I just recently posted about cooking a Valentine’s day meal for my boyfriend! I decided to take inspiration from one of the international trips we’ve taken together and chose to make Japanese Gyoza (dumplngs)! This blog post is not sponsored I just wanted to share this with you! Here is the recipe I found and followed:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/03/the-best-japanese-pork-and-cabbage-dumplings-gyoza-recipe.html
In case you’re interested, here are 5 few tips/notes/suggestions I have based on how I made them! They came out amazingly good!
Tip 1: You can find the dumpling wrappers, and all the ingredients, in your typical well-stocked grocery store! I got mine at Ralph’s in California. No need to find your local Asian market.
Tip 2: The recipe calls for 1 pound of cabbage. This seemed crazy to me, but keep in mind that once you follow the steps and squeeze out all the moisture, it doesn’t look like that much. I used just one large head of cabbage and it was plenty! More cabbage would just stretch your filling of course so you’d be able to make more pieces. Recipe quantity the way I made them was 32 pieces.
Tip 3: Look up different videos for how to wrap the dumplings. I found the instructions in this particular recipe to be harder than necessary haha.
Tip 4: Go for crispy on the bottom! I used a non-stick pan so it was super easy. Before frying, reshape so they all line up the same way. Once oil in the pan is hot, fit as may as possible, flat side down. Never turn them! But you can gently swish the oil around to make sure its hitting them all. Once beautifully deep golden brown, add the water as instructed - cover, steam, uncover, refry until the water evaporates. Beware! Once you uncover after steam, they will be all puffed up! Totally normal, just keep frying, then slide out or scoop out of pan onto paper towel to absorb oil.
Tip 5: Dipping sauce - I did about 50/50 on the soy sauce and vinegar. I didn’t have chili oil, but I did add chili flakes and fresh chopped chives! Consider platting on top of any extra/remaining cabbage. Done!