Fried Gyoza (6) Recipe

Prepare cabbage

Finely shred the napa cabbage. Place shredded cabbage in a bowl, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt, toss, and let sit 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid firmly (use a towel or your hands) and measure about 1 cup packed. Discard or reserve liquid.

Mince aromatics

Finely mince the garlic and grate the ginger. Thinly slice the green onions; use both white and green parts.

Combine filling

In a bowl, mix ground pork, drained cabbage, minced garlic, grated ginger, sliced scallion, soy sauce (1 tbs), sesame oil (1 tsp), rice wine (1 tsp), salt (1 tsp), white pepper (1/4 tsp), and cornstarch (1 tsp). Stir vigorously (fold and press) until mixture becomes slightly sticky and well combined, about 1–2 minutes. This helps the filling bind.

Prepare wrappers

Lay out gyoza wrappers on a clean work surface, cover with a damp towel to prevent drying.

Portion filling

Place about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons (heaping) of filling in the center of each wrapper. Adjust so you end up with six filled dumplings.

Seal gyoza

Dip your finger in the water and moisten the wrapper edge. Fold the wrapper in half over the filling to form a half-moon. Starting from one side, make 3 small pleats along the sealed edge pressing firmly to seal each pleat (or simply press edges together if you prefer). Ensure there are no air pockets and edges are fully sealed. Repeat for all wrappers. Keep finished gyoza on a lightly floured tray or parchment.

Heat pan

Use a nonstick or well-seasoned skillet with a lid. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and warm over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Fry bottoms

Arrange gyoza flat-side down in the pan in a single layer with a little space between them. Cook 2–3 minutes without moving until bottoms are golden brown.

Steam gyoza

Carefully pour 50 ml (about 3–4 tablespoons) water into the pan — beware of sputtering oil — then immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and steam for 4–5 minutes, until the filling is cooked through and wrapper tops are tender.

Crisp bottoms

Remove the lid and increase heat to medium-high for 30–60 seconds to evaporate remaining water and re-crisp the bottoms to golden brown. Use a spatula to loosen and transfer gyoza to a serving plate, bottom side up.

Combine 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice vinegar, and 1/2 tsp chili oil (or sesame oil) in a small dish. Add optional minced garlic or scallion to taste. Serve alongside hot gyoza.

Serve 6 gyoza immediately while hot and crisp. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; reheat in a skillet with a splash of water and lid to restore crisp-steam texture. If freezing, freeze uncooked assembled gyoza on a tray until solid, then transfer to a bag; cook from frozen adding 1–2 minutes to steam time.