Main Dishes
Gyoza (Japanese dumplings)
These delicious little savoury parcels are so dainty but so moreish – try them once and you’ll be hooked. Choose from two delicious options: go meaty with pork mince or try a crab and prawn version.
Ingredients
For the gyoza skins
- 300g/10½oz strong white flour, plus extra for rolling
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 200ml/7fl oz boiling water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
For the chicken or pork version
- 500g/1lb 2oz pork or chicken mince
- 1 head pak choi, very finely shredded
- ¾in/2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped spring onion (green part only)
- ½ tsp ground chilli flakes
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- pinch sugar
For the crab and prawn version
- 1 dressed crab (dark and white meat)
- 200g/7oz cooked, peeled North Atlantic prawns, chopped
- ½ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ lemon, zest only, finely grated
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp chopped spring onion (green part only)
- 2cm/¾in piece fresh root ginger, peeled, grated
For the dipping sauce
- splash soy sauce
- splash lime juice
- splash chilli oil
Method
-
For the gyoza skins, sift the flour into a large bowl and mix in the salt.
-
Stir in the boiling water using a knife or a pair of chopsticks until the mixture comes together as a dough. (You many not need to use all of the water.)
-
Roll the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and set aside to rest for one hour.
-
To make the chicken or pork filling, mix all of the chicken or pork filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined (the ingredients will form a gloopy paste). Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Chill in the fridge until needed.
-
Alternatively, if you’re making the crab and prawn version, mix all of the crab and prawn filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined (the ingredients will form a gloopy paste). Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Chill in the fridge until needed.
-
For the gyoza skin, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for five minutes until smooth and elastic. (You can use the dough hook attachment of a food processor for this.)
-
Cut the dough into three equally sized pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out one of the balls onto a lightly floured work surface, stretching and turning the dough as you go, until the gyoza dough is as thin as possible.
-
Using a 10cm/4in cookie cutter, cut discs from the gyoza dough and stack them on top of each other, dusting the top of each with a little flour before adding the next one. Repeat the rolling and cutting process until all of the dough has been used.
-
To assemble the dumplings, hold a gyoza skin in the palm of your hand and add one teaspoon of the filling mixture. Wet the edges with a little water using your fingertip and seal the dumpling, pinching along the edges to create a pleated fan effect (the end result should resemble a mini Cornish pasty). Repeat the process until all of the filling mixture and gyoza skins have been used up, setting each dumpling aside on a plate dusted with flour.
-
To cook the dumplings, heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan with a lid over a high heat. Arrange the gyoza in the pan, in batches if necessary, leaving space between each one, and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden-brown. Take care as they will burn quickly.
-
Add 100ml/3½fl oz of water to the pan, cover with the lid and steam the dumplings for a further two minutes.
-
Give the pan a shake to release the gyoza from the bottom of the pan and continue to cook for a further two minutes with the lid off, until the filling is completely cooked through.
-
Meanwhile, for the dipping sauce, mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, to taste. Set aside.
-
When the gyoza are cooked through, drizzle the sesame oil around the edges of the frying pan and shake the pan.
-
Serve the gyoza immediately with the dipping sauce.
Gyoza (Japanese dumplings)