Gyoza is Chinese dumplings that ground pork and vegetables wrapped in round (pasta like) flour skins and pan-fried. Isn’t Gyoza Chinese food then? What is it doing in Japanese cooking 101? Yes, gyoza is originally from Chinese fried dumplings, but it is so popular and rooted well in Japanese cooking today. It is crispy outside and juicy inside dipped in tangy sauce….mmm, it’s so good that you would not care where it is actually from.
Gyoza is found at Chinese restaurants in Japan, but also a staple dish at Ramen noodle restaurants. Freshly made gyoza at restaurants is wonderful, but it is not that hard to make gyoza at home as good as restaurants especially if you use pre-made Gyoza skins (wrappers). It is a little work to wrap filling with gyoza skins one by one, but it’s well worth it.
The most difficult part to make Gyoza is how to wrap the meat in the skins. Well, it’s not that hard if you watch our video. We’ll show you a couple of ways to shape it. Or make it however makes you happy, it will still taste good.
Meat used in Gyoza is usually pork in Japan, but it could be chicken if you like. We used cabbage in this recipe because it is easy to get at any supermarket, but you can also use nappa cabbege. If you can find Chinese chives, use it instead of green onions since the smell of the vegetable is crucial for Gyoza. However, green onion is OK , like in this recipe, as long as you use enough garlic which compensates the aroma.
Gyoza Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup cabbage cooked and minced
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 4-5 green onions chopped finely
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Sake
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 30 gyoza wrappers
- 1-2 Tbsp oil
- 1/3 cup water
Dipping Sauce
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tsp chili oil Rayu or sesame oil
Instructions
- Cook cabbage in boiling water in a pot for 1-2 minutes. Cool and mince.
- In a large bowl, add the first 8 ingredients and mix well.
- Take a sheet of gyoza wrapper in your hand and place a tablespoon size of meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. Moisten the edge along the lower half of the wrapper and fold the upper half of the wrapper up to meet the moistened edge. Fold one of the edges in a series of pleats (about 6), leaving the other edge smooth. Press the edges together to seal the gyoza. Another simpler way to fold is to first press the smooth edges together and then fold both edges into pleats. (This can sound a little confusing, but it’s easy after watching the video.) Repeat for the rest of the wrappers.
- Heat a pan at medium high heat and add oil. Place gyoza on a pan and cook until the bottom becomes golden brown.
- Add water and immediately cover with a lid. Cook until water boils away.
- Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil together for dipping sauce.
Video
Kelly
October 24, 2012 at 7:30 pmThank you for this awesome recipe!! I subscribe to your channel on youtube and I just love all your awesome recipes and how well you show how to do them! I made these gyoza tonight and they were amazing! I put twice as much cabbage (because it’s my favorite) and added shredded carrots and my boyfriend and I thought they were delicious! So thank you very much! 🙂
Yuko
October 25, 2012 at 11:54 amHi Kelly, Thank you for trying our recipe! Your gyoza sounds really good and healthy! I’m glad that you enjoyed it.
Steve
November 11, 2012 at 2:37 pmI would like to try this recipe but was wondering if there is a substitute for the gyoza wrappers since I can’t find any locally available.
I have access to eggroll and wonton wrappers at a local store and was not sure if either would make a suitable substitute.
Any ideas?
Noriko
November 12, 2012 at 9:16 pmI’ve never tried eggroll skins or wonton wrappers, but they might work. I’m not sure. If you try them, let us know how it went!
Steve
December 14, 2012 at 10:41 amI finally got around to trying this recipe and substituted wonton wrappers for gyoza wrappers.
The first batch I trimmed the square wrappers into the round shape needed to form the traditional dumpling shape. They seemed to be a wee bit small but tasted fine all the same.
The second batch I tried using the full square but shaped it into something similar to steamed pork buns. While not traditional, I could add more filling and didn’t waste any wrapper.
I will definitely use this recipe again.
Noriko
December 14, 2012 at 4:46 pmHi Steve,
thanks for the up date with your Gyoza experiment, and congratulations on your success using wonton wrappers. Now I want to try some with them!
Brittany
December 24, 2012 at 3:38 pmI just wanted to say me, my boyfriend, and best friend tried these and they were amazing!!!!! so yummy and filling thank you so much we love your youtube channel and how useful they are <3 thank you so much for showing us these amazing recipies
Yuko
December 30, 2012 at 11:02 amHi Brittany,
You are welcome. I’m glad that you enjoyed the gyoza! Thanks for watching our videos 🙂
Sara
February 18, 2014 at 3:22 pmJust found this recipe and this site: I am so excited to try this out! One question tho: for the frying oil, what oil would you recommend for a truly japanese flavor?
Noriko
February 23, 2014 at 5:51 pmSara,
vegetable oil such as canola is good.
Henny
March 5, 2014 at 12:29 amHi Ladies, thanks for this wonderful recipe and the video too! I am keen to try it this weekend. One quick question, is the sake you used the same as cooking sake? or is it the drinking sake? I am not really sure if both are just the same….Thanks!!
Noriko
March 10, 2014 at 8:48 pmHenny,
you can use either one.
anne
April 22, 2014 at 7:59 pmHow much chives should I substitute for the green onions? Thank you and I love your recipes. It’s hard to find traditional japanese recipes online without things being added. Nickson
Noriko
May 3, 2014 at 5:24 pmanne,
the same amount is fine.
Miguel
April 25, 2014 at 2:07 pmHi,
Im writing from Venezuela. Thanks for this recipe.
My question is, can i use mirin insted of sake for this type of preparation? im going to cook gyozas for the first time!!!
Noriko
April 28, 2014 at 10:01 pmMiguel,
you can omit Sake ( not substituting).
Brandy
September 8, 2014 at 5:27 pmWhat is the purpose of the cornstarch?
Noriko
September 8, 2014 at 8:04 pmBrandy,
It is to stop the juice from vegetables running out from the dumplings.
Denise
October 7, 2014 at 8:43 pmIf I use chicken or either meat for that matter will it be completely cooked inside just by following these steps? Thank you.
Noriko
October 11, 2014 at 5:10 pmDenise,
Cooking time will depend on the type and amount of meat. You may need to experiment a bit. Good luck!
Daniel
October 13, 2014 at 7:02 amHi ! and greets from Germany =)
I just made them 1 Hour ago ! DELICIOUS
I love it this is defenetly one of my favourite dishes.
Did everything like in the Recipe expect i made the Wraps myself.
240g usual Flour
120ml warm water with 1/2 tea spoon salt
slowly add water to the flour and mix it THATS IT ! easy as that ^^
this is for ~30 wraps
Noriko
October 24, 2014 at 5:39 pmDaniel,
glad you liked our recipe! And thanks for the recipe for the wraps, sounds very good!
Sam
October 23, 2014 at 9:54 pmHi Noriko,,
I tried this recipe and been hooked with it that I can even eat 10 pcs in one sitting…lol! Anyways, I omitted the sake, instead I put sugar. and still went fine….By the way, if I want something authentic, can I use Shaoxing cooking wine instead of sake? Sake is unavailable that’s why.
Thanks and more power!
Noriko
October 24, 2014 at 9:29 pmSam,
if you want to make authentic Japanese dumplings, don’t use Shaoxing wine because that’s Chinese. If you don’t have sake, just omit it.
Wynn
November 11, 2014 at 11:21 pmI made this for dinner tonight. I can’t get over how simple and delicious it was! Crispy, tender, flavorful and filling! I love your recipes and how you explain things. Thank you for making it easy to get authentic taste while keeping it homemade and easy on the wallet
Noriko
November 24, 2014 at 9:03 amWynn,
glad you liked our Gyoza recipe! If you like Gyoza, you may like Shumai too. Try it!
Bellz
January 26, 2016 at 7:52 amI have been making these Gyoza for many occasions & everyone who tried loved them – thanks for the recipe! Love it!! However, those times were made on the day of cooking itself. I was wondering, how many days advanced can I make these? Any idea if they store well in freezer (of course will thaw for a couple of hrs before cooking)?
Laila
March 30, 2016 at 2:09 pmI used this recipe to make gyoza three times, and it always comes out great! I decided to combine ground beef with ground pork and add a little cheese.Thank you for the clear instructions and video. What a delicious treat! 🙂
Frank
September 1, 2016 at 7:38 pmHi. is there no salt added to the mixture? Thank you Ãœ