Homemade Gyoza

Ingredients

Wrappers

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup just-boiled water (more if necessary)
• Potato flour for dusting

Filling

• 300g ground pork
• 2 large cabbage leaves, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes and refreshed in ice water, drained well then finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 teaspoon sake
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Good pinch fine sea salt

Gyoza

• Sunflower oil for frying
• Sesame oil for dressing

Dipping Sauce

• Equal quantities of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce
• Few drops of Japanese chilli oil (La-Yu), to taste

Directions

Wrappers

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.
2. Add the hot water and cut in with a butter knife until the dough starts to come together. You may need a little more water. Add enough to make a smooth dough. Use your hands to bring the dough together.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes,
4. Once rested, unwrap the dough, split into two batches and use a rolling pin to roll it out.
5. Using 3 inch cookie cutter, cut the circles out dusting each wrapper with potato flour as you go. Keep the finished wrappers under a damp tea towel as you finish them.
6. Continue with the rest of the dough, gathering up the scraps and re-rolling to make more wrappers - you should end up with about 50 thin 3 inch wrappers.
7. You can use the wrappers straight away or wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for a few days or freeze them for a couple of months for later use.

Filling

1. Put all the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix together with your hands until really well combined and it starts to become sticky.

Assemlbing the Gyoza

1. Take a wrapper and place it in the palm of your hand.
2. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the wrapper.
3. Dip a finger into some water and wet along the inner edge of the wrapper.
4. Fold the wrapper in half, to completely cover the filling.
5. This will give you a half moon shape.
6. Pleat the top edge evenly with your fingertips, pressing firmly to make sure the gyoza are completely sealed. Place them flat side down, pleated side up, on a lightly potato floured baking sheet.
7. Repeat the process until you have made all the gyozas made.

Cooking

1. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Once the oil is hot, add the gyozas flat side down. Cook them in batches.
2. Add as many gyozas as fits comfortably in your frying pan and cook until the flat side is golden, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and add 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Immediately clamp a lid on top.
3. Cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes to steam the gyoza.
4. Lift the lid and continue to cook until the water has evaporated and bottoms are golden.
5. Remove the cooked gyozas and place them on a serving plate and continue cooking the rest of the gyozas.
6. Serve with small bowls of dipping sauce.

Make the Dipping Sauce

1. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together in a bowl and divide between small dipping bowls.