Gyoza (Japanese Pot Stickers)
A delicious gyoza is always packed with lots of juicy minced pork and chives!
One of my all-time favourites to make, Gyoza, Japanese pot stickers or else known as 餃子 in Mandarin are so easy to make yet so delicious to eat! They're like the Japanese accompaniment to ramen like cha gio is to pho, and even on their own are incredibly delicious because there's just so much flavour packed inside one little dumpling.
So what makes a good gyoza? One that has a slightly crisp skin from the pan-frying and when you sink your teeth into one, explodes with lots of juicy pork flavour. The excellent ones have an equal proportion of filling to skin so you'll never end up having too much meat or too much skin when you bite into one. The secret to a juicy gyoza is pork fat, so make sure your pork is not too lean as well!
Some people prefer to make their gyoza skin from scratch but because it's so readily available in supermarkets nowadays, you can actually get them off the shelves and they're just as good.
Gyoza
Makes about 50 gyozas
Ingredients
300g minced pork
4 stalks garlic chives (aka gu cai/nira), finely chopped
200 g cabbage, chopped finely
1.5 tbsp soya sauce
1.5 tbsp chopped garlic
1.5 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1.5 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
Pepper
Dash of bonito stock powder
2 tsp potato starch
1 packet of gyoza skin
1 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in water
Gyoza Sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1.5 tbsp soya sauce
3 drops of sesame oil
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions
Sprinkle half a teaspoon of salt into the cabbage and leave it to stand for about 20 minutes.
Squeeze the water out of the cabbage and place into another bowl. This whole process dehydrates the cabbage and gives it crunch when you mix it into the pork later.
Add all the seasonings into the pork and blend well with your fingers. It's pretty similar to making cha gio and this step is important because it actually gives the filling extra "body" and bite.
Add the potato starch into the pork and blend in again with your fingers. Then add in the cabbage and chopped garlic chives. Mix well, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or more if possible. The longer the filling marinates, the tastier your gyoza.
Once the filling is ready, take out the gyoza skin from the fridge.
Prepare the cornstarch with water which will act as a sealant for the gyozas.
Using about a tablespoon of filling, place the meat in a longish shape on the lower half of the gyoza skin.
Using your index, apply a thin layer of cornstarch solution on the upper half of the rounded edge of the gyoza skin.
Fold the gyoza, and create pleats by creating small folds around the edge as you seal up the ends of the gyoza. Push the filling so that there's a bump on the side of the pleats whilst the side without pleats is flat.
Continue to do so for the rest of the gyoza till you finish up the filling.
To cook, heat up a non-stick pan. Using a paper towel, evenly cover the pan with cooking oil.
Place the gyoza on the pan with the rounded pleats facing upwards in.a circular fashion.
Over medium heat, cook the gyozas for about 1 minute.
With the frying pan lid on hand and using half a cup of water, pour the water from the side of the pan quickly and cover as the oil will splutter. Lower the heat.
Allow the gyozas to steam in the water for the next 3 minutes.
Open the lid to check on them. If there is still water in the pan, allow it to continue to cook till it all dries up.
Using a plate, place over the frying pan and invert the gyozas onto the plate.
Serve wth the gyoza sauce. Don't bite into them too quickly because they can be extremely hot!
