Jeannies Gyoza Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare the gyoza dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and rice vinegar, plus chile oil, if using. Set aside (makes a generous 1/2 cup).
• Finely chop the cabbage or process it in a food processor into confetti-size bits, then transfer it to a sieve set over a large bowl. Toss with 2 teaspoons of the salt and let sit for 20 minutes in the sink. Gently press the cabbage to squeeze out as much water as you can.
• Combine the drained cabbage, pork, ginger, garlic, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly just until everything is evenly distributed. (Don't overdo it: Too much handling and the fat in the pork will begin to melt.)
• Here's where you want to employ some extra hands to help you: Fill a small bowl with water. Sprinkle a rimmed sheet pan or two with cornstarch or potato starch to prevent the finished gyoza from sticking. For each gyoza, place a wrapper in the palm of your hand and spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling into the center. Use the back of the spoon to smoosh it lightly (it should fill about half the wrapper). You don't want the filling to run to the edges, but you also don't want it sitting in a fat clump in the middle. Dip your finger into the water and run it along the perimeter of one half of the wrapper. Now fold the wet edge of the wrapper over to meet the dry edge. Crimp the edges together at one corner, then proceed around the dumpling, using your finger to push the dough into little pleats on one side and pressing them against the other side to seal it. (If you need more guidance, there are hundreds of gyoza-folding videos online.) Place the gyoza on the sheet pan as you finish them. If your gyoza seem to be sticking to one another, sprinkle each layer of gyozas with potato or cornstarch.
• To pan-fry the gyoza, you will need a lidded 10-inch nonstick pan or a well-seasoned carbon steel pan. (You could also use whatever skillet you have, but increase the oil and keep a close eye on the gyoza.) Heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in the pan over medium heat. When hot, add 10 to 15 gyoza, flat-side down, and cook until browned on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Add enough water to come just under a quarter of the way up the gyoza (about 1/2 cup, depending on how many gyoza you have in the pan), cover, and let the water cook away until the pan is dry and the gyoza wrappers have softened completely, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and let the gyoza crisp up on the bottoms for another minute or two, depending on how crisp you like them. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce and additional chile oil. Wipe the pan clean and cook the remaining gyoza. (Alternately, uncooked gyoza can be frozen on a baking sheet in a single layer until firm and then stored in resealable plastic bags for a couple months. To cook frozen gyoza, add a second batch of water in step 4 after the first batch evaporates.)

Steps:

• If you're making your own dough, tip the flour and 1 tsp salt into a bowl. Bring a kettle to the boil and measure 150ml boiling water. Slowly pour the water over the flour while mixing with a spoon to form a stiff dough. When the dough is cool enough to handle, tip onto a surface and knead for 10 mins until smooth. Wrap the dough and chill for at least 1 hr. Alternatively, you can use 25-30 shop-bought gyoza skins.
• Meanwhile, coarsely grate the cabbage, mushrooms, carrot and water chestnuts, if using, then tip into a bowl. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onions. Heat the oil in a wok, then tip in all the veg and stir-fry over a high heat for 3 mins until softened. Drizzle over the soy sauce and sake, and cook for 2-3 mins. Season to taste. Tip back into the bowl to cool completely.
• Divide the dough in two. Scatter a surface generously with cornflour and roll one ball of dough out until paper-thin. Use a 10cm cutter to cut out rounds of dough and pile them up (they won't stick because of the cornflour). Repeat with all the dough, re-rolling the trimmings until you have about 25 skins.
• To assemble, sprinkle cornflour on a tray and have a bowl of cold water ready. Hold a skin in the palm of one hand and put a teaspoon of the filling in the centre. Dip your finger in the water and wipe around the inside edge of the skin. Bring the edges of the skin together, pinching pleats along one side. Space them out on a baking tray and freeze, then tip into a bag and put back in the freezer. Will keep for three months. Can be cooked from frozen.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan with a lid. Fry, flat-side down, for 2 mins until golden. Add 100ml water to the pan and cover. Cook over a medium heat for 3-5 mins until the water has evaporated and the gyoza is cooked through. Remove the lid and leave the gyoza to sizzle on the bottom for a minute. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together, then serve with the gyoza.

Steps:

• Dice cabbage finely and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Give it a bit of a massage. Leave for 10-15 minutes and then squeeze with your hands to remove any moisture.
• With your hands thoroughly mix together cabbage, ground meat, chives, mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and pinch of salt.
• Dry your hands completely (or wrappers will stick). Place a gyoza wrapper on one hand and put 1 teaspoon filling in centre of wrapper.
• Brush edge of half the wrapper with cold water. Make a semi-circle by folding the wrapper in half. Pinch open sides of wrapper together with your fingers and seal the top.
• Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons sesame oil and arrange 20-25 gyoza in pan. Add 200ml water to cover bottom of pan, cover with lid and cook on medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes or until translucent, cooked and no liquid is left in pan. Take off lid and cook for another 30-60 seconds for the bottoms to go crunchy. Cook remaining gyoza or freeze them.
• Mix together soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil, if using. Serve gyoza hot with dipping sauce.

Steps:

• Put the spring onions, cabbage, ginger and garlic in a food processor, and whizz to a fine mix (or finely chop by hand).
• Add the water chestnuts and pulse to chop, but not too finely - these will add a nice crunchy texture. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sake, sesame oil and a pinch of salt, and whizz again.
• Tip the ingredients into a bowl and add the minced pork or chicken. Mix by hand until well combined. Chill until ready to use.
• Have a pot of water to hand. Sprinkle the cornflour onto a plate. To assemble the gyoza, hold the dumpling skin in the palm of one hand and put a heaped teaspoon of the filling onto the centre of the skin.
• Dip your finger in the water and wipe around the edge of the skin - this will moisten it and help the edges stick together.
• Bring the edges of the skin together. Pinch pleats along one side, then press each pleat against the opposite flat side of the skin. With each pinch make sure that you are sealing the parcel and keeping the filling in the centre. Put each gyoza onto the plate dusted with cornflour. Can be covered with cling film and chilled for up to 8 hrs.
• Cook the gyoza in batches. Heat a non-stick frying pan with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Brush off any excess cornflour from the bases of the dumplings. Fry the gyoza on one side only - don't turn them over, you just want one crispy side. They should be golden brown after about 2 mins.
• Add a good splash of water to the pan and cover with a steaming lid or a large sheet of foil with a few holes poked in the top. Cook over a medium heat for 3-5 mins until the water has evaporated and the gyoza filling is cooked through. Set aside while you cook the rest.
• Mix all the dipping sauce ingredients and serve alongside the dumplings in dipping bowls. You can serve with both or just one dipping sauce.