When I was a kid, I remember distinctly asking (bothering) my mom about when we could make dumplings at home. Little did I know how much effort goes into making these delicious things. After weeks of pleading, I finally wore my mother down.
I’m going to be honest, while the recipe takes like two seconds to make, the assembling part is what takes practice.
The only way to get better is to eat all your mistakes!
Seriously these are super easy to make, it’s a fun way to “play with your food” and you can always make a bunch of these and freeze them for later!
Pan Fried Gyoza
Ingredients
1-1/2 pound of ground pork – you can use other proteins if you want but I prefer pork. you also don’t want the blemd
3-4 cups leafy vegetable – nappa cabbage is my ride or die
¼ cup oil
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon pepper – preferably white, but black is just fine too!
1 egg – optional, I think it helps bind everything together but feel free to omit
1 tablespoon mushroom powder – optional, I buy dried shitake mushrooms and grind my own, I love sneaking this stuff into any dish, it boosts that umami level
1 tablespoon oyster sauce – optional
a small bowl of water for assembling
3-4 packages of dumpling wrappers – I’m using white circles for this, you can find these at your local Asian supermarket (o:3
In a large bowl, add your protein and all the spices/sauces.
Wash the veggies really well, you don’t want any of that grit in your yummy dumplings. Blanch your vegetables quickly in a pot of boiling water. Transfer them to an ice bath and let them cool, then chop.
Next add the veggies and everything else, and mix very thoroughly.
I found a great video online that shows you a few different shapes, including the pleated/folded one that you’ll see below.
I like to assemble these with friends & family, aka my boyfriend because he’s always game to help out. Make sure to lay a damp paper towel over your stack of wrappers so they don’t dry out – truussst.
To boil : easy. Bring a pot of water to boil, add the dumplings and wait for them to float to the top and the skin to cook through, they should be al dente and still have a bite to them.
To pan fry : relatively easy. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to pan over medium-high heat. Place your dumplings in flat side down and let them cook for about 2 minutes or so. Pour a thin layer of water on the pan and cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Once the water has evaporated out, uncover and increase the heat to medium-high until the bottoms crisp up again.
Eat immediately. (or else you’ll have to share)
Feel free to boil, steam, or pan fry these bad boys, and freeze whatever you can’t eat for a quick snack later!
