Pork Gyoza

Daria Souvorova

1-3 hours, depending on your speed and how many you make
makes: 60 gyoza

These are a beautiful Japanese style dumpling filled with ground pork and Napa cabbage which are quickly fried and steamed to create a crispy outside and a deliciously juicy and tender filling. The closest to soup dumplings that I have come to so far!

I first encountered gyoza at a friend’s family dinner where everyone gathered around the table to build these little guys in an assembly line fashion, I loved this format and will be making them for family and small gatherings in this fashion. Our friends served them to us steamed or boiled, and I remembered thinking, the only way this could possibly be more delicious is if it had a bit of a sear on the bottom.

You can prepare the filling and assemble the gyoza in advance and either refrigerate them for a day or two or freeze them for several months. If freezing, make sure to cook covered for a minute or two longer.

Most people use store-bought gyoza wrappers, that is perfectly fine and delicious, but I wanted to make an authentic dough and fill these babies myself. If you are using store-bought wrappers, add more water to seal, but if using homemade be careful about adding too much water since there is much more moisture in the dough.

Serve the Gyoza with a quick Gyoza Sauce and a Spicy Raya Oil on the side.

Ingredients:

• Gyoza Wrappers:
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 to 1 cup water
• Gyoza Filling:
• 8 cups Napa cabbage
• 2 1/2 cups sliced scallions, greens and whites
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 pound fatty pork, ground
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ground pepper to taste
• Gyoza Dipping Sauce:
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• Roya Oil:
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• white of 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 1 star anise, ground

1. 1. For the wrappers: combine salt and water, wait for salt to dissolve.
      Gradually add water to a bowl of flour. Combine into a ball, adding more water if necessary.
   2. Knead for 10 minutes. Divide into 6 smaller balls. Cover with a damp cloth.
   3. Roll out sections, one at a time into logs with a 1 inch circumference. Cut each log into 10 disks.
   4. On a generously floured counter, roll each disk into a ball and roll out to a 3 1/2-4 inch round. Make sure to roll from the center outwards so the edges are thinner and there is a bit of extra dough in the center.
   5. Dust with flour and stack under towel or plastic wrap until ready to use.
   6. For the filling: Combine cabbage, scallions, and garlic. Add 2 tablespoons of salt. Leave for about 15 minutes
   7. Rinse a bit and squeeze out as much liquid as possible in a colander.
   8. Combine cabbage with the remaining ingredients.
   9. To form gyoza: Have a small cup of water on hand. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Gently run a moist finger over one half of the edge of the wrapper and seal to make a moon shape. Pinch tight to seal and try to remove any excess air from the inside.
   10. Create 4-5 pleats along the sealed edge and press firmly to seal.
   11. To cook dumplings: Heat 1 tablespoon per 15 gyoza cooked in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan. Add the gyoza in a fan shape with the pleated side up, allowing at least 1/4 inch of space between them.(You may need to do about 15-20 at a time unless you have a 16 inch pan, which will fit around 45.)
   12. Fry for about a minute. Add cool water about halfway up the gyoza. Cook covered for about 5 minutes on high heat.
   13. Uncover and reduce heat to medium and cook until water reduces. Swirl the pan a bit to see if any are attached to the bottom. You may need to gently lift some of the ones that are sticking to the bottom.
   14. Add another tablespoon of oil and heat until the bottoms are golden.
   15. For the Gyoza Dipping Sauce: combine all of the ingredients, set aside.
   16. For the Raya: Saute ginger, garlic, and scallion in about a tablespoon or two of the oil. Add the remaining ingredients, heat another 3 minutes, and cool before serving.