Japanese Yaki Gyoza (Fried Dumplings)

Juicy on the inside, crispy and golden brown on the outside, these Japanese pan-fried dumplings, Gyoza we are making in our Foodtrip 2019 stop in Japan.

I used this recipes:

https://www.justonecookbook.com/gyoza-wrappers/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/gyoza/#wprm-recipe-container-60570

Gyoza wrapper ingredients:

240 g flour
0,5 tsp salt
120 ml water
potato  starch for dusting

Gather all the ingredients. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add salt to juist boiled water and mix until salt is completely dissolved. Mix flour with water and knead it into dough ball. If flour is still separated add 0,5 tbsp of water at a time until you can form a dough ball.

Knead dough for 10 minutes. Cut dough into halves and Shape each half into a long log, about 3 mm diameter (it doesn't have to be perfect if you’re going to use a cookie cutter later). Wrap each log with plastic wrap. Cover halves with food film and let the dough sit for a 30 minutes.

Unwrap the dough. Sprinkle a little potato starch on the work surface and cut each log crosswise into about 12 pieces (may vary depending on the log length and width). Cover the dough with damp kitchen towel at all time to prevent from drying. Roll each piece of dough into a ball shape.Press the ball onto the work surface.Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough, but DO NOT roll out (flatten) the TOP and BOTTOM edge. This is a trick to make a nice round shape. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat rolling the dough to make a nice round shape. Try to roll out the dough to a thin circle. If you want a perfect round shape for your wrappers, press down the 8 cm cookie cutter and remove excess dough.  If the dough rolls back, leave it for a few seconds, and cut out. Cover the scraps with the damp towel. Later combine all the scraps as long as they still squish together and haven’t dried out too much. Re-roll the scraps and repeat the process. 

Sprinkle each wrapper with potato starch and stack the gyoza wrappers. Make sure to the wrappers covered with damp kitchen towel. Once all the dough is used, wrap the gyoza wrappers with plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate until you’re ready to use. 

Gyoza frying ingredients:

38 Gyosa wrappers

1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying each batch

60 ml water for frying each batch

1tsp roasted sesame oil for frying each batch 

Gyoza filling ingredients:

200 g ground pork and beef mix

70 g cabbage
12 g green onions
2 shitake mushrooms
1 garlic clove (minced)
ca 2,5 cm piece of ginger (grated)

Gyoza filling ingredients:

1 tsp sake

1 tsp roasted sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

0,25 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

Gyoza dipping sauce:

1tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

chopped chili

Filling and forming of Gyoza:

Remove the core of the cabbage leaves and cut into very small pieces

Cut green onions and shiitake mushrooms into small pieces

Combine the ground meat, cabbage, green onion, and shiitake mushrooms in a large bowl.

Add minced garlic and grated ginger to the bowl.

Add the seasonings

Mix well and knead the mixture with hand until it becomes pale in color and sticky.

Take a wrapper and place it in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Use a teaspoon to take a small amount of filling and put it in the center of the wrapper. Dip one finger in a bowl of water and draw a circle around the outer 1 cm of the wrapper with your wet finger until it’s wet all around.

Fold the wrapper in half over the filling and pinch it in the center with your fingers (but don’t seal yet!). Using your thumb and index finger, start making a pleat about once every 0,5 cm on the top part of the wrapper from the center toward the right. As you fold each pleat, press the folded pleat tightly against the back part of wrapper using your other thumb and index finger. Make 3-4 pleats.

Continue with the left side of the gyoza. Start making a pleat from the center to the left.

Gyoza cooking:

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, place the gyoza in a single layer, flat side down (in two rows or in a circular shape).

Cook until the bottom of the gyoza turns golden brown, about 3 minutes

Add  60 ml of water to the pan. Immediately cover with a lid and steam the gyoza for about 3 minutes or until most of the water evaporates.

Remove the lid to evaporate any remaining water. Add 1 tsp sesame oil around the frying pan.

Cook uncovered until the gyoza is nice and crisp on the bottom.

Transfer to a plate and serve with dipping sauce. For the dipping sauce, combine the sauce ingredients in a small plate and mix all together.