Easy Gyoza/Jiaozi

Cooking with Rich

2020-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

Following on from the easy meat filled dumplings we highlighted some time ago, here we go for a more traditional Chinese dumpling, Jiaozi, or you may know it by the slightly more familiar Japanese name, Gyoza. Sometimes colloquially called potstickers, depending on the cooking method.

The origin of Jiaozi is Chinese, and usually contains a combination meat and vegetables wrapped in a simple thin wheat flour dough.

Like most dishes there is a history. An unverified version, but one I like, the origin of Jiaozi was created during the 2nd century in China by Zhang Zhongjing, the well known Chinese physician and apparent father of modern Chinese medicine. The good part of this story is that it was not for eating, it was for warming the frostbitten ears of his less affluent patients, apparently a factor in the familiar shape. Eating them was clearly a bonus. No real idea if this is true, I did do a quick search only to find a couple of references all seemingly referencing each other, but it is on Wikipedia, so must be true .. ?!?!?!?

Gyoza, the Japanese version/translation of Jiaozi, was a recipe brought back from China, after the second world war, by returning soldiers. Gyoza is now a regular and fan favourite starter in many Japanese restaurants around the world.

Fillings vary, and can be a mix of meat and vegetable or vegetable only. If you hunt around you'll find plenty of traditional and non traditional filling options. Gyoza/Jiaozi can be pan fried, boiled, steamed or if you must, even deep fried. My personal preferences are pan fried or steamed. I imagine they could even be roasted or done in an air fryer, I'll have to try that at some point.

The filling recipe below is a combination of a few I've tried and (more importantly) for my family the basic ratios work for a flavour filled juicy pork and cabbage dumpling that lends itself to any cooking method and you can make a very simple dipping sauce to serve them with. Don't be concerned at the quantities as you can easily freeze the gyoza once made for cooking later.

Have a go, and let me know.

Easy Gyoza/Jiaozi

Preparation: ~2 hours depending on wrapping time, includes resting time
Cooking: 10-12 mins depending on method | Skill Level: Easy/Medium | Makes: ~45-50 gyoza

Ingredients

750g minced pork (fatty is better - I use mince pork collar)
150g Chinese cabbage finely chopped
50g garlic chives finely chopped
50g shitake mushrooms finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or sake)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves mashed
1cm cube of ginger mashed
1½ tsp sugar
50 ish gyoza wrappers (I use store bought, and I've added a simple recipe for home made wrappers below if you feel the need)

Method - Filling

Finely chop the cabbage, place in a bowl and add 1 tsp of salt, mixing through. Let sit for 10-15 mins. This will help extract moisture from the cabbage. When ready, squeeze out additional moisture - as much as you can. I often use a sieve.
Gently mix/stir all filling ingredients in a large bowl until properly combined. The general tradition is to only stir in one direction, something to do with the grain of the pork. I'll look it up one day.
Once ingredients are combined, cover and let rest in the fridge for about a hour.
Prepare a small bowl with water, to wet the edges of the wrappers
Now grab a wrapper, place in the palm of your hand, with your index finger, rub a little water around the edge, place about 1-2 tsp of filling in the centre and gently fold over so edges of the wrapper can be pinched closed. Now here you can get fancy and fold pleats, but you don't have to. Simply pinch the wrappers closed. Place on a lightly flour dusted tray. Repeat until you have all your gyoza made.
Please refer to a couple of videos below of how to pleat your gyoza wrappers, it's not difficult it just takes a little practice.
Once made you can cook immediately or freeze for later. When freezing, leave the gyoza on the tray and place in the freezer to freeze first, it will stop them sticking. Once frozen you can then place in a ziplock bag to use as you wish.

How To Wrap Gyoza

Cooking Methods

Note: Below are times for fresh gyoza, if cooking from frozen, do not defrost, simply add a little extra to the cooking times, ~1-2 mins.

1. Pan Fried Potstickers

You need a larger frying pan, a little vegetable oil and water.

In a large frying pan (with a lid), heavy based frypan if you have one, heat to medium-high ~1-2 tbs of canola/peanut oil.
When hot, carefully and evenly place gyoza, leaving a little space in between.
Allow to fry for 3-4 mins until base is golden brown.
Carefully add about ~¼ cup of water throughout the pan, it should be about 3-4 ml deep in the bottom.
Place lid over and allow to boil/stream for ~5-6 mins.
Remove lid and allow water to boil off and let semi-fry for another 1 min.
Serve.

2. Boiled

You need, a pot, water and a little salt.

In a large pot, fill with water up to about 7cm from the top, make sure the pot is deep enough so the gyoza are well covered.
Add a little salt and bring to boil and keep stove on medium.
When water is boiling, carefully add gyoza to the water, 6-8 depending on the size of the pot.
Gyoza will initially sink to the bottom, here you can gently stir to ensure they don't stick.
As the water comes back to the boil add a ½ cup of cold water. This will cool the water back to below boiling and allow time for the gyoza to cook through. Leaving the water to boil will risk the skins splitting before the filling has cooked properly.
You can repeat this everytime the water comes to the boil until gyoza are cooked, usually around 5-6 mins.
The gyoza will begin to float as they are close to ready and allow to cook ~1-2 mins longer at this point.

3. Steamed

You need a steamer of some kind and water. Bamboo steamers are very versatile and worth the small investment to have a few in the kitchen.

Place gyoza in a steaming basket or on a streaming tray with a little space.
Tip: if you can find some steamer liners these a great for keeping the gyoza from sticking to the bottom or the tray, these a usually round with perforations and fit nicely in the bamboo steamers. You can make your own using baking paper, just make sure to put plenty of holes in the bottom to ensure even steam distribution.
In pot or wok bring 1-2 cups of water to boil.
Place steaming basket or tray over the water and cover.
Allow to steam for 6-8 mins until cooked.

Gyoza Dipping Sauce

Combine the following:

2 tsp dark soy sauce (normal also works)
2 tsp dark sweet rice wine vinegar
1 tsp chili oil

Gyoza/Jiaozi Wrappers

For skins, I use store bought gyoza or dumpling wrappers. Making your own is of course satisfying and the recipe is basically:

2 parts flour (eg: 100g flour)
1 part warm water (eg: 50g/ml water)
salt to season

Mix and knead until smooth, rest in fridge for at least 1 hour and then cut and roll into thin ~4 inch rounds. This does have a technique all its own. For some very good guidance here are a couple of videos providing much better experience than I ever could ever.

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