Gyoza

We had Gyoza (Jiaozi/pan-fried Chinese dumpling with pork and cabbage) last Friday night!  This is the king of crowd-pleaser.  I always make about 50 pcs. and we usually eat them up between two of us!!  If you made too many, cook the rest, cool and you can store them in fridge for up to 3 days or in freezer for up to 2 weeks, that will make a great complete meal for your lunch when you are very hungry but feeling too lazy to cook!  

This should be like a family's secret recipe because it was passed on from my mom and I honestly have never eaten better Gyoza in my life, even in the restaurants (well, maybe except for the Tai Kou Rou in Yaesu, Tokyo).  Well it may be natural that home made Gyoza tastes better, as we can use a lot more meat than in restaurants, who use more cabbage to lower the cost.

It also have to mention that mine has pretty authentic taste as my mother got the original recipe from a Taiwanese woman who used to be our neighbour. One day she invited my mother to teach how to make "authentic Jiaozi" and since then we have mended it over years.  Here is the recipe!

-Feb. 7 grocery shopping €7.95 / €134.89 left

Ingredients (50 pcs, serves 4)

50 Gyoza sheet (small)

1/4 head of cabbage

250g/9oz ground pork meat

2-3 dried shiitake mushroom

5g/0.2oz dried sakura shrimp (optional)

2-3 stalks of Chinese chive

2 cloves of garlic

40g/1.4oz of ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 egg

2 tsp. of Chinese chicken stock powder 

salt&pepper

...for the sauce

rice vinegar/black vinegar

soy sauce

chili oil

Directions

1. Soak dried shiitake in warm water for3 hrs.  Cook cabbage and Chinese chive in boiling water for about 5 min.   Grate garlic to have garlic paste.  Peal and chop ginger into very small bits. 

2. In food processor, mince sakura shrimp (when the machine is still dry!), then cabbage and shiitake until minced and mixed.

3. Chop Chinese chive finely with knife as they get too slimy in the food processor.

4. In a big bowl place meat and all the ingredients prepared above together with sesame oil, egg, chicken soup powder and salt&pepper, mix well.

5. Wrap the filling in sheets in the way you like.  (My way is; place a small spoonful of filling at the center of a sheet, wet the edge around, starting from left side go making one pleat and press it to the other side and keep on going of the sheet until sealed)  

6. Heat oil in a pan and line Gyozas.  Add a cup of water when the bottom is brown, then quickly cover with a lid and cook for about 7-8 min. until the water is all gone.

Voilaaa!!!