Aki's Pork Gyoza

by Aki Kame
AFO staff

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Throughout my childhood, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother while she was cooking. Even though I spent most of that time getting in the way, she always made sure I tasted everything.

As I got older and tried to recreate childhood dishes at home, my only saving grace was the fact that I remembered how things were supposed to taste. This recipe is an adaptation of the "Classic Pork Gyoza" recipe from Tadashi Ono's Japanese Soul Cooking, which was the closest recipe I've ever found that got close to what I grew up eating. There's a few changes out of memory and practicality, but the result is a surprisingly light dumpling with a hint of sweet and a kick of ginger. Eat them fried, steamed, or in your favorite soup broth.

What you'll need:

• 3 cup         Green Cabbage
• 1/2 tsp      Salt
• 1 ½ cup      Nira (Japanese green chive)
• 1 tbsp        Garlic
• 1 tbsp        Ginger
• ⅔ lb           Ground Pork
• 2 tsp          Soy Sauce
• 4 tbsp        Toasted Sesame Oil
• ½ tsp          Black Pepper      
• ½ tsp          Salt
• 2 tsp          Sugar
• 2 tbsp        Katakuriko (Potato Starch)
• 50              Gyoza Wrappers (3-4in. diameter)
• 1 tbsp        Katakuriko w/ 3 tbsp. warm water

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the cabbage and use your hands to thoroughly mix with salt in a bowl. Let sit for 15min. while the salt pulls out the excess water. Use a cheesecloth or your hands to wring as much water as possible, and set aside. Take the nira stalks, and chop off the bottom 2in of tough stem. Finely chop the remaining nira, garlic, and ginger.

2. Add the cabbage, nira, garlic, ginger, pork, soy sauce, 2 tbsp of sesame oil, black pepper, salt, sugar, and katakuriko to a large bowl. Dig your hands in and mix for about 2 minutes until the mixture is sticky and well combined.   

3. To make the dumplings, prepare a baking sheet dusted with katakuriko. Take the gyoza wrappers one at a time in the palm of your hand, and portion roughly a tablespoon of the pork mixture into the center. With your other hand, dip a finger into the katakuriko + water mixture, and wet the edges of the entire wrapper. This will act as  glue, and seal the dumplings for steaming. Fold the wrapper in half, matching the edges to form a half moon. Holding the underside with your index and middle fingers, and using your thumb to push the wrapper into crinkles, slightly pinch the wrapper together to form a crimp, and press it flat. Do this a few times around the diameter, and place the completed gyoza on the baking sheet.

4. At this point you can freeze them on the sheet and store for later, or fry them fresh! To fry, add enough sesame oil to cover the bottom of a pan, and place the dumplings standing up in the pan. Brown them on the one side for about 2 minutes, and add about 4tbsp. of water and quickly cover with a lid. Let them steam for 4 minutes, remove the lid and let the remaining water cook off so that the dumplings crisp a bit before removing. Serve with rice, or throw into a simple chicken bone broth with baby bok choy!