Gyoza

Gyoza dumplings can be boiled or deep-fried, but the usual way is to steam-fry them so that they are crispy on the bottom and smooth and slippery on the top. This makes for a wonderful texture. To achieve this please read through the cooking directions; it can be a bit tricky, and these dumpling can stick hard to the frying pan if not done right.

Ingredients

1. 250g / about 8 oz. ground pork (ground veal can also work well)
2. 3 bunches of green onions
3. 6-8 cabbage leaves
4. 1 thumb-size piece of ginger
5. 2 garlic cloves
6. 2 Tbs. soy sauce
7. 1 Tbs. dark sesame oil
8. 4 packs of gyoza skins (24 skins in each pack)
9. Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Blanch the cabbage leaves until wilted in boiling water. Drain, let cool then squeeze hard to get out as much moisture as possible. Finely chop the cabbage and the green onions. Grate the ginger and garlic cloves. Mix all the ingredients except for the gyoza skins and oil for frying in a bowl thoroughly. Let marinate for about and hour if possible.
2. Make your dumpling assembly station ready: you'll need a little cup of water, a large platter, the gyoza skins, the filling and a teaspoon. Keep the skins under a damp cloth or in the plastic pack they come in to keep them from drying out.
3. Put a skin on your palm and moisten half of the edge with water. Put a teaspoonful of filling in the middle--don't overfill them or you'll have trouble closing them up. Fold over in half and pinch firmly in the middle. Now, fold over the skin on the side facing you, from both sides, pinching firmly as you go. Your aim is to create a dumpling that is flat on one side and plump on the other. Note: if the filling is a bit watery and dribbling out of the dumpling, mix in a little cornstarch.
4. To steam-fry: heat a non-stick frying pan with 1 Tbs. vegetable oil in it. Put the dumplings flat side down into the pan, slightly overlapping. Cook over high heat for a couple of minutes untl the bottoms have started to crisp up. Lower the heat to low.
5. Holding 1/2 water in one hand and the pan lid in the other, rapidly pour the water into the pan and immediately put the lid on traping as much steam as possible. Let the dumplings cook on low for about 10 minutes, until the tops look semi-transparent and puffy (when you open the pan the dumplings will rapidly un-puff.)
6. When the water is almost all gone, turn the heat up to high to evaporate the remaining liquid and crisp the bottoms. Carefully lift the dumplings off the pan with a spatula and serve crispy side up on a plate.
7. To eat, dip the dumplings into a soy sauce and vinegar mixture or soy sauce and a few drops of hot chili oil called Ra-yu.

Notes

Tip: to freeze extra gyoza, put them on a tray (metal is best) in a single layer; once frozen you can put them in a freezer bag or plastic container. This way they are not stuck together, and you can take out just as many as you want.The traditional accompaniment for gyoza is shredded raw cabbage, but I prefer to serve a plain green salad with it. And rice, of course.If you prefer to boil the gyoza, simply drop into boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Boiled gyoza seems to go better with a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce.