In the fall of 2011, my husband began having some intestinal issues, don’t worry I won’t get into the details. Like every other man, he waited till the last minute to see a doctor. Around the same time, we were getting ready for his first ever trip to Japan. Now, I was seriously pissed that he waited for so long to see the doctor, but I do have to give him credit in that he pushed his way through and made it to Japan. I’m sure the first few days for him was a blur, between battling jet lag, not understanding the language and his intestinal issues.
Everything changed when we stopped at a chinese-style restaurant called Gyoza No Ohsho on our way to Naritasan Shinjoji Temple. That’s when we introduced him to gyoza and it was love at first bite! He went from barely eating, to wanting a second order of gyoza. He was cured!
So, what’s gyoza? Well, it’s like a potsticker. It is quite similar to the dumplings you can get at a Chinese restaurant, but there are some definite differences. The most obvious is the wrapper. The gyoza wrappers are much thinner than the Chinese dumpling. Also, there is a difference in the amount of meat and garlic. Gyoza is less meaty, but there is far more garlic than a dumpling.
So in the recipe that I follow, it calls for ground pork, cabbage, scallions, lots of garlic, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil. All you have to do is thoroughly combine those ingredients then wrap it with a gyoza wrapper. I use the Dynasty gyoza/potsticker wrappers. I think it’s been around for quite some time. My mom may have even used them when they lived in the US. You can find this brand and others in the frozen section of most Asian grocery stores. One thing to keep in mind about Asian grocery stores – always check the expiration date and there’s a high probability that the stuff in the freezer section is freezer burnt. I hate to say anything bad about “my people”, but the reality is that there’s a lot of expired food in Asian grocery stores.
Wrapping gyoza is my favorite part. I actually find it therapeutic. I hate to brag about myself, but I have to say I’m pretty awesome at making the pleats when wrapping gyoza. Some people just wet half of the wrapper, but I wet it all around before I meet the two ends and put in the pleats. Now even though wrapping is my favorite part, it’s also the most time consuming part of the process. I usually spend about 20 minutes wrapping 30 gyoza. And now due to the sheer quantity that’s consumed by my husband and son, I have to make a double batch. There may be quicker ways to consider. I have seen the dumpling press, but I’ve never used them so I have no idea if it makes any difference.
After wrapping them, all that’s left is to cook them! They need to be in a tightly packed line in the frying pan when cooking. Once the bottom is nicely browned, I add water, put the lid on the pan, and wait for the steam to cook the rest of it. After all the water evaporates, it’s time to chow down!
A couple of things to keep in mind about gyoza. Just like Lays potato chips, you’ll never be able to eat just one. My soon to be four year old son can eat about 10 gyoza in one sitting (that’s why I’ve started making a double batch). You’ll also have “gyoza breath” for the rest of the day, be prepared for that. Your hands/fingers will have the scallions and garlic stank. Yes, I said stank. Washing your hands with a lemon helps with that though. But with all of that, I promise, you will not regret it one bit.
