Gyoza
Pan-fried Japanese dumplings filled with pork, cabbage and garlic chives, steamed tender on top and crisp and golden underneath.
Method
- 1
Toss the cabbage with the salt in a sieve and leave it to soften and release its water.
- 2
Squeeze the cabbage hard, a handful at a time, until no more water runs out.
- 3
Put the cabbage, pork, chives, garlic, ginger, 1 tbsp soy sauce, sake, 1 tsp sesame oil, cornflour and white pepper in a bowl.
- 4
Mix and knead with your hand until the filling turns pale and sticky and holds together in one mass.
- 5
Hold a wrapper in your palm, put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre and wet half the rim with a fingertip dipped in water.
- 6
Fold the wrapper over the filling and make 5 or 6 pleats along the front edge, pressing each one against the flat back to seal.
- 7
Set each dumpling on a lightly floured tray, flat side down, and keep them covered with a tea towel while you fill the rest.
- 8
Heat 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil in the frying pan over medium heat and stand half the gyoza in it in neat rows.
- 9
Fry until the bottoms are pale golden.
- 10
Pour in 100 ml of the water, cover straight away and steam until the wrappers look translucent and most of the water has gone.
- 11
Uncover and keep frying until the last of the water evaporates and the bottoms are crisp and deep golden.
- 12
Drizzle half the remaining sesame oil around the edge, then turn the gyoza out onto a plate, crisp side up. Cook the second batch the same way.
- 13
Stir the dipping sauce soy sauce, rice vinegar and chili oil together and serve with the hot gyoza.
Notes
- Uncooked gyoza freeze well. Freeze them on the tray, then bag them and cook from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the steaming time.
- Keep the wrappers covered while you work. Dry edges will not seal and the dumplings split in the pan.
Equipment
Large non-stick frying pan with a lid, Sieve, Mixing bowl, Baking tray, Small bowl