Just gyoza
My favorite food of all time, especially when it is chewy in the middle and crusty around the edges. Here’s the basic recipe I’m sharing with you. Make sure the filling is not too wet and invite your friends while making these 
Gyoza
Makes about 48 dumplings
Filling
1/2 pound napa or green head cabbage, shredded and then finely chopped and squeezed between paper towels to remove excess moisture
3/4 pound ground pork/ground chicken
2 green onions, including tender green tops, minced
3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps minced
1/2 bunch fresh chives, minced
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sake
1 teaspoon soy sauce
About 50 round gyoza or other Asian dumpling wrappers, each about 3 inches in diameter (the thinnest ones you can find)
1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil for cooking each batch
2 tablespoons water for cooking each batch
Dipping sauce
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Hot chili oil
To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the cabbage, pork or chicken, green onions, mushrooms, chives, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, sake, and soy sauce. Using your hands, mix together just until thoroughly combined. Avoid handling the filling too much.
Place the stack of wrappers on a work surface and keep covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel or paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Holding a wrapper on the palm of one hand, place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. With a fingertip, swipe one-half of the edge of the wrapper with a little water, and then fold over the other edge to meet the dampened edge, enclosing the filling and pinching to seal securely With your fingers, make 3 or 4 evenly spaced pleats along the sealed edge and place the dumpling flat side down (the side opposite the pleats) on a sheet of waxed paper. Repeat until all the filling has been used up. (At this point you can freeze as many dumplings as you like: arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet, place in the freezer, and then transfer the frozen dumplings to a zippered plastic bag and reture to the freezer for up to 1 month. Cook them directly from the freezer, allowing a few minutes longer cooking time when the pan is covered.)
To cook the dumplings, heat a frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the canola and sesame oils, swirl to cocat the bottom of the pan with the oils, and allow them to heat. When a drop of water flicked into the pan sizzles instantly, arrange about 12 dumplings in the pan, lining them up neatly and placing them flat side down and pleated edge up. Cook undisturbed until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the water, then immediately cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook for a few minute longer until all the water has evaporated and the dumplings are dark brown and a little crusty on the bottom.
To serve, slide a spatula under the dumplings, being careful not to tear the wrappers, and flip them browned-side up onto a large plate or platter, still lined up.
For the dipping sauce, set out containers of soy sauce, vinegar, and hot chili oil. Provide each diner with a small dipping bowl to assemble a dip to taste.
Source: adapted from Let’s Cook Japanese Food: Everyday Recipes for Home Cooking by Amy Kaneko
Going out for dumplings is such a treat. You make them sound so simple to make (and scrumptious to eat!) that maybe I should try them at home.
i know…having gyoza at a restaurant is sometimes expensive, i’d rather make it at home and believe me, it’s not so hard to make
Comment by Susan from Food Blogga — February 3, 2008 @ 9:39 am
I look forward to the day when 1. I’ll be visiting a place where gyoza wrappers are standard stock. And 2. When I can simply go out to a restaurant and know that they’ll be on the menu! These are out of this world!
oh…I feel for you Rowena…I will be miserable in a place where there’s no Asian grocery
Comment by rowena — February 6, 2008 @ 4:32 am
It’s not difficult to make our own gyozas but I would say it’s hard to have perfectly pan-fried bottom if you don’t have a non-stick pan. I tried on stainless steel pan – it’s messy.
that’s true, non-stick pan is the way to go…
Comment by tigerfish — February 6, 2008 @ 5:33 am
i made some ebi gyoza the other day and was surprised how easy and tasty it was. except they stuck to my steamer basket a little, i will have to improve my tecnique or buy a bam2
boo steamer. will certainly try your recipe!
i love the steamed dumplings too…but my family loves pan-fried/deep-fried ones better
Comment by johanna — February 7, 2008 @ 4:03 am
which ready-made gyoza skin would you recommend?
hmmm…i don’t think the brand name would be the same here in the US with those in Hong Kong? i usually buy the thinnest skin that you could find, that way you don’t eat too many skin, too little filling
Comment by rita — February 17, 2008 @ 6:56 pm