Gyoza – Japanese meat dumplings

The GYŌZA (餃子) or "meat dumplings", as you can often find them on the menus of Japanese restaurants in Canada, are none other than the worthy Japanese descendants of Chinese jiaozi. That is, tasty ravioli with a juicy filling of meat and vegetables wrapped in a thin dough based on water and flour. The difference between the Japanese and Chinese versions is that Chinese jiaozi are often steamed, while the classic Japanese recipe involves cooking ravioli in a pan, or Yaki Gyoza.

I prepared the most classic version of this Japanese dish, with a filling based on minced pork and Chinese cabbage (Wombok), but you can give free rein to the imagination using different ingredients such as shrimp and chicken, for a more delicate flavor, or tofu and Shiitake mushrooms, for a vegan version. In Japan, depending on the type of filling and cooking of the ravioli, the name of the dish also changes, for example: Ebi Gyoza (for the version with shrimps) or Yasai Gyoza (for a vegetable-based filling); and again, Sui Gyoza (if they are boiled) and Age Gyoza (if they are fried).

The recipe that I propose is not very complicated and includes ingredients that you can easily find in all supermarkets. In addition, I assure you that preparing these delicious dumplings will give you immense satisfaction. If you try to make them or if you know different versions let me know in the comments, but in the meantime, enjoy your meal!

Ingredients for about 30 Gyoza of meat

For the pasta

400 g flour 

120 ml water

a pinch of salt (about 5 g)

For the filling

250 g minced pork

200 g Chinese cabbage (savoy cabbage is also perfect)

50 g white spring onion

10 g fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce or fish sauce

Procedure

Prepare the dough

Combine the flour, water, and a pinch of salt in a bowl, mix well and knead the dough with your hands until it is firm and homogeneous (it will be very smooth). It will only take a couple of minutes. Cover the dough and let it rest while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling

Wash the cabbage leaves well, place them on a cutting board and with a knife remove the main vein. Once cleaned, blanch them for about a minute in salted water. Drain the cabbage leaves and pass them quickly under cold water in order to stop cooking and keep them a nice bright green. Once cooled, squeeze them so as to remove all the water, then chop them finely. Separately, also cut the spring onions raw, including as much as possible the green part of the stem. I kept them in slices but if you prefer you can chop them finely. Now you are ready to assemble the filling. In a bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, spring onions, minced pork, soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce. Then mix everything until you get a homogeneous mixture. Also add the finely chopped ginger to the knife (I like that you feel good the pieces of ginger inside the ravioli, but if you prefer you can also add it grated or directly in powder).

Assemble your meat Gyoza

Take the dough and divide it into two parts creating one or more rolls of about 3 cm in diameter, and then cut it into slices, each just under a centimeter thick. With a floured rolling pin, flatten the washers as much as possible, until they form a disc of dough about 10 cm in diameter. So, to create records all the same, help yourself with a pastry cutter, a cup, or a glass. I used a 10 cm pastry cutter, like this one. Put a teaspoon of filling in the center of each disc of dough, then with your fingers moistened with water slightly wet the entire outer edge of the disc. Fold the dough into a half-moon shape and pinch the edges to seal the filling, folding them like a fan. The base of the ravioli should be flat and the edge should be pleated. Then place them on a cutting board soiled with a little flour. To cook the ravioli, heat a little sesame oil in a non-stick pan, and when hot, transfer the gyoza to it, placing them so that the flat side is in contact with the pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the base is crispy and golden. At this point, complete the steaming, adding a glass of water directly to the pan and taking care to cover immediately with a lid to avoid splashing. Then lower the heat and cook until the water has completely evaporated and the base of the ravioli crispy (you can also add another tablespoon of oil if you notice that they are sticking slightly). 

That's it, the meat Gyoza are ready 🙂 !

Tips

Eat them still hot and accompanied by what you prefer, as an appetizer or even as a main course. I like them slightly dipped in a little soy sauce or hot sauce, but any combination will be fine! If you do not have time, or desire, to prepare the pasta for ravioli, you can buy ready-made discs of pasta for ravioli. You can usually find them frozen in the freezer counters of Japanese or Asian supermarkets. If you think you lack manual skills in handling the dough and want to completely remove the thought, you can also use a gyoza mold just roll out the dough on the mold, add the filling, wet the corners of the dough and close it! Perfect gyoza assured! You can safely freeze the gyoza of meat still raw and then cook them later and save time (maybe for a super fast dish (or maybe a lunch-box) for work? 😉 ) Gyoza can also be steamed (for example using a bamboo steamer) or by throwing them directly into salted water for a few minutes like a normal pasta.