wrapper. Then moisten the edge of the wrapper with some water. Fold the wrapper in half over the filling, pinch it in the center.

3. Pleat the top of the wrapper from the middle out. Process to make 4-5 pleats to the right of the first pleat.

4. Then switch side and pleat the other side. (to the left of the first pleat)

5. Heat up the frying pan with some oil. Fry Gyoza on their flat size until are slightly golden.
6. Add in about 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook until the water is gone.