Gyoza, pot stickers, dumplings: whatever you call them, they are delightful pockets of deliciousness. I don't know why I have never attempted to make these before... maybe because of their intimidating appearance. When I frequent ChopStix (a yummy local pan-Asian restaurant), I always get their steamed gyoza, and I am never disappointed. After my recent purchase of these, I was inspired to make my own. My sister and I went to an Asian Market (which was incredibly clean-- for Gainesville, thats rare), and found a refrigerator full of dumpling wrappers! I got a package for a $1.99, which yielded a cookie sheet full of dumplings. There was a recipe of the back of the wrappers which I used for inspiration and then searched the web for another source. You can get wonderfully creative with your fillings. I decided on pork, it's pretty cheap, and it's good.
Here is a good step by step tutorial on making your own gyoza:
Use Real Butter
Here is the recipe I used:
1 lbs ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
3 finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
2 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
A splash of white wine
Salt and pepper
You simply mix together the above ingredients and then prepare your dumpling wrappers. I dipped my finger in water and rubbed it around the edge of the dumpling to ensure that it stuck together when I folded and closed each wrapper. I think the trick to dumplings, it that you don't over-stuff them. I put about a teaspoon or a little more in each wrapper. Once you fold one dumpling, you'll get the hang of how much to put in each one. The folding process does take a long time, but honestly the outcome is well worth your time, trust me on that one.
Once you have all of you gyoza folded and crimped together, heat a large frying pan (I used a cast iron skillet) and add a little oil to coat the bottom. You will also want to have some boiling water ready on the stove. Once the oil is heated and the pan is hot put your gyoza in and let the bottoms turn a nice golden brown. Then in one swift motion add about 1/2 cup of the boiling water to the pan and quickly put a lid over the pan. Leave the lid on until the water is gone. When that happens, remove the lid and let the gyoza cook for about 2 more minutes. Then they're done! Hooray.
I made a simple ponzu sauce to dip my gyoza in:
2 parts soy sauce, 1 part white wine vinegar, 3 drops sesame oil
**You can get also add chili paste or chopped green onion to the sauce, depending on your personal preference.
