Recipe of the Week: Homemade Gyoza

I partook in gyoza-therapy yesterday.

Seriously.

I mixed up a batch of traditional chicken gyoza filling and a fancier Thanksgiving turkey version, packed up some snacks and DVDs, and hauled everything in a huge box to my friend, Corrinne's. We distracted her kids with food and cartoons while we spent the afternoon wrapping gyoza after gyoza. Time flies when you're chatting and having fun. We wrapped 100 gyozas without so much as breaking a sweat. The recipes weren't perfect -- they weren't salty enough. But hey, as far as imperfections go, I think this is an easy fix. In fact, I thought the gyozas tasted just fine with dipping sauce. But in case you aren't a fan of dipping sauce, I tweaked the recipes a little to give them slightly more oomph.

So here's the improved recipes of the gyozas we made ...

Traditional Chicken Gyoza
Ingredients
1lb ground chicken
1 can (8oz) diced water chestnuts
1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked overnight), diced into tiny pieces
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 cups of shredded napa cabbage
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine; optional)
1/2 tsp sugar
store-bought gyoza wrapper

Fancy Thanksgiving Turkey Gyoza
Ingredients
1lb ground turkey
1 apple, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup of dried cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces (optional)
2 cups of shredded napa cabbage
1 cup diced cremini mushrooms
1/3 cup sage walnut pesto (recipe here)
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
store-bought gyoza wrapper

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Scoop about 1 tbsp of filling and place in the center of a gyoza wrapper.
Fold, press and pleat the tops together into a crescent shape.

To cook:
Brown gyozas in a skillet over medium heat (add a teaspoon of grapeseed oil to prevent sticking), about 2 minutes each side.
Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water (beware of steam). Cover immediately and simmer until most of the water evaporates.
Remove lid and fry for another 1-2 minutes until the bottoms are brown and crispy.
Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice (I used this recipe).


For a great vegetarian version, check out this recipe by our friends at ArtDuh.com.

And now for a cheerful ditty ...