This month’s recipe comes from Craft Lake City Education and Event Coordinator Wesley Spry. Wesley has spent most of his life eating food prepared by his mother who was raised in Japan’s food capital, Osaka. This recipe comes from her repertoire of Japanese cuisine.
Gyoza (Japanese Pan Fried Dumplings)
Ingredients:
1/3 lb of ground pork
1/3 lb of ground beef (you can also use ground chicken or tofu instead)
1 1/2 cups of finely chopped napa cabbage
1 1/2 cups of finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup of finely chopped chives (about 1/2 of small bunch)
1/4 cup of finely chopped green onions (about 2 large stalks)
2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger (about 1 1/2 inches, peeled)
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 Tablespoons of mirin/sake (rice wine)
1 Tablespoon of sesame oil
1 Package of gyoza/wonton wrappers(round)
Bean Sprouts
Directions:
Dipping sauce: Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, and 1/8 cup sesame oil (or for heat, sesame chili sauce).
Dumplings: Mix and salt chopped napa cabbage and regular cabbage. Leave for about 20 minutes, until water comes out. Squeeze to get out as much water as possible.
Mix ground meat, soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin/sake, sesame oil, chopped ginger, chives, and green onions together. (You can leave this over night in refrigerator if you like. Leave it for at least 30 minutes for the meat to marinade).
Mix the cabbage and meat mixture together.
Have a small bowl of water ready. Put 1 teaspoon or more of meat mixture on one side of gyoza wrapper, near center. Use a finger to apply water all around the edge of gyoza wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, make 3 or 4 tucks in a middle, and pinch the two sides together so you can form a half moon shape with the meat mixture inside (If additional help is needed, search “How to fold dumplings” on Youtube). Make as many as mixture or wrappers allow.
Heat a pan, and put in a tablespoon of vegetable oil; coat pan thinly with oil. Place as many gyoza as possible. Lift to see if the bottom is nicely browned. Have a lid ready on hand as you pour 1/2 cup of water and put it on immediately. Turn the heat to med/low. Cook and let it steam for 3–4 minutes until all the water is gone. The wrapper of the dumpling should be soft and pan-fried on one side and cooked all the way through. Garnish with bean sprouts and eat with the dipping sauce.
