Gyoza is said originated in China but has established as one of the most popular foods in Japan. Steamed, boiled or deep fried, there are many different ways to cook gyoza but the most common and popular fashion in Japan is pan-fried.

Each restaurant and family has their own recipe for Gyoza dumplings and mine is one of the simplest. I will give you some hints at how to personalize it.

What you need:

Cabbage or Nappa Cabbage, 2 cup, chopped
Chinese green chive (Nira), 1/2 cup
Green onion or scallion, 1/2 cup
Ground Pork, 1 lbs
Grated ginger, 1tbs
salt, pepper
Vegetable oil or Sesame oil, 3-5 tbs
Gyoza skins, 1 package (16oz)

You can find gyoza skins at any Chinese/Korean/Japanese grocery shop.

For healthier version, you can substitute ground chicken for pork. Also using less meat and adding chopped shrimps instead helps to reduce fat and calories in your gyoza.

How to prepare:

1) Chop the cabbage and place it in a bowl.

Add 1 tbs of salt and mix thoroughly and let stand for 10-15 minutes until the cabbage becomes softer.

2) Chop the scallion.

This is the Chinese chive. I really like having the chive for gyoza but if you could not find this in a nearby shop, never mind. Probably you have to go to a Chinese grocery store. Chop the chive as well.

3) Wash the salted cabbage with water, rinse and squeeze hard to remove as much water as possible. The cabbage should no longer be salty.

4) Put the chopped scallion, the chive, and the squeezed cabbage in a big bowl.

Then add meat, ginger, salt and pepper to the bowl. Some like to add soy sauce, sake or garlic for more flavor.

Then mix all well with your hand.

Now the filling is ready.

5) Before you start wrapping, you need a spoon and a small bowl filled with water. Have a sheet of gyoza wrapper on the palm of you left hand, and place a spoonful of filling in it.

Have the small bowl of water neaby and moisten around the edge of the wrapper with the water, with using your fingers. Fold the wrapper, pinching and folding the edge about 5-6 times for making a kind of layers.

Probably this movie will help you to learn how to do it.

Keep the wrapped gyoza in a single layer otherwise they stick together. When you want to store them, have a sheet of kitchen paper in between and on the bottom of the container. You can freeze them as well.

6) I think a non-stick frying pan is best to use. Remember the pan needs a fitting lid. Heat the pan over medium-high heat and add a spoon of oil (even though you use a non-stick pan). Put the gyoza in the pan and heat until the bottom is nicely brown, about 2 minutes.

7) Then add about 1/4 cup of water in the pan….

…and cover quickly and tightly. Keep the heat medium-high.

8) When the water is almost gone (about 3-4 minutes), open the lid and drizzle gyoza with some oil to make it nicely crisp.

Then serve them with the crisp side up.

I like to have some dipping sauce which is the mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, red hot chill oil and sesame oil with the gyoza. Enjoy!

I also have this recipe in Japanese as well.
いつものギョーザ