One of ChiChi’s very first memories in the kitchen was making gyoza with his Okaasan as a young child. He is now carrying this tradition on with our daughter by teaching her how to make gyoza. I delight in watching her tiny hands carefully scoop the gyoza filling onto the dough, run her fingers along the side edge with water, then carefully fold and pinch the dough into a crescent moon shape. Recently she says that she wants to become a chef and is eager to learn both ChiChi’s and my recipes. It fills us with so much joy to see her learning to make this classic family recipe and even more fun to watch her devour 6, 8, even 10 pieces of the savory pocket of deliciousness that is pan fried gyoza.　

父　

ChiChi: Father

お母さん

Okaasan: Mother

This recipe for pan fried gyoza is based on the gyoza that ChiChi learned to make from his mom as a child growing up in Tokyo. He uses very thin, round gyoza wrappers. In this recipe we use an entire package of gyoza wrappers, which makes about four dozen gyoza. We typically pan fry enough for each of us to have 6-8 pieces and then freeze the rest for a quick weekday meal.

The most important ingredient to source for this recipe is the nira chive. It is a fresh herb that looks like long strands of grass and has a sharp garlic smell. You can find nira in any asian grocery store. We typically buy it at Nijiya, a small Japanese grocery chain that boasts its own organic farms.

ChiChi’s Methods for Delicious Pan Fried Gyoza

To get that delicious savory crunch, it is also essential to include lots of coarse minced bamboo and cabbage. The key to ensuring that the Gyoza does not come out soggy and wet is to make sure to thoroughly pat dry the cabbage and bamboo before mixing in the other ingredients. You can find bamboo that is pre-cut at any asian grocery store or find canned bamboo at your regular grocer. We definitely recommend fresh bamboo if you can find it!

Becki’s Easy Vegan Gyoza Swaps

Chichi’s traditional Japanese Pan Fried Gyoza recipe can be adapted to be vegan or pescatarian. To adapt this recipe to make a vegan Pan Fried Gyoza (YUMMM!) you will just need to swap out the ground pork for either firm tofu or a ground plant-based meat alternative. You will want to pat dry the vegan “meat” ingredients to make sure that they don’t add additional unwanted moisture. You can also swap out the oyster sauce for hoisin sauce which is typically vegan.

Make Japanese Pan Fried Gyoza Together!

Whether you are making ChiChi’s traditional gyoza recipe or my vegan adaptation, we encourage you to make them with family or friends and spend a lazy afternoon making one at a time. Put some music on, or watch your favorite show. At our house we watch the Japanese kids show “Shimajiro” because, well, our twins are five, and that’s just what we have to do to get a calm gyoza-making vibe going!

After you have made all of the gyoza you can possibly make, put the gyoza on a plate and pop them in the freezer to help them keep their shape until you are ready to fry them up.

Enjoy Pan Fried Gyoza Japanese Style With Ramen

In Japan, gyoza are often paired with ramen. Check out our Mazesoba Ramen recipe. Usually we have some of the gyoza filling left over, and we fry it up separately to add as a topping to the Mazesoba Ramen.

Enjoy your pan fried gyoza by dipping them (lightly) with some rice wine vinegar mixed with a touch of chili oil or ponzu.

Pan Fried Gyoza

Recipe by ChiChi & BeckiCourse: Appetizers, Vegan, Weekend Dinners, Sides, Make AheadCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Takes Patience & Practice

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

8

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Lb Ground Pork (or Plant-Based Ground Meat or Firm Tofu)

• 1/4 Cup Cabbage, coarse minced

• 1/4 Cup Nira Chive, coarse minced

• 1/4 Cup Bamboo, coarse minced

• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp Sake

• 1 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce (or Hoisin Sauce)

• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil

• 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• 2tbsp Cooking Oil (such as Canola or Grapeseed)

• 1/4 Cup Water

• Dipping Sauces:

• Rice wine Vinegar & Chili oil

• Ponzu

Directions

• Coarse mince cabbage, nira chive, bamboo, and mince garlic. thoroughly pat dry the veggies to reduce as much moisture as possible. If using tofu, crumble tofu and pat-dry.
• To make the Gyoza filling add cabbage, nira chive, bamboo, garlic, sake, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and pepper into a large bowl. Mix all of the ingredients with your hands until the mixture sticks together. The mixture should not be watery.
• Prepare Gyoza making work station with the the bowl of gyoza filling a small bowl of water, gyoza wrappers, a large plates for each person preparing the gyozas or a large tray. Lightly sprinkle potato starch or flour on the plate or tray to prevent the Gyoza from sticking to the plate.
• To make the Gyoza take one wrapper in your left hand, dip your finger into water and lightly paint the edge of the wrapper with water. Scoop about one tbsp of the gyoza mixture onto the center of the wrapper. Lightly fold the wrapper over in half (but don’t press the dough together. Take your left thumb and create a small fold. Pinch a small section with your right fingers and press to the left. Continue until you’ve sealed the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Gently shape the gyoza into a crescent and place filling side down onto the plate. (Watch our video of ChiChi making Gyoza below).
• Once all Gyozas are made we recommend to pop the them in the freezer for about 10 minutes (leave them on the plate or tray). Then take out the Gyoza that you will be preparing, leaving the rest in the freezer for later. Once the Gyoza are completely frozen you can transfer them to a freezer safe bag for storage.
• To Pan Fry the Gyoza heat your frying pan on medium-high heat. Add cooking oil. Once the pan is hot add Gyoza. Pan fry for 1 minute then add 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pan with a lid for about 4-5 minutes until most of the water has evaporated. Remove lid and gently check underneath the Gyoza to see if they are done. Goyza are done when they are golden brown and crispy on the bottom and all of the water is evaporated.
• Serve your pan fried Gyoza immediately with rice wine vinegar and or ponzu for dipping. We like to add a few drops of chili oil to the rice wine vinegar to give it a kick!
• Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

• Watch how ChiChi forms each Gyoza. Take your time. Gyoza is most delicious when made with care and love.