Gyoza, or pot stickers, are little dumplings that are both pan fried and steamed. This way, the bottom
is nice and crisp, and the top part is soft and tender. Very delicious and easy to make yourself.
I had a bit of a struggle with this recipe because I wanted to make a vegetarian version: usually
they are made with ground pork, but I’m not a big fan of bland and greasy meat dumplings.
The first batch I made was okay, but it did miss some body. So the next day, I took the leftover
vegetable mixture and added white fish and an egg, and they were absolutely perfect.
POT STICKERS
1 pack gyoza wrappers or wonton wrappers, you can buy them frozen at the Chinese shop
A handful of cabbage, shredded super finely
A handful of mushroom, chopped finely
A small handful of bean sprouts, chopped coarsely
1 stalk green onion, minced finely
A piece of ginger, the size of a garlic clove, minced super finely
1 clove garlic, minced super finely
1 fillet of white fish, boiled and shredded
1 egg, beaten
2 parts soy sauce
1 part sesame oil
1 part mirin
1 part rice vinegar
Saute the ginger, garlic and green onion in a bit of oil until fragrant, but not dark. Add the cabbage and fry for a couple of minutes, until almost tender. Adding a dash of water helps it cook a bit more quickly. Add the mushrooms and bean sprouts and another small dash of water and cook over high heat, quickly, until everything is done. Remove from heat. Add the fish and the egg, and mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin and vinegar until you think you have enough for the mixture. Add to taste.
Now take a gyoza wrapper and put about a teaspoon of the mixture in the middle.
Wet the edges of the wrapper with some water, and fold it shut, like so (go to 2:12 min):
Heat a non stick pan coated with oil and arrange the pot stickers in the pan, flat side down, like so:
Fry them until the bottom is golden brown. Now add a quarter cup of water and immediately cover the pan.
Steam the gyoza for a few minutes, until slightly translucent and tender, remove the lid and continue to cook
until all the liquid has evaporated and the bottom is dry and crispy. Serve with a nice soy dipping sauce.
DIPPING SAUCE
Traditionally, I believe gyoza is served with some soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar and a few drops of hot chili oil.
But you can serve it with any Asian style dipping sauce you like. Hoisin, sweet chili, or something more complicated.
This is my version:
Japanese mayonaise (or regular, if you don’t have Japanese, just add a bit more rice vinegar)
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan and ground coarsely in a mortar and pestle
Rice vinegar
Umeboshi or ume su, optional (ume su is the juice of the umeboshi, nice in dressings)
Sambal (or some red chili pepper)
Enjoy!