Classic Gyoza

Classic pork gyozas that you can make at home, better than what you can get in restaurants!

Print Pin

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: dumpling, gyoza

Prep Time: 1 30

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 1 40

Servings: pieces

Calories: 58kcal

Author: Bonny B

3/4 pound ground pork
3 cups cabbage, finely minced
1½ cup garlic chives, remove the hard bottom stems and finely chop the leafy part
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp katakuriko (potato starch), can substitute with corn starch

Shred and finely mince the cabbage (use a knife, a food processor can turn it mushy). I slice the cabbage thinly by hand, then chop them up into fine little pieces. You will need about 3 cups total.
Put the minced cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt and mix well. Let the cabbage + salt sit for about 15 minutes. You can prep and gather all the other ingredients while you wait. After 15 minutes, squeeze the liquid out of the cabbage using a cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel. This step is important, so do not skip! Otherwise you will end up with soggy dumplings.

Combine the remaining ingredients (pork, chive, ginger, garlic, soy, sesame oil, salt, pepper, sugar, starch) in with the cabbage. Mix well (using your hands works best!).

Prepare your work space by laying out all your components - gyoza skins, pork filling, a tray for putting the folded gyozas (dusted with some starch to prevent sticking), and a small bowl of water mixed with starch to create a "slurry" which you will use as the glue to close the dumplings.
Take one wrapper and put it in the palm of one hand. Scoop in about a tablespoon of filling (don't get greedy or you won't be able to close the dumpling!) Wet the edge of the wrapper using the water/starch slurry. Fold the wrapper in half (like a taco) and use the index finger and thumbs of both hands to pinch (pleat) the ends over each other. I promise to one day post a video of how to do this, but for now there are a lot of tutorials out there on folding gyozas. Lay out your folded gyozas in a tray, folded (pleated) side up. Repeat until you've used all the fillings (or run out of skins, whichever happens first).

Preheat a pan (preferably non stick) or cast-iron skillet over high heat for a 2-3 minutes. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the hot pan and make sure the entire surface is coated.
Begin adding the gyozas in a neat row, one at a time, folded side up, going around the circumference of the pan. A 12- inch pan should hold about 20 gyoza. Once they are all added, let them fry in the oil for about 15 seconds. Quickly pour water into the pan and cover the tightly with a lid. The pan will quickly fill up with steam, which will finish cooking the gyoza.
Continue to cook (steam) the gyoza for about 4 - 6 minutes or until most the water has absorbed when you lift the lid. Remove the lid, drizzle sesame oil over the top and cook with the lid off for another minute. The gyoza should look glossy with the skin cooked through and the bottoms should be browned and crispy.
Transfer to a plate and serve hot. Dip gyoza in Ponzu or soy or soy/vinegar combination or anything you like. I always add chili oil or siracha or some other chili something to my dip.

You can freeze left over (uncooked) gyozas in a freezer bag or tupperware. I normally pre-portion them out to individual servings 6-8 pieces. When storing (freezing) gyoza, arrange them neatly with the seams facing up, in the bag or container. When you pull them out of the freezer, they will likely be frozen stuck together and hard to separate. Arranging them nicely will save you from having to break them up or letting them thaw in order to separate the pieces.
Cook frozen gyoza the same way you would the fresh ones. You will need to use more water (about 3/4 - 1 cup) to and steam for a little longer (about 8-10 minutes).