going for gyoza

One of the new recipes I tried for the first time was making gyoza, the Chinese dumpling that the Japanese love. I've had lots of it especially at ramen stalls, and recently in Kobe at a little restaurant specialising in just gyoza. So I decided to give it a try thinking it shouldn't be that difficult.

Just need to have some minced pork, which you should marinade with salt, pepper and sesame oil. I added garlic paste for added oomph. You can also add in soy sauce or oyster sauce but I decided to make it simple first. Then mix in the chopped cabbage and spring onions.

I didn't know there were many types of dumpling skin until I tried buying them at the supermarket. This is for the fried dumpling type. After letting the marinaded mix stand for about half an hour, I wet the edges of the skin slightly, then put a tablespoon of the mix in the middle. This really depends on how much you want to get in, but usually the fatter it is, the better. Just be careful when folding it.

On medium fire, put about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the frying pan, fry the dumpling. It looks quite dry at this stage, but try to get a little brown on both sides of the skin like the above. The meat should be half cooked by then.

After about 10 minutes, pour a little water at the base of the pan. The dumpling should soak up the water pretty quickly. Then add a little more and cover the pan to steam up the dumpling. Wait for about 10-15 minutes for the meat to thoroughly cook, and the dumpling should now be a little moist but with crispy skin at the edge. Your dumpling is now ready!

I made a 2nd batch using prawns instead but with the same ingredients as above as I had leftover skin. It had a different texture, but still as nice. Both goes well with sambal vinegar dip, my improvisation of the usual vinegar spicy oil sauce.