Gyoza are a treat. I serve them with three dips: soy sauce, sweet chilli dipping sauce, and chilli relish. Cook them in batches of 6 and eat them straight away before cooking more. They are supposed to be a side/starter, but when I make them they become the whole meal.
I’ve got 2 fillings I use, one pork, one shellfish. For the shellfish you can use prawns, lobster, scallops, and for the pork you can substitute razor clams (spoots), or veal if you fancy.
Pork filling
150g pork fillet chopped
60g water chestnuts chopped
small sprig of chopped chives (or a spring onion)
1 small chilli chopped
4 or 5 shredded baby cabbage leaves
salt and pepper
Prawn filling
150g prawns, chopped
60g water chestnuts chopped
small sprig of chopped chives (or a spring onion)
a small handful of chopped spinach
salt and pepper
Method for prepping the filling
- Mix the ingredients in a blender and blitz to a grainy mix – not a paste, but not chunky.
- Dry fry for a couple of minutes to cook everything and drive off any excess water.
- Put to one side in a bowl
Making up the Gyoza
- Lay out your Gyoza skin, on one half place a good sized teaspoon of the filling.
- Fold over the skin and then fold over and press the edges. Trim the skin if you need to before you fold and press. You shouldn’t need any liquid or oil – the skin should just stick. But use a little if you feel the need.
- You can make them pretty with the way you fold, or not. Just make sure it’s stuck…
Cooking
- Steam the Gyoza for 3-4 minutes. If you don’t have a steamer then a colander over a pan of water works fine (but keep a lid on). This cooks the pastry. It is also possible to dunk the Gyoza in just simmering water for 60sec, but you risk losing them if they split.
- Transfer to a pan and shallow fry in veg oil, about 1min per side until golden. If you’ve done them beautifully then they will be vaguely triangular in cross section and you get to fry three sides. But if you’re like me it’s a bit hit and miss.
