Gyoza was one of my favorite things to eat growing up — and actually still is one of my favorite things to eat as an adult. I have fond memories of helping my parents make these traditional Japanese appetizers at home and sitting around a sizzling electric griddle waiting for the dumplings to finish cooking.
They’re known as potstickers, pan-fried dumplings, and a few other things in other languages (mandu sometimes), but hopefully will become a favorite in your home.
Cube the tofu and set on a plate lined with a towel. Place in refrigerator to drain. (We set ours for about two hours.) If you do not have that much time, put another paper towel on top of the tofu, a baking sheet on top fo that and something relatively heavy on top to help press for at least 15 minutes.
After the tofu is drained, place cubes in large bowl. Using the back of a fork, smash tofu until there are no large chunks left. (Remember, this is a filling, so you don’t want one chunk of tofu to make up the entire gyoza.)
Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce and green onion. Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
Set out a tray lined with parchment paper and get the gyoza wrappers. Fill a small bowl up with water and place near your workstation.
My method is to hold the gyoza wrapper in the palm of my left hand and use my right hand to spoon a small amount of filling in the center. Return the spoon into the bowl, dip my right hand index finger into the water and wet the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Using my right hand still, fold the bottom edge of the wrapper to the top and press the edges together to seal. Using both hands, making small folds/creases in the wrapper edge to help keep it closed and give the traditional look.
Place the finish gyoza on the tray. Repeat until you have enough gyoza or run out of filling. You can refrigerate pre-wrapped gyoza for a couple days or freeze them as well.
Heat a tabletop electric griddle or nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add a neutral oil. If using a griddle, get about 1/2 cup of water and enough aluminum foil to cover the griddle. If using a skillet, get about 1/4 cup of water and a lid.
Place gyoza in lines once oil begins to shimmer. You will have to work relatively fast to get them on.
Once you finish lining the gyoza, pour the water on the gyoza and cover.
While the gyoza steam, make the sauce. (If you only have soy sauce, that will work, too.)
Since there is no meat, the addition of water is to ensure the gyoza wrappers are cooked and softened by the steam.
After the water boils off, add a dash of oil and brown the bottoms of the gyoza. Plate browned-side up and serve immediately with gyoza sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
Cube the tofu and set on a plate lined with a towel. Place in refrigerator to drain. (We set ours for about two hours.) If you do not have that much time, put another paper towel on top of the tofu, a baking sheet on top fo that and something relatively heavy on top to help press for at least 15 minutes.
After the tofu is drained, place cubes in large bowl. Using the back of a fork, smash tofu until there are no large chunks left. (Remember, this is a filling, so you don’t want one chunk of tofu to make up the entire gyoza.)
Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce and green onion. Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
Set out a tray lined with parchment paper and get the gyoza wrappers. Fill a small bowl up with water and place near your workstation.
My method is to hold the gyoza wrapper in the palm of my left hand and use my right hand to spoon a small amount of filling in the center. Return the spoon into the bowl, dip my right hand index finger into the water and wet the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Using my right hand still, fold the bottom edge of the wrapper to the top and press the edges together to seal. Using both hands, making small folds/creases in the wrapper edge to help keep it closed and give the traditional look.
Place the finish gyoza on the tray. Repeat until you have enough gyoza or run out of filling. You can refrigerate pre-wrapped gyoza for a couple days or freeze them as well.
Heat a tabletop electric griddle or nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add a neutral oil. If using a griddle, get about 1/2 cup of water and enough aluminum foil to cover the griddle. If using a skillet, get about 1/4 cup of water and a lid.
Place gyoza in lines once oil begins to shimmer. You will have to work relatively fast to get them on.
Once you finish lining the gyoza, pour the water on the gyoza and cover.
While the gyoza steam, make the sauce. (If you only have soy sauce, that will work, too.)
Since there is no meat, the addition of water is to ensure the gyoza wrappers are cooked and softened by the steam.
After the water boils off, add a dash of oil and brown the bottoms of the gyoza. Plate browned-side up and serve immediately with gyoza sauce.
Leave a Reply