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[Smurfe]

I was going to make a post in the General Food Discussion forum about this but I thought I would get thing going in this area. Tonight I made Gyoza again. I have been trying to perfect this for a while. I have made them quite a few times but have never got them to taste like they do at my favorite Japanese restaurant. Tonight I came real close.

I found a great food blog that had a decent looking recipe. I will post it for all to view. It shows step by step how to make them as well as the best recipe I have found yet. I did tweak it a bit to fit my tastes such as adding more green onion and garlic and used Agave syrup instead of sugar. They came out as close to those my local Japanese place makes as any I have tried. I did over brown the bottom of a few of them that you will see in the pics but they aren't as bad as the pics depict. Also, I used a form mold to seal and pleat the dumplings since I had it laying around and did quite a few of them. I still have some work to do in the hand forming area. Last time I made them I pleated by hand and they were pretty ugly.

So, here it is. Our first challenge here. If this is a dish that you like I challenge you to make this recipe! If you have a tried and true recipe of your own, I challenge you to post it up and I will make it to compare to this one. I look forward to more challenges here.

First thing first to give credit where it is due. I got this recipe from this page. I did tweak it a bit as stated but stayed pretty close to this one here.

http://steamykitchen.com/5874-gyoza-recipe-japanese-pan-fried-dumplings.html

Here is a copy of the recipe. You can get a printer version from the site posted.

Gyoza Recipe (Japanese Pan Fried Dumplings)

4 cups, loosely packed, minced Napa cabbage (use the frilly leafy half of the cabbage)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
9 ounces ground pork
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (with a Microplane grater)
2 – 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon green onion (green part only), minced
2 teaspoon aka miso paste (red/dark miso paste)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
40 dumpling wrappers

For cooking the dumplings:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup water

Dipping Sauce:
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Several drops of chili oil or sesame oil (optional)

1. Toss the minced cabbage with the salt in a large bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.  Using both hands, or a cheese cloth, squeeze the cabbage firmly to drain and discard the excess water (prevent your dumplings from becoming mushy) and then transfer the cabbage to a deep bowl.  Add the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, miso, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, and sugar.  Mix everything together with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Using your hands, scoop the mixture into a ball, lift it, and then throw it back into the bowl.  Repeat several times to tenderize the meat and help the mixture stick together.

2. Have a small bowl of cold water ready.  Lay a dumpling wrapper on a dry work surface, and place a heaping teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper.  With a fingertip moistened with water, trace a line along half of the edge of the round wrapper.  Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling, and pinch the wrapper in the center to seal the edges together at that spot.  Holding the filled half-circle in the left hand, pleat the top of the wrapper from the middle out, pressing it to the flat edge of the wrapper at the back.  Set aside the stuffed dumpling with the pleated-wrapper edge up. Repeat to make 40 dumplings in all.

3. In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid, heat 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Carefully place as many of the dumplings that can fit without touching in the skillet with the pleated-wrapper edge up.  Cook the dumplings for 3 minutes, or until nicely browned on the bottom.  Check the progress by lifting 1 or 2 dumplings by their pleated edge.

4. Once the bottoms are nicely browned, use the skillet lid to shield yourself and carefully pour in 1/4 cup of the water.  When the hissing and splattering die down, drizzle in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil around the edge of the skillet.  Place the lid on the skillet to trap in the moisture and then quickly lower the heat to keep the liquid at a bare simmer.

5. Check the dumplings after 2 minutes.  When the wrappers appear slightly translucent and the meat feels firm when pressed lightly with a spoon, remove the lid and raise the heat slightly.  Continue to cook until all the water has evaporated and only the oil remains (about 2 minutes).  Once you hear a sizzling sound, shake the skillet.  The dumplings should slide about.  If they seem to stick to the skillet, move the skillet away from the stove and replace the lid for a moment.  Remove the dumplings from the skillet with a broad flexible spatula. If you’d like, flip them over so that the seared surface faces up.  Cook the remaining dumplings the same way.  Serve the dumplings hot accompanied by the dipping sauce.

6. While the dumplings are cooking, make the dipping sauce by mixing the soy sauce and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.  Pour the sauce into a small serving pitcher or distribute among individual dipping dishes.


Here are a few pics I grabbed while making them. I was in the middle of making them and noticed the camera on the counter so I snapped a few shots. Not the best but it was my cheap camera so that's as good as I could get.

[labradors]

It's funny you should post this now, since I JUST printed out a recipe for Pork and Chive Dumplings with Dried Shrimp that I plan to make at home on Sunday.  The recipe also comes with a set of video instructions.

This is something I've wanted to make for a long time, but have never tried because the wrappers are not available where I live.  That recipe and those videos, however, include making the wrappers, as well, so that should help.  Also, the local stores haven't carried Sriracha in about a year, so I'm going to try adding some garlic to a sauce I made from bird's-eye chiles to see how that turns out.  If it does, it will be a LOT less expensive than the Sriracha had been!

[labradors]

Okay.  Here's how it went, at home, using the Chinese Dumpling recipe whose link I posted in my previous message.  Sorry the pictures didn't turn out so well due to poor lighting.







First of all, the wrappers were a LOT easier than I expected.  Likewise, the filling and pleating.  Yes, it took some work and time, but I had no problem with them, especially for making these for the first time.

Second, the pan-fry cooking method worked perfectly and also was not at all difficult (of course, the picture, above, that shows them in the pan is before the water was added and the lid was put on).

Overall, they were good, but...

I didn't use the shrimp and didn't have the garlic chives.

To me, the taste seemed to be missing something (did double check), and so I have added some more garlic and more ginger to the part of the filling that I refrigerated for tomorrow.

The sauce was MUCH saltier than I expected.  Adding some more rice vinegar helped a little, but I'll still need to change it.  Maybe the Pearl River Bridge soy sauce that I used just happens to be saltier than others (although it was fine for the pork stew, but that had a lot more liquid to balance it out).

Thus, although they were not super-outrageously wonderful, they were worth making, and I could clearly see that the potential was there.  I'll post more about this tomorrow, when I find out how my additions to the filling helped, and when I decide what to do with the sauce.

This experience will NOT dissuade me from making these again - only to make some adjustments. Otherwise, I shall definitely make these again (i.e. in addition to the leftovers from this batch).

[Smurfe]

Those look great and you pleated them very good. I think my issue with the pleating is I have used the store bought wrappers that are not quite as moist, sticky and flexible as fresh made dough. I agree about the sauce to. Your recipe is almost identical to my sauce recipe. It was too salty and had a bit too much pronounced vinegar flavor. I think the soy sauce I used contributed as it is much more pronounced in flavor than your regular table soy sauce. I didn't have the chili oil and added sesame oil to mine. I did add agave nectar to sweeten a bit and it did improve but still not what I am used to. The chef at the local sushi place won't give his recipe for his sauce. He has the best I have ever tasted though. I do think I nailed the dumplings spot on in flavor though. I am going to try your recipe but I think I am going to steam them instead of frying them. I love a good steamed dumpling.