Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)
September 13th, 2009 | Eating Light, Japanese Recipes | 35 Comments
I have always liked dumplings—those little dough-wrapped morsels filled with stuffing consists of ground pork, seafood and vegetables—but my appreciation for dumplings deepens and intensifies only in the past few years due to my many trips to Beijing.
Beijing—the culinary capital of Chinese food—is the cradle of some of the best dumplings on earth. Dumplings are much celebrated, if not the building block of northern-style Chinese cooking. In Beijing and the neighboring city of Tianjin, I savored dumplings of varied shapes, forms, with fillings so diverse, complicated, and sometimes bizarre, but never once disappoint in flavor and originality. I eventually become a dumpling buff; I cook and eat everything from the ubiquitous Cantonese dumplings such as har gow and sui mai, Chinese pot stickers and jiaozi, to Japanese gyoza.
Gyoza, the Japanese equivalent of jiaozi, were introduced to Japan after World World II by Japanese soldiers returning form China, according to my friend Andrea Nguyen, who has just recently published her new cookbook “Asian Dumplings.” Gyoza is an essential part of Japanese cuisine: an everyday food consumed as much as sushi or ramen by Japanese people…(get gyoza recipe after the jump)
My gyoza recipe is adapted from the “Asian Dumplings” cookbook—a tastefully-done and insightful cookbook choked full of mouthwatering dumplings and gorgeous food photography. When it comes to the word “dumplings,” I have always related it to Chinese dumplings, but the cookbook defines it as “savory and sweet dishes that are made from dough balls or small parcels of food encased in pastry, dough, batter, or leaves.” The book even offers a cucur badak recipe, a Malaysian snack filled with shredded coconut and spices. If you love dumplings or wish to learn more about them, get yourself a copy of this cookbook. I salivate and get hungry every time I flip through the pages of this book.
Adapted from Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More, Andrea Nguyen
Ingredients:
2 cups napa cabbage
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 gloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons chopped Chinese chives
6 ounces ground pork
1/3 pound medium shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 pack Gyoza wrappers
Method:
In a bowl, toss the cabbage with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set a side for 15 minutes to draw excess moisture from the cabbage. Drain in a strainer and rinse with water. Squeeze the cabbage in your hands to remove more moisture.
Transfer the cabbage to a bowl and add the garlic, ginger, Chinese chives, pork, and shrimp. Stir the ingredients so they come together. Add salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, sake, and sesame oil and combine well.
Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling and put it in the center of a gyoza wrapper. Fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling into a pleated crescent shape. Place the finished dumplings on a plate lined with parchment paper (to avoid the bottom sticking to the plate). Repeat the same until the filling is used up.
Combine some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil in a small bowl to create dipping sauce. Taste and adjust the flavor according to your liking.
Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil. Add the dumpling one at a time, placing the sealed edges up in a winding circle pattern. Fry the dumplings for 1-2 minutes, until they are golden or light brown at the bottom.
Add 1/4 inch depth of water into the skillet and cover it immediately with its lid and lower the heat to medium. Let the water bubble away until it’s dry, for about 6-8 minutes. After the water is gone, remove the lid and fry for another 1-2 minutes until the bottoms are brown and crisp. Transfer the dumplings to a serving plate and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Subscribe to RASA MALAYSIA by RSS
Follow RASA MALAYSIA on Twitter
Join RASA MALAYSIA on Facebook
Looking at your gyozas make me realize that i really need to practice my wrapping techniques! beautiful!
Jen – you are funny. Get those with thicker skin, it helps with the wrapping!
Those gyozas look amazing! I can’t even get the store-bought ones to come out hat perfect let alone homemade!
Alisa – Thanks for your compliment. Store-bought ones are done using a dumpling mold so the pleats / folds are not delicate. ;)
ummm! i need to make these. always loved gyozas but do not enjoy them at home as often as i should! lovely!
Meeta – yes, you should make gyoza at home. Not that hard. :)
Drooling…
LOL. Thanks!
Hubby has been asking to make dumplings like this, next time in the asian shop have to by the wrappers. Looks souper yumm.
Yes, gyoza or dumplings are super yummy. Good luck making them.
Beautiful pictures! The folds on yours are absolutely perfect. Personally, I like my gyoza with more chinese chives (nira) and less napa cabbage (hakusai).
Hi Peter – thanks for your compliment. :) Yes, I prefer chives too.
Gyoza is one of my favs dumplings too.. I love it so much that I can just eat and eat and eat… hehehe.
Your gyosa looks good. Great photos and presentation. Do you have the recipe for xiaolongbao wrappers? Gyoza wrappers are available in the store but never seen xialongbao wrappers. I would like to make some XLB at home if possible.
Great looking Gyoza Bee! Isn’t the Asian Dumplings book fantastic?! I made homemade lumpia wrappers from the book, and they turned out great.
Darling little bundles:)
Love dumplings!! Years ago in Canada, there was a TV add for folding plastic gyoza wrapping gizmos, (three different sizes), where you put the wrapper on the gizmo, add filling, and then just fold the unit (it is hinged) together, and it turns out exceptional dumplings with the dimpled edges. I bought them in a $1 store, for about $1. Going to purchase the Andrea Nguyen “Asian Dumplings” book. Thanks.
Growing up, my friends loved to come over for dinner when my mom was making gyoza. Your recipe sounds pretty close to hers. Nice job with the pleating.
These look beautiful and delicious! I love gyoza. Living in Japan has gotten me completely addicted to these little dumplings. I have tried making my own several times and am still working to get the presentation down. Yours are beautifully done!
You are a master gyoza wrapper! Look at those perfect pleats! Love gyoza :)
Wow. What a great photo!
I absolutely love these, I eat them all the time in Japanese restaurants. I’d love to try the real thing in Japan one day though. Have you ever been?
Andy – http://onceuponathyme.wordpress.com/
Oh my God, look at those magnificent pleats! Your gyozas are perfection!
I’m not a very good dumpling pleater, so I use a little plastic dumpling press that turns out perfect gyoza every time.
Wow-these look almost too neat to eat. Please note I said almost. Great food styling.
I love gyoza and asian meals. What a beautiful picture! I’m glad I found your site.
Emi – thank you and I hope to see you more on Rasa Malaysia.
Hi,
Stumbled on your site while looking for 3 cups chicken recipe. The gyozas look real delicious, will try to make them. May I ask what is napa cabbage?
I have wonton skins in my freezer can i make this with those?
Yes, you can do so with the same fillings. Enjoy!
Thanks for the info, sure i am goann try this.
Thanks for the recipe, but is it possible to brown them on the skillet then put them in the steamer to finish the steaming phase??? I first tasted this while in japan , hubby was in the Air Force. have been in love with them ever since !!!! Please reply cause I want to make these….thanks again
Well, put them in the steamer to steam will be a tad troublesome. This method is the traditional method of making it.
I absolutely like eating gyoza! Unfortunately I can’t seem to find a gyoza wrapper here in Dubai.
Any recipe for the wrapper that can be use for both gyoza and shu mai?
Well, I don’t get the difference between Chinese dumplings and the gyoza. They are like the same thing.
Hi John,
Yes, you are right. Gyoza is basically the Japanese version of Chinese dumplings. In fact, some Japanese dishes are Chinese in origins, for example: yakisoba (fried noodles), karaage, ramen, etc.