I have a thing for dishes that take over other countries. I mean the countries that didn’t
invent them. That means that the dish is beloved for what it is and not for some sentimental
reasons. Today we are making such a dish -- Gyoza, which is Chinese potstickers by way of Japan.
What’s the difference between gyoza and potstickers? I am not an expert on Asian cuisines,
so take what I say with a grain of salt, but the most noticeable difference to me is the
thickness of the dough. Japanese dough is a bit thinner. I am sure the authenticity
police will chime in with a whole bunch of other differences in the comments. But who
really cares as long as the dough is crispy and the filling is juicy.
Ok, let’s make the filling. We’ll need 2 scallions, coarsely chopped, 1 garlic clove
coarsely chopped, ½ inch of ginger, thinly sliced, 100 grams of napa cabbage, you can
also use bok choy or regular cabbage that people call white or green. Dump all these
veggies into a food processor. Add ⅓ cup cold water, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp of soy
sauce,and 2 Tbsp of cold butter cut into roughly 4 pieces.
I can hear a lot of screaming in the comments about the authenticity already. But here is
the deal. It would be extremely unusual for you to find ground pork in a normal American
supermarket that is fatty enough to make good dumplings. The higher the fat content, the
softer and juicier the filling, so I just do whatever it takes.
Buzz everything together scraping down the walls several times until you get a very fine
grind, but not a smooth puree. It should look like this. Dump it into a large bowl. Add
2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1 tsp of table salt. For all other salts including
Morton’s Kosher, go with 1 tsp for now. A few grinds of black pepper.
Add 1 Lb of ground pork and mush it all together until the mixture is completely homogeneous.
You can’t overmix it, so be thorough. Ideally, my pork would be ground finer, but all I could
find in the store on the day I was filming was sausage grind which is quite coarse. It
all worked out, but I prefer a finer grind. Basically the normal grind you’d find in
a supermarket. If you are using something other than Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, you
should probably taste this mixture for salt since I have no idea how much salt you should
be using. To do that safely, cook about a teaspoon of the filling in a microwave for
10 seconds or so, just until it’s firm. Let it cool a bit and taste it. The texture
will be awful, because it’s from a microwave, but it will give you an idea of the salt level,
so you can adjust as needed.
And we are ready to shape. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. No need to sprinkle
it with flour because gyoza wrappers are very thoroughly coated in cornstarch.
Finding the right dough to use will be the hardest part of this dish. The store where
I usually shop, Russo’s in Watertown, MA normally carries gyoza wrappers, which is
very lucky for me. Normal stores in my area do not carry them. The easiest place to find
them is a large Asian Market like the Korean chain H Mart. I have a ton of small Asian
stores in my area, but none of them are Japanese. These stores carry what they call dumpling
wrappers, but not gyoza wrappers. Some regular supermarkets carry dumpling wrappers too.
If you are in the North East of the US, Wegman’s is your best bet. Today we are using dumpling
wrappers. Sure, they are a tad thicker than gyoza, but they work just fine and I wanted
to make sure that the recipe works with the dough that is as accessible as possible.
If the dough is not easy to find in your area, find the one you like, and then buy a ton
of it to keep in your freezer. It will last for a year. Just remember to move it to the
fridge the day before using.
As soon as you open the package, wrap it in a damp paper towel to prevent the dough from
drying out. Lay out 2-3 circles on a work surface. I suggest you start with 2 because
they dry out very quickly. Remember to cover the remaining wrappers. Place about a tablespoon
of filling in the middle. Run a damp finger around the perimeter. Connect the dough edges
together. Wet your index finger and put it inside the dumpling. Then make folds in the
side that’s facing you. All the folds should be pointing towards the middle of the dumpling
and you want 2-3 folds on each side.
When I am folding the left side, I use my left index finger.
When I am folding the right side, I use my right index finger.
Go through all the edges and seal them very firmly. Holes in dumplings are unacceptable.
Here is what they look like from the front. I have watched many many people make these
in my classes and I’ve noticed 5 common mistakes.
Folding both sides. Don’t do that. The back of the dumpling should stay flat. Only one
side should be folded. That’s what makes the dumplings stand up in the skillet when
you are frying them. This is not pierogies that lie flat. For me, it’s a lot easier
to fold the side that is closest to me. Tiny little folds toward the middle. Don’t forget
to keep your index finger inside until you finish the last fold. Otherwise the wrapper
will close and forget the folds.
Not sealing the dumplings well enough. This is a big one. If they open up at all, the
juice will leak out. So forget juicy dumplings and be prepared for terrible splatter in the
skillet. After I make all the folds, I go through all the edges again, pinching them
extremely hard. You want the 2 layers of dough on the edges to become as thin as 1 layer
of dough.
Not using enough filling. A half full dumpling is a sad dumpling. It will feel like a deflated
balloon. Experiment until you figure out how much filling you can fit in and still seal
the dumpling.
Working on a damp area. After you shape a couple of pieces, your work surface might
be damp from the water you used to brush the edges. This will make the wrappers stick.
So make sure you wipe the work surface before placing more wrappers on it.
And the last but not least mistake is judging your shaping ability after the first couple
of dumplings. Yes, it takes a bit of practice. Everyone is bad at it until they are on their
10th or 20th dumpling. So, work through the whole pack and then we’ll talk.
You can cook your dumplings immediately or put them in the fridge for an hour. You can
also freeze them for future use. To do that, place the baking sheet with dumplings in the
freezer just until they are hard, about 2 hours. Then move them to a freezer bag. Don’t
forget to move them to a bag or they’ll dehydrate and crack. Cook them right from
the frozen state. Don’t defrost.
Before we cook our dumplings, let’s make a dipping sauce for them. I like to use some
lime juice or anything else that’s acidic like lemon juice or rice wine vinegar. We’ll
need about a tablespoon. A bit of ginger grated on a microplane zester. Tilt it back and forth
to avoid getting the grater clogged with the little fibers. I probably have about 2 tsp
of ginger here. And about 1 and a half tablespoons of soy sauce. I am using tamari style soy
sauce, but any soy sauce would work.
Let’s set a non-stick skillet over medium meat. Add some neutral oil, like canola. Just
enough to cover the bottom of the pan, about 1 Tbsp. When the oil is hot and starts to
shimmer, place the dumplings in the skillet. You can cook as many as will fit in a single
layer. But I am only cooking one portion for now, so I don’t need quite as much oil.
Cook until they brown. This will only take a minute or two. Have a lid ready. Pour some
water into the skillet and immediately put the lid on.
How much water to use -- ah, that’s a tricky question. Although most recipes specify some
amount, like ½ a cup or 1/3 of a cup. It really depends on your skillet size and shape
and on how tightly the lid fits. It has nothing to do with how many dumplings you are cooking.
If I filled my skillet up with dumplings instead of cooking one portion, I would NOT use more
water. The goal is to create a layer of water that is about 1 mm thin. After 3 minutes,
most of the water should be gone. You can always add another splash of water, but you
can’t take it out, so I prefer to be concervative with how much I add. For a 10 inch skillet
it’s about ⅓ of a cup, for a 12 inch skillet it’s about ½ a cup.
Cook the dumpling covered for 3 minutes for fresh, 6 for frozen. No, you don’t necessarily
need more water for the frozen ones. Because they are much colder, the water doesn’t
evaporate as quickly.
At this point, the dumplings are cooked and we just need to re-crisp them. Open the lid
to evaporate the remaining water and cook until the bottom is crispy again, about a
minute. These are looking good. Then remove them to a plate, crispy side up so that the
juices from the meat don’t make it soggy. Let’s do Chef John’s crispness test. Sounds
good.
Once the first batch is out, you can cook more dumplings in the same pan. By the way,
as you get better at judging just how much water you need, you might not need to uncover
them in the end, which will reduce the amount of splatter and clean up you’ll have to
do.
Pour the sauce into little dishes, add a few drops of sesame oil and enjoy. Though you
know what, wait at least 5 minutes after you get them out of the skillet so that you don’t
burn your mouth. There is only one right way to eat these. Put the whole dumpling in your
mouth and let all that juice explode. I’ll rip one to show you how juicy it is. Sorry
about that little guy. Just think -- with a little bit of work, all that juice could
be in your mouth.
By the way, I never ever ever serve these as an appetizer. I cook about 10 per person
and serve them as the main dish. All you need is a little salad and that’s a meal. If
you need salad ideas, how about the cabbage salad from last week’s video?
Here are more thought provoking culinary videos for you to check out and if you are ever in
the Boston area, maybe I’ll see you in one of my classes.