Gyoza are Japanese dumplings. I first came across them in Waggamama, and it was a few years before I was brave enough to attempt them myself. They are 1/2 moon shaped dumplings that are steamed then fried, with sauce for dips, and they are utterly delicious.
Because I live in the middle of no-where my choices for the pastry are either to buy it online, or make it. Big supermarkets sell the gyoza skins and that makes the whole process a lot less fiddly. But, for me, the fiddle is part of the fun…
I use a recipe that includes oil in the pastry – some don’t, but it’s what I like. I also use the flour I keep in the house rather than authentic Japanese flour.
Ingredients (for 24 skins)
90g strong bread flour
90g plain flour
1/5tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp veg oil
~100ml hot water
Method
- Mix the flours together and add the oil and salt, stirring with a fork
- Add about 2/3 of the water (just off the boil from the kettle) and quickly mix it in with the fork.
- Add more water if needed to just bring the dough together and no more (be slightly sparing if anything)
- Turn out onto a board and knead/roll to get a lovely smooth, silky and elastic dough.
- Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 20min.
- take to cooled dough and roll it into a sausage. Cut the sausage in half, then half again making 4 nice round mini-sausage. Each of these is cut into 3 and rolled out on a lightly (plain) floured board into circles about 10cm diameter.
The hot water makes the dough really silky and elastic – and is essential because you will be rolling these out really thin (translucent thin). When they are rolled you can stack them with either a little flour in-between or using baking paper (I use flour). Use them that day.