Food & Wine Thursdays: Gyoza

Do you like gyoza? Of course you do. Who doesn’t? Have you every made your own gyoza? Of course not. Why not? Do you not know how? Considering that problem SOLVED!

What’s great about this recipe is you don’t have to worry about overdoing it on the filling as you can use this Chinese-tinged ground pork mix for a variety of other dishes, including stir fries, dumplings, or fancy 21st Century fusion tacos.

Ingredients:

• one package circular gyoza wrappers (available at Asian markets and most supermarkets)
• one pound ground pork
• 6 (or so) large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, and minced (optional)
• 1 – 8oz package fresh spinach or mixed cooking greens
• 1T fresh ginger, minced
• 2T soy sauce
• 2T garlic, minced
• 1T leek, minced
• 1T light sesame oil
• 1tsp corn starch dissolved in 1T dry white wine or sake
• Cooking oil for pan-frying (optional)

Preparing the Filling and the Gyoza:

1. In a lightly oiled pan over medium heat, saute the garlic and greens until wilted down.
2. Remove pan from heat and let cool. When cool enough to handle, press out excess moisture.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked greens and garlic and all the other ingredients (except gyoza skins).
4. Stir until combined. Do not over mix.
5. The shrimp improves the texture of the dish as well as its ability to hold together while cooking. It does not impart much flavor. If you choose to omit the shrimp, double the amount of dissolved corn starch.
6. If you can, let the mixture sit for 30 minutes for flavors to combine.
7. Lay out gyoza wrappers on wax paper on a large flat surface.
8. Spoon about 2tsp filling (give or take) onto half of the gyoza skin, leaving about 1cm space on the edge,
9. Wet the edge of the gyoza skin with room temperature water.
10. Fold the gyoza wrapper over and firmly press the two sides together with your finger.

Cooking:

Option 1:

1. Heat a thick bottomed frying pan or wok with lid over medium-high heat.
2. Add 2T peanut or other high-heat cooking oil and evenly coat the bottom of the pan.
3. Gently place gyoza flatter-side down in the oil.
4. Fry the gyoza until one side is golden brown.
5. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and immediately cover with the lid.
6. Let gyoza steam for  minutes or so, until the filling is fully cooked. This will depend on the thickness of the gyoza.
7. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve as an appetizer or side dish.

Option 2:

1. Fill a pot with 2 inches of water and bring two a boil.
2. Place gyoza in a steamer basket or try so that the dumplings sit above the water level.
3. Cover and let steam for 10 minutes.
4. Serve as-is or in soup. You can also let cool and refrigerate or freeze these when they’re done cooking. To re-heat, repeat steps 4-7 of Option 1.

It’s really not that difficult and it’s a fun dish to make with friends. It also scales up very easily and makes a great heat-and-eat appetizer to have on hand for parties or unexpected guests.

For wine pairings, try a dry aromatic white wine like a Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Albarino, or Riesling. You can also enjoy with a light red wine like Gamay (Beaujolais) or Pinot Noir. And you can’t go wrong with sparkling wine too.