I have been in the mood to try some Asian cooking lately. Sometimes this is difficult because of the type of ingredients used in the food. Luckily for me, there are a couple of Asian food markets in the adjacent town. I went there to get a couple of items, but ended wandering the store for about an hour and a half. There is so much to see! There are so many ingredients that aren’t offered in typical grocery stores. Its amazing to think how limited we are with the American diet. There are so many other flavors out there to try and fall in love with. And not just flavors, but methods of food preparation and presentation differ as well. One of my hopes for this blog is to challenge me to cook foods from 6 of the 7 continents of the world (since there isn’t much food preparation in Antarctica).
I decided to try making gyoza. It is a Japanese dish composed of a meat and vegetable filling wrapped in a dough that is pan fried /steamed. There are dishes that are similar to it that are eaten in several eastern Asian countries. The recipe I tried turned out wonderful! So flavorful! And the best part is, is that after they are wrapped and frozen, I can just take them out and cook them. From frozen to cooked and ready to eat in about 5 minutes! Super convenient! One day I’m going to make a big batch and freeze them for future party snacks or when I have company. Super easy!
Lessons Learned:
- Gyoza are an awesome snack!
- Use a cheesecloth to wring out as much water from the cabbage.
- Make sure the gyoza aren’t touching when you freeze them. They are hard to take apart after they are frozen. Also if you try to cook them when they are stuck together, they won’t cook as quickly or evenly.
- Don’t over wet the dough when wrapping the gyoza. If too wet, the wrappers get really soft and tear.
- 3 pleats each side of the gyoza is enough to make it look pretty and keep it sealed. If you do more and try to make it look perfect, you will be wrapping all night long.
- 1 package of gyoza wrappers (about 40)
- 10 oz of ground pork
- 2 green onions, minced
- 2 mushrooms, minced (I used baby bellas, but the original recipe calls for shitake)
- 3 napa cabbage leaves
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- ½ Tbsp sake
- ½ Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- pepper
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- a few drops of La-Yu chili oil
- 1½ Tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- Microwave cabbage leaves on a plate for 1 minute. Mince cabbage leaves. Place minced cabbage leaves onto a cheese cloth, wrap it into a ball, and wring out as much water as possible.
- Place cabbage leaves, green onion, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, pork, sake, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix well with hands.
- Use a teaspoon to drop a small amount of filling into the center of a gyoza wrapper. Wet the perimeter of the wrapper with water. Gently fold the wrapper in half and only pinch the middle together. Pleat the right side of the gyoza until the end, the pleat the left side. Press the pleated side gently to make sure it is sealed. Repeat with until the filling is gone.
- If not cooking right away, place gyoza on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and into the freezer. Make sure that they are not touching when freezing. After they are frozen, place them in a ziplock bag for future use.
- When ready to cook either the freshly made or frozen gyoza, heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. When pan is hot, add the freshly made or frozen gyoza to the pan. Make sure that they don't touch. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom of the gyoza are golden brown.
- Add sesame oil and water to pan, and immediately cover. Let gyoza steam for about 2 minutes until cooked thoroughly. The wrappers will be a little sticky and the filling will be firm and bouncy to the touch. Not all the water will have evaporated.
- Remove the gyoza from the skillet and on to a plate.
- Prepare the dipping sauce. Mix the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil in a shallow container for easy dipping.
- Eat the gyoza with a little dip in the sauce. Enjoy!
(adapted from Just One Cookbook)
Related posts:
Shabu Shabu Double Date
Chili-Miso Asparagus
Papas Rellenas & Aji Dipping Sauce
Coconut Chicken Curry Noodles
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These look great – I love Gyoza!
Thanks! These turned out really good, so I highly recommend them! You can freeze them, so don’t have to eat them all in one sitting.
Thank you for trying this recipe, Kelly! Your gyoza look fabulous!! Thanks for linking back. 🙂 I just shared your link on my facebook fan page. 🙂
Thank you! I loved your recipe and website. I also tried your miso soup recipe
which I will be writing about soon. It turned out great!