I learned how to make dumplings at my grandmother’s knee. It took me years to master the perfect fold––probably because I got a rather early start, and it would take a while before my clumsy five-year-old’s hands got the hang of the whole gyoza and dumpling-making process.
Today, my sister and I are machines when it comes to dumpling assembly. When it’s time to make a batch, my grandmother just sits back, opens up a copy of InStyle magazine, and sips her hot water while watching years of patient teaching pay off.
We’ve posted many a dumpling recipe on this blog, including our go-to usual recipe, pork and chive dumplings, vegetable dumplings, and even a crazy buffalo chicken dumpling. Today, however, we’re going to make the Japanese version of these pan-fried packets of amazingness––gyoza.
Gyoza vs. Chinese Dumplings
In my mind, there are a few key differences between gyoza dumplings and say, a Shanghainese pork dumpling.
- The dumpling wrapper is a bit thinner
- The filling often has a distinct ginger flavor
- The meat and vegetable filling is often ground much finer
My dad has many fond memories of traveling to Japan on business trips and downing plates and plates of these with a bunch of coworkers and plenty of Sapporo draft beer.
Needless to say, he was a big part in developing this particular recipe.
Let’s make ‘em.
Gyoza Recipe Instructions
Begin by blanching the napa cabbage in boiling water for 30 seconds.
Drain the cabbage in a colander and rinse with cold water. Squeeze any excess water from the cabbage with your hands.
To the food processor, add the blanched cabbage, ground pork, smashed garlic, ginger, scallion, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, salt and white pepper. Pulse the mixture in the food processor until the filling is well-combined.
Prepare sheet pans or cookie sheets lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. To assemble the gyoza dumplings, place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of each wrapper, and use your finger dipped in a small bowl of fresh water to moisten the outer edges of the wrapper. You could simply fold them in half, or you can pleat them as you see in the photos (Check out our full tutorial on how to fold dumplings/gyoza). Make sure they are well-sealed.
Notice again how thin these gyoza wrappers are. They were harder to find but thin skins are a must for the more delicate Japanese gyoza dumplings.
Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the gyoza in the pan and fry until the bottom of the gyoza become crispy and golden, about 2-3 minutes.
When the gyoza have fried, add 1 tablespoon of water to the hot pan and immediately cover the pan to steam the dumplings. We use much less water than Chinese dumplings since the skins are so thin and they cook much faster than potstickers with thicker store-bought dumpling skins or Chinese dumplings with home made skins.
Let the gyoza dumplings steam until the water has evaporated (about 2 minutes), remove the cover, and continue cooking until the bottoms of the gyoza get crispy again. With the thinner skins and the finely ground filling, Gyoza cook much faster as well! For more alternative methods on cooking gyoza, see Sarah’s post on How to cook dumplings
Prepare your dipping sauce by combining the soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot water, and sugar in a small bowl, and serve alongside the crispy gyoza!
For more variations on dipping sauces, see our recipe for traditional dumpling sauce.
Japanese Gyoza Dumplings
Ingredients
You’ll need:
- 5 cups napa cabbage (about 1 pound/450g, roughly chopped into large pieces)
- 8 ounces ground pork (70% to 80% lean, 225g)
- 1 clove garlic (smashed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger (minced)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more for pan-frying)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- Store-bought gyoza wrappers
For the dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Begin by blanching the napa cabbage in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain the cabbage in a colander and rinse with cold water. Squeeze any excess water from the cabbage with your hands.
- To the food processor, add the blanched cabbage, ground pork, smashed garlic, ginger, scallion, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Pulse the mixture in the food processor until the filling is well-combined.
- Prepare sheet pans or cookie sheets lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. To assemble the gyoza, place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of each wrapper, and use your finger dipped in a small bowl of fresh water to moisten the outer edges of the wrapper. You could simply fold them in half, or you can pleat them as you see in the photos. Make sure they are well-sealed.
- Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the gyoza in the pan and fry until the bottom of the gyoza become crispy and golden, about 2-3 minutes.
- When the gyoza have fried, add 1 tablespoon of water to the hot pan and immediately cover the pan to steam the dumplings. Let the gyoza to steam until the water has evaporated (about 2 minutes), remove the cover, and continue cooking until the bottoms of the gyoza get crispy again.
- Prepare your dipping sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and serve alongside the crispy gyoza!
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
