Japanese Cabbage and Pork Gyoza...

Japanese gyoza and Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) -- what is the difference you ask? There are four noteable distinctions in my books. First, the ingredients-- while they share similar ones, Japanese tend to always use garlic in their filling and more veggies combined with a little meat. Next, the wrapper which also leads to the technique difference. Gyoza skin is softer more pliable, conducive to the technique of steaming first then pan-frying. Whereas Chinese dumplings do the reverse. Typically pan-fried then steamed, it's wrappers are designed thicker to hold up in the pan-frying process. Lastly, the texture. The gyoza wrapper is more pliable and expands during steaming creating more of a puffy pouch to house the filling and since more veggies is used, it's result looser than the dense meat-heavy Chinese jiaozi. The star to gyoza however is potato starch! Dusting gyozas first while it steams to cook, the water evaporates and bottoms start to brown that surely crisps up when the oil hits, creating an irresistible duo crispy and soft skin texture. This method applies to certain types of Chinese dumplings but not universally. No hard fast rules in this world of cross-cultural adapting perhaps, but some observations I've made to this day noshing on and making countless dumplings. One thing undeniable is that both styles are delicious and addictive, as you can't stop at just eating one.. am I right?

Now that we got this out of the way, let's start mixing, wrapping and cooking gyozas :D. So many recipes out there, but this is the one I'm enjoying right now...

Japanese Cabbage and Pork Gyoza
Makes about 48 dumplings

1/4 small white/green cabbage
1/3 medium nappa cabbage
1 tsp. salt
1 cup lean ground pork
2 tsp. chicken seasoning powder
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sake or Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 cups green onions, finely chopped (or use 2 cups garlic chives and 1 cup green onion)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger (optional)
salt and ground white pepper
1 pkg. round Gyoza skins (Chinese dumpling wrappers ok substitute)
potato starch
cooking oil (I use canola)

Dipping sauce:

2 parts soy sauce to 1 part rice vinegar

a little sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds and chili oil (optional)

Finely chop the two kinds of cabbage. Mix together in a bowl tossed with the salt (this will aid in releasing their excess moisture). Set aside for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the pork with chicken seasoning, sesame oil, sake and soy sauce. Mix well, then add green onions and garlic, and mix again.

Squeeze the cabbage to remove excess water. Add to the meat mixture, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. The filling is ready, use it immediately or refrigerate covered overnight and use the next day.

As I mentioned this is key for great crispy succulent gyozas-- potato starch! Dust each dumpling with a little potato starch. Shake the dumplings to remove excess starch before pan-frying!

Here I heavily dusted a platter to sit the dumplings and to roll in to coat.

Set a small bowl of water for rimming and sealing the filled dumpling wrappers.

Wet the edges of the wrapper with water and place one Tbsp. filling in centre of wrapper. Pleat the wrapper or simply fold over so that two edges meet. Press along seam to seal shut. Repeat with wrappers. Cook immediately. Do not refrigerate prepared dumplings or they will get moist and stick together and to the plate. Click here for my complete step-by-step on how to make and wrap dumplings. 

For more on wrapping, check out my Dumplings 101

Shake the dumplings to remove excess potato starch. Heat up your pan to medium high and swirl 2 Tbsp. oil. When hot arrange them in a circular fashion in the pan with a little give between each so they don't stick too much when they cook and swell.

Made Pork Dried Bakchoy Soup as a yin counter balance to yang gyozas.

Add enough water to come a third of the way up the dumplings, cover and cook over medium heat until the water has evaporated and you can see the bottoms of the dumplings changing colour. #steamsteambaby

Remove the lid and drizzle a little oil over the dumplings. Cook uncovered, until the bottoms are crispy, then turn over carefully with a spatula to brown the other sides. Transfer to a serving platter.

Combine the dipping sauce and serve with the hot gyozas. Add some chilli oil if you wish.

I had some leftover filling and it was perfect tossed in a skillet with leftover steamed rice. I adjusted the taste with a bit of soy sauce and voila... creative leftovers that turned into a small meal.

Leftover gyozas reheated in a pan for a casj lunch the next day served with some tasty leftover cabbage pork fried rice!

Wrapping dumplings can be a fun family affair-- of course the kids can get in on it too!

My then 7-year old Japanese-Chinese nephew is a wrapping pro!

Gyozas can make for a great appie or side dish at any gathering! Itadakimasu!

Served with Korean Chap Chae, Inari Zushi and Deep-Fried Chicken Karaage