Gyoza - Pot Stickers Dumplings

Gyoza-a Japanese Pot Stickers( other call it Chinese Dumplings ) is one of my husbands favourite dumplings.He has tried some of the Asian dumplings but this is the one for him . There are different variation of Pot Stickers, it can be filled with minced chicken, ground pork, shrimp and cabbage mixture. For first timer, like me, do not overwhelm yourself too much in this recipe. Make it simple, make it easy and fast.You can always make a twist the second  time you make them.

Ingredients:

1-½ lb ground pork
2 cups of Napa or Chinese cabbage ( blanched,squeezed dry and chopped finely)
½ cup of chopped onions
1 package of Gyoza skin or dumpling wrapper
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of rice wine
1 tablespoon of green onions or chives

2 tablespoon of ginger ( minced)

2 tablespoon of garlic ( minced)
1 tablespoon of Sesame oil

1 cup water or chicken stock

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

pinch white or black pepper

½ Oyster Sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

Cooking Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, add  the soy sauce, rice wine,sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, garlic,ginger with the ground pork. Mix it thoroughly.
• Add the Napa cabbage, onions and chives to the mixture. Make sure they are all well incorporated.
• Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit inside the fridge for around 30 minutes. This to make sure that all the ingredients are well blend together.
• Scoop about 2 teaspoon of pork mixture and spread it on the Gyoza skin. Wet edge of the Gyoza skin, then fold the dumpling so that the ends meet, and press firmly to seal them. Then pleat the edges a few times to ensure a good seal. Place this on a baking sheet with parchment while you do the rest.

• When ready to cook dumplings, heat some sesame oil in the pan over medium heat.
• Line up the Gyoza dumplings in the pan, folded side up. Brown the bottom for around 3-5 minutes. then add  ½ cup of hot  water ( or chicken stock ) and cover immediately. Steam them off for 5 minutes,then remove the lid.When water completely evaporated, continue fry the dumplings for a couple more minutes.

• When the bottom of the Gyoza dumpling become golden brown. Carefully take them out off the pan.
• Serve the Gyoza with a dipping sauce, bottom side up. Enjoy !