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
Thank you so much for this recipe. My Japanese husband says this recipe tastes like his mom’s. That’s high praise from him. My kids love it, they’re wanting a gyoza making party like grandma used to do. Thanks again.
Wow that IS high praise ! :)
I store the fresh dumplings in the fridge it’s crack can you give me some idea how to make proper dough wraps for frozen dumplings
Hi Ashish, I’m not sure I understand your question—dumplings should generally be cooked right away or stored frozen, and any dumpling wrapper generally can be frozen. If you’d like to make homemade dumpling wrappers (which can be cooked from fresh or frozen, but if you’re storing them any longer than an hour or two, definitely freeze them), here’s a recipe that shows you how: https://thewoksoflife.com/vegetable-dumplings/
Thank you for such detailed information on this gyoza recipe. The family loved the flavoring and my 11 year old grandniece wanted me to show her how to make gyoza like the “Crazy Rich Asians” did. She loved making them and eating them.
You’re welcome, Sue!
Thank you so much for the recipe! Small hiccup… We got air pockets in the dumplings after pan frying/steaming. Any advice on how to avoid this? Thanks in advance :)
Hi Mel, when you’re folding the dumplings, particularly the step when you fold the wrapper in half around the filling, make sure you’re not getting any air pockets caught in there!
This is very good and easy to make. I especially love the dipping sauce. The one question for the dipping sauce I have is if it make a different what kind of soy sauce you use ( Chinese or Japan Style) since I always have the Chinese or Indonesian Style at home but not always the Japan Style and is the dark or the clear Rice Vinegar better? Thanks.
Thanks so much, Anja! A Chinese soy sauce works fine if that’s what you have on hand. I would use a clear rice vinegar with these.
This was a fantastic recipe and so easy to follow — thanks for including so many instruction photos and videos. This was my first time attempting gyoza and it was so much easier than I thought. I halved the recipe, and I used wonton wrappers instead of gyoza wrappers as that’s what my local grocery store had. I stamped out a circle shape which added an extra step, but it worked so well. I was worried the thickness of the wrapper would be wrong but it turned out great. (I ended up only being able to fit about 1 tsp of filling, instead of 2 tsp in each wrapper, so even though I halved the recipe, it still made ~40 gyoza).
I also made these a couple hours before I was ready to cook them and just kept them covered with a damp paper towel. The cooking method was so easy and quick once it was time to get them ready to serve. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re so welcome, Natalie! Thanks for sharing the details of your experience!
I can’t wait to try this recipe, not to mention all the others you have. Thank you for both teaching how and sharing.
You’re very welcome, Carolyn! Thanks for cooking with us!
I want to try this, I love Gyoza, and since Covid very rarely get to the Japanese restaurant. I don’t know where to find the wrappers. I live in Saugerties NY, thought you might have an idea where I can look.
Hi Elaine, you can find gyoza or regular dumpling wrappers in larger grocery stores these days, or groceries that carry specialty items. Since you live in New York state, you can also order fresh Asian grocery items from https://www.mimodian.com/, which as been a real lifesaver during the pandemic!
Thank you I’ll let you know how I make out!!
Hi Sarah! I have a package of gyoza wrappers in the freezer, and I’ve been dreaming of making dumplings (I know it’s more fun to do as a group, but you know how it is – quarantine). A few questions:
1. Is it okay to substitute Savoy cabbage for the Napa cabbage? I have a giant head of Savoy right now.
2. I remember coming across a post here about using multiple layers of dumpling wrappers to make scallion pancakes, but I can’t remember what kind of wrappers the recipe called for.
Thanks so much! I’m excited to try this recipe.
Hi Len, you can try substituting the savoy, yes! The wrappers for that recipe were white dumpling wrappers. You can see what they look like here: https://thewoksoflife.com/easy-scallion-pancakes/