Hellobee

I love dumplings. They are one of my favorite foods to eat and I enjoy dumplings from all cultures. Mandu from Korea, momos from Nepal, klopse from Germany, pierogis from Poland, siomay from Indonesia. I’d gladly take any of these! One of my favorite dumplings to make (probably because I almost always have the ingredients on hand) is the Japanese dumpling known as gyoza, which is very similar to the Chinese jiaozi. The ingredient list is simple, using miso paste, garlic and some sesame oil to season the filling.

Yummy, filling treat. Definitely a comfort food for me.

This is one of my more time-consuming dishes, but this recipe makes a ton and if I’m going to be stuffing dumplings, I may as well make enough to last the week. Besides, these dumplings are absolutely delicious, taste great as leftovers, and are well worth the time. These freeze beautifully, both cooked and uncooked. I usually make between 50 and 60 dumplings using the recipe below, depending on how full I’ve stuffed them. It’s a nice occasional treat for the Dolphin household.

Both of our kids love gyoza. Lion is currently in a phase where he opens up the dumpling, pokes the filling out and eats it separately from the wrapper, but he will actually gobble up all components of this dish which is a win in my book. Panda also eats the elements separately, but I think that’s more of a function of the small bites he has to take and learning how to eat solids. Hope you enjoy!

Stuffed dumplings, waiting to be cooked.

Gyoza Ingredients:

• One Napa cabbage (frilly/green portion only)
• 1 lb ground pork (see notes for substitutions)
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp red miso paste (see notes for substitutions)
• 2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger (can also use powdered ginger)
• ½ tsp sugar
• Salt
• Round dumpling wrappers (see notes below)

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• Sesame oil to taste (optional)
• Chile oil/paste to taste (optional)

Instructions:

1. Thinly slice the cabbage, using only the green/frilly portions of the leaves. Discard the white portions or save for another use (I often put it into udon soup). Place the thinly sliced leaves into a colander lined with a towel and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of salt. Let it sit for at least ten minutes, then squeeze the cabbage in the towel to rid it of any excess water.
2. Place the ground pork, cabbage, garlic, miso, sesame oil, ginger and sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour some cold water into a shallow dish. Lay out the dumpling wrappers, filling mixture and water next to a sheet pan. Place a dumpling wrapper on your hand, place a spoonful of the filling mixture into the center of the wrapper. Dip one finger into the water and moisten half of the edge of the dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling and pleat the top of the wrapper, moving from the middle to the ends. If this doesn’t make sense or you need more visual cues, try finding a YouTube video like this one. Place on the sheet pan, taking care not to overlap the dumplings too much. Cover with a kitchen towel while you work to avoid drying out the dumpling wrappers. Repeat until all the dumplings are filled.
4. Using a large skillet, heat one teaspoon of oil over medium to medium-high heat. Place dumplings in the pan, making sure that the dumplings do not touch. You will need to cook these in several batches. Let the dumplings cook for 2-3 minutes, until browned on the bottom.
5. Once the bottoms have browned, pour in ¼ cup of water into the skillet and place the lid on the skillet to let the rest of the dumpling steam and cook. Take care when you pour the water in because the oil will splatter. You can shield yourself with the lid, but please do exercise caution, especially if you have a gas range (as Mr. Dolphin learned the hard way when he started a grease fire once). After 2-3 minutes, remove the lid until the water evaporates. Repeat with the remaining gyozas.
6. To make the dipping sauce, mix the soy sauce and rice vinegar together. I prefer a very vinegary sauce, but you can play around and see what suits your palate best. You can also add in some sesame oil or chili paste for taste.

Finished gyoza, ready to be dipped into sauce and enjoyed!

Notes:

• Do not overstuff the dumplings! If you overstuff them, they will be impossible to seal properly, they will burst open and the filling will fall out. You will figure out pretty quickly how much filling you want to put in each dumpling, but I would err on the side of less rather than more. If you prefer more filling to dumpling ratio, use a thinner dumpling wrapper (like ones using eggs); see the bullet point below.
• I’ve used many different kinds of dumpling wrappers. My preference is for Twin Marquis, which I purchase fresh from a Chinese grocer or frozen from the Korean or Japanese markets. Mr. Dolphin prefers the Northern Style wrappers, which are much thicker and chewier than the Shanghai style wrappers. I’ve also purchased dumpling wrappers from our local grocery store and Whole Foods, near wherever they keep the tofu. The ones I get from our local grocery store are yellow and use eggs, which generally means they are thinner than the white wrappers.
• If the dumplings stick to the pan when you try to remove them, move the skillet onto a cool burner and cover with the lid again for a minute or two. They will be much easier to remove. I also use a spatula for stubborn dumplings.
• My own preference for this recipe is to use aka miso, which is a dark red miso paste because I feel that it gives it a more robust flavor. You can also use a light or sweet miso, in which case you may also want to add in a bit of salt. I usually purchase my miso paste at an Asian market, but I’ve seen it frequently at Whole Foods and other specialty grocery stores.
• I’ve also successfully made this dish substituting ground turkey for the ground pork. I definitely think the dish is more delicious with the pork, but if you don’t eat pork or want to be healthier, it’s doable with turkey too.
• To freeze cooked or uncooked gyoza, place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, you can place them into a plastic Ziploc bag or pile them into a tupperware. To cook frozen uncooked gyoza, there is no need to defrost; just add a couple minutes of cooking time to the above. To cook frozen cooked gyoza, you can defrost it and reheat in the microwave.