gyoza za za!

Whenever Mr. Mari and I go out for ramen, we typically order a plate of gyoza (Japanese pan-fried pork dumplings) to share as an appetizer. I don't have any concrete evidence but I think gyoza is the appetizer to eat before slurping up a hot bowl of wavy noodles. Maybe it's because you get protein to chew on that you wouldn't otherwise get in your noodle bowl. Maybe it's to warm up your jaw muscles for all the slurp slurp slurping you'll be doing. Anyway, as much as I love ramen, sometimes I just want a big mountain of gyoza to eat for dinner. I don't know of any restaurant that serves a herculean-size dinner portion so to satisfy that craving, I make them at home...

Be sure to get the kind that is labeled Gyoza. If you get Wonton wrappers, the dough is thicker. And hello, we're making gyoza here, not wontons. Check out the tips at the bottom of the post for more suggestions. 

PORK GYOZA 
makes 45-55 dumplings, typically 5 per serving as appetizer

1 pound ground pork
3 scallion, trimmed, the entire stalk sliced into 1/8-inch discs
1 tablespoon (about 1-1/2 inch piece) ginger, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons (about 2 cloves) garlic, grated
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup minced water chestnuts, optional
Gyoza skins (see note below)
Water
Canola oil

Dipping Sauce:
Soy Sauce
Rice vinegar
Japanese hot oil (la-yu)

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with wax paper. Put aside. Put some water in a small bowl. Put aside. 

In a medium size bowl, combine pork, scallion, grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and water chestnuts, if using. Mix well. 

If you're right handed, put a gyoza wrapper in your left hand, flourier side facing up. Put a generous teaspoon's worth of pork filling on the wrapper, placing the dollop in the center and a little towards the left. Wet the edge, leaving the top middle portion dry. Fold up the bottom half of the wrapper, squishing the pork filling towards the left. With your left thumb, press a half-inch worth of the two wrappers together while keeping your right hand index finger to separate the wrapper. Lift the top wrapper up with your right hand index finger, make a pleat, and press another half-inch worth of wrapper down with your left thumb. Continue until you've pleated and closed the opening. You should be able to make 6-7 pleats (more than that, you should add more filling; less than that, you should add less filling). Place the gyoza on the waxed paper so the pleats are facing you, not up. Continue filling and pleating until you've used up all your pork filling. Place tray in the freezer for at least half an hour. 

Fill a small cup with 3 tablespoons water and place near stove. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil starts shimmering, add frozen gyoza to pan, stacking them next to one another, preferably in rows. Once the bottoms have browned, cover. Move lid slightly to one side, add water and quickly put the lid back on to steam-cook them. Lower heat to medium-low and steam them for 3-5 minutes. You shouldn't have any water left. If you do, remove the lid and continue cooking (you want the bottoms crisp!). Remove from heat and serve. 

The dipping sauce is usually 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part rice vinegar. You don't need much, maybe 1 teaspoon soy sauce per person. Chili oil is optional but does add to the authenticity. I suggest each person start with 3 drops and go from there. I prefer 5. Enjoy!

Note: Gyoza wrappers are found in the freezer section of Asian markets. Each package of gyoza wrappers contains 50. You can freeze the extra wrappers you don't use; just thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Also, 50 gyoza might be too many for you to eat in one night. Once they are frozen, you can store them in an airtight freezer bag or container for two weeks.

Tip #1: If the gyoza stick to the pan, you now know why they're sometimes called pot stickers! Add a little more oil to the pan next time and heat your pan well.

Tip #2: If you'd prefer a vegetarian version, substitute steamed shredded cabbage, spinach or carrots or a combination of the three. Be sure to squeeze out all the liquid from the vegetables before making your filling. Otherwise, you'll have soggy dumplings. Blech.

Tip #3: Go crazy! Use the wrapper as an alternate to pasta dough. Mix together your favorite filling (ricotta cheese, pumpkin, lobster meat, etc.) with egg and herbs. And voila - ravioli! They may come undone in boiling water if the seal isn't clean so be sure to keep bits of food out of the sealing path; wipe clean if necessary. Make some sauce and you're good to go. Buon appetito!