IRRASHAIMASE!!!
Welcome to Japan Week! This week I am all about Japan, Japanese food, and Japanese drinks! Why is that, you ask? Absolutely no reason at all, other than that I love it. So, in answer to my Dad’s question, no there is nothing of note happening in Japan or Australia that has prompted this post. I have merely used my phenomenal all-powerful position here at The Sugar Hit, to declare it…
JAPAN WEEK!
Firstly, it is important to note that I have no real authority on Japanese food. I am not Japanese, I have no Japanese heritage, and I have never been to Japan. HOWEVER, I have been a long-time admirer of Japanese food, philosophy and design for most of my life, and I studied Japanese for like a year and a half in primary school. So it’s totally up to you whether you want to listen to me on this or ignore me completely.
What I do promise, is deliciousness. I can make no claims for authenticity (though I try), but I can definitely offer deliciousness. This is all food I love to eat, and the way in which I cook it. In fact that applies to everything on this here blog!
So what that means is that you know it’ll taste good, and you know I will have done it in the laziest way possible, creating the least number of dishes possible, and costing as little money as I can swing! Now – to the gyoza!
Gyoza are awesome little Japanese dumplings, originally from China. They have a white, wheat flour wrapper, and are usually filled with pork. They are cooked by a combination method of steaming and frying, so you totally get the best of both worlds – crispy bottoms, silky tops. What’s not to love?
I like to keep my recipes simple (you might have noticed), so for my filling I have pared it right back to minced pork, spring onions (scallions), ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and mirin. These ingredients are all finely chopped and mixed together, and then it’s simply a case of filling the little babies.
This recipe is actually incredibly simple. At this point in my life, I don’t forsee a time when I’m going to want to make home-made gyoza wrappers, because the store-bought ones are so good! So that means that from start-to finish I can have a whole mess of dumplings done and dusted in about 20 minutes. That’s pretty good, right?
As you can see, I am by no means an expert dumpling-crimper. I leave that to the professionals, though there is a nifty tutorial here. Why don’t I bother to make them a little neater? Well firstly, that’s not really in my DNA. Secondly, I have never met anyone who wasn’t so blown away by the taste of these things that they cared about the crimping. And thirdly, did you see the ones I made? I think they look awesome even with my shoddy workmanship!
So, if you’re with me on this Japan Week trip, go and make some Gyoza! They’re super easy and your friends/family/bus driver/college roommate will worship you.
xx Sarah
One more thing!
[If you want to get involved with JAPAN WEEK, feel free to create something and post it on your blog this week, and I will incorporate it into this weeks Sunday Supplements post, which, you guessed it, will be all about Japan! Even if you have an old post about Japan, let me know about it! Tweet me, or Tag me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!]
Gyoza at Home Recipe
An original recipe by Sarah Coates for The Sugar Hit.
Makes 25 Gyoza.
INGREDIENTS
250g (1/2 pound) minced pork
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp mirin
2 tsp soy sauce (japanese soy sauce, if you can get it)
25 gyoza or gow gee wrappers (that’s 1 pack for me)
2 tbsp peanut oil, or similar
Chopped chives, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sriracha, black vinegar, to serve.
Firstly, mix together the pork, spring onions, ginger, sesame oil, mirin and soy sauce until very well combined – this is easiest to do with a fork or your hands. Next, get a little bowl of water, and prepare to make your dumplings. Lay out a wrapper on a clean work surface, and dip your finger into the water bowl. Quickly wet the top half edge of the circular wrapper. Next, grab a teaspoonful of mince and place it in the middle of the wrapper. Pull the bottom edge of the wrapper up and press it to seal against the top edge, then work down around the filling, sealing the edges, making sure to press out any air bubbles. To form the signature crimps, simply fold little edges of the dough over each other and press to seal. Sit the dumpling standing up on a plate, and continue until all the wrappers and mince are used.
To cook the gyoza, place the peanut oil into the base of a large non-stick frying pan with a lid. Arrange the gyoza in a circular pattern on top of the oil, and then place the pan on a medium heat. Immediately add enough hot water to come about 1/2 an inch up the sides of the dumplings, and place the lid on. Now, what will happen is the dumplings will boil and steam in this hot water as it evaporates, and once all the water is gone, they will begin to fry in the oil. By the time all the water has disappeared and the bottoms of the gyoza are golden brown, they are cooked and ready to eat. Scatter with chives and sesame seeds, and serve with all the sauces your heart desires!
the Japanese have a very successful history of adapting things to suit their taste so I think as long as its delicious, I’m sure people would love it, japanese or not! :D
That’s comforting!
Oh, I love gyoza but have never tried making an authentic recipe at home. Yours look SO amazing!
Bring on japan week!!! Awesome post and delicious idea.
Thanks Julia!
I LOVE gyozas, and they are Georges favourite. we have them whenever we can, when out or at home, I must admit though that my recipe does feel like it takes quite a long time and is a bit of a faff. It has many more ingredients than yours.
I’ll have a go at your cut down version next time, because it looks pretty damned good.
Here’s mine (Jeez – only just noticed that i blogged this 3 YEARS AGO!) http://thingswemake.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/gyoza/
Squeal! I love gyoza…I could seriously eat my weight in those delicious little pork dumplings. I think I know what I’ll be making this week for dinner…
I love the idea of Japan Week! I have a couple travel posts on my blog from a recent trip to Japan. I’ve linked one below and there are two more on my blog. I look forward to see what else in store you have for Japan week! Gambatte!!
http://www.bashfulbao.com/2013/07/trip-recap-tokyo-japan/
Homemade gyoza–yes please! The super=simple filling sounds perfect, especially with a big pile of cabbagey salad on the side. And I think your crimps look fantastic. :)
they look even better than some of the ones served at restaurants – they’re so pretty and im shocked at how easy they are to make!
So much yum! I will absolutely be making these as soon as I get the chance. I love Japanese food, and even though it seems like my friends and I get it every weekend, I’m not sick of it yet!
Oh, what delightful looking homemade dumplings!
These look great! Thanks for searching Japanese week :)
Beautiful crispy bottoms on those dumplings! I have been on a dumpling kick lately.
Those gyoza bottoms… I can hear them crunching from here! MMMMM!!
I love making big batches of dumplings and freezing a bunch for sudden cravings. And my freezer has none right now! Gotta fix that, with these, STAT.
Oh, good call!
OMG I love gyozas!
and I just happen to have all the ingredients would you look at that. I wonder if there’s a recipe to make your own wrappers though… I may just make these today – thanks for the inspirations!
Sooo, I’ve never heard of these and I’m not a huge Japanese food fan, but oh my Lord, these look good. I’m so impressed you like to make Japanese food at home! Can’t wait to see what else is in store for Japan Week!
Wait, those are NOT perfect gyoza? Could have fooled me, they look super legit! And I am all about frying things (duh) so obviously these have my name on them. I am concerned, though. Japan week, right after I gave you American citizenship? MIXED SIGNALS.
HAHAHAH. I like to keep you guessing.
Great post!I had never heard of the technique of frying an steaming in one step- makes less pans to clean!
I make similar potstickers often, and keep meaning to make the wrappers, but you’re right, there’s no reason not to use store bought!
They look great, such perfect dumpling pleating!
OMG your blog is insanely awesome. it is like, i need sun glasses to look it it because it is so happy and bright.
i can’t believe i missed japan week!!! i am posting about onigiri today!!! can it be a japan month? or maybe year?!
Thank you! Bless your heart Miss Yeh.
Ooooh gyoza! One of my favorites. I don’t make them at home often enough, and these look fantastic!
Oooohh I love me some gyoza! I made some on my blog too so it would be great if you could check it out! Thanks :)
addalittle.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/gyoza/
can i use wonton wrappers? my grocery store only had the square variety and i’d hate for them to go to waste but would also hate to end up with the incorrect final product!
Hi Emily,
You can totally use wonton wrappers – the result would be different, not traditionally ‘gyoza’ but still totally delicious. I would do it, fo sure.
Cheers,
sarah