Crispy Pork and Cabbage Gyoza
Juicy, savory, and plump - this crispy pork and cabbage gyoza is just as good as the best dumplings out there, but with higher proportions of vegetables and protein!
What’s the difference between a dumpling and a gyoza?
In my understanding, “dumpling” is an overarching label for dishes that involve wrapping a piece of flat dough around your choice of fillings. There are many varieties of dumplings - gyoza being one of them. Gyozas, specifically, originate from Japan and are usually wrapped by pleating the top layer of dough onto the bottom layer. Gyozas are typically filled with shredded cabbages and pork, and are usually made with a thinner dough than that of Chinese dumplings (餃子 or “jiao-zi”) and Korean dumplings (만두 or “mandu.”)
Ingredients:
2 lbs of ground pork, half lean and half lean and half fatty
1/2 head of a small white cabbage
4 - 5 stalks of garlic chives (or 1 stalk of scallions for substitute)
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 knobs of minced ginger
3 tsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of shaoxing wine
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
4 dumpings of onion powder
1 pack of gyoza wrappers (both gyoza and mandu wrappers are round, but make sure to find gyoza as the circumference is smaller and skin much thinner)
Instructions:
Filling
Roughly chop up the cabbage and use a food processor to mince it up
Sprinkle some salt onto the minced cabbage and transfer it into a cheese clothe or paper towel to squeeze excess water out
Mince ginger, garlic, and garlic chives together in the food processor as well
Place the ground pork, cabbage, and ginger-garlic-chives mixture into a bowl together and add soy sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, and onion powder
Mix everything together with your hands
Take a small spoonful to microwave for about 40 seconds to taste test and adjust the flavors as desired
Wrapping
Using an everyday tablespoon, scoop about 3/4 tablespoon of filling and put it in the middle of the gyoza wrapper
Pat the fillings down and moisten the edges of the wrapper
Pinch one end of the wrapper and crimp one end onto the other while your other hand presses the fillings down and towards the center until you run out of wrappers
Shape the gyoza by giving the edges a final seal with your thumb and index finger
Pan-frying
Set the stove to medium heat and cover the frying pan with a thin layer of neutral oil
Place the gyozas flat side down onto the oil and cover to cook for about 3 minutes or until the bottom side starts to crisp
Pour in a small amount of water just so the gyozas are slightly surrounded by water and flip them onto their rounded side
Cover for about another 3 minutes or until the rounded side crisps up
Serve as is, with a dumpling sauce, or add a dumpling skirt to give it the ultimate crunch!
