Shrimp gyoza (Japanese steam-fried dumplings)

After craving for gyoza for days, I finally made it. Shrimp gyoza, to be exact. The regular gyoza recipes usually call for ground pork. So, if you`re not into seafood version, just go with the pork. I believe beef and chicken will do great too.

Like in other kinds of dumplings, gyoza are made by preparing the filling and wrap individual portions of it with dumpling skins before finally cooking them. The pack of dumpling skins I bought has recipe on it and I kept the pack in the kitchen because I wanted to copy the recipe for you. But, here the but comes, he saw an empty package on the kitchen counter when I wasn`t around and threw it away. So it`s gone ad this post is going to be a measurementless recipe again as usual.

Anyway, each dumpling will need like a tsp or tbs of filling (depends on the size of the skin), so you can roughly estimate the amount of filling you need. If you still end up having leftovers, you can use them later for gyoza again or other dumplings. I actually never mind having the leftovers I because I  can use the filling for omelets and the skins for mini pizzas.

Alright, let`s cook then.

Start with preparing the filling. Chop garlic chives and place them in a mixing bowl.

I hope you are not sick of seeing cabbage in my recipes. Other than garlic chives, gyoza needs cabbage. Really. Only this time the cabbage has to be very thinly shredded to make the wrapping process (and your life) easier. Fortunately, it`s very easy to get shredded cabbage here. This kind of thinness is beyond what I my knife can do.

After deshelling and deveining shrimps, mince them up using knife. Or you can just use a food processor for this. Season minced shrimps with salt, pepper, coriander, and cayenne pepper. 

 Toss in the seasoned shrimp to the vegetables.

The seasoning is actually not over yet. Brown chopped garlic, dried shrimps, and ginger until fragrant.

I just love these dried shrimps with their pungent flavor. If you are using pork or beef, try adding these shrimps too. You might love it.

Dump in the sauted spices to the fillings and toss, toss, and toss.
Gyoza recipes usually call for corn starch to prepare the filling, but I ran out of it. So, I just left it out. 

Time to wrap up. Get a sheet of round-shaped dumpling skin and place the filling on the middle. Just keep in mind that placing too much filling will make the skin easier to get torn during wrapping and difficult to close. The dumpling skin I used was about 10-cm in diameter and 1 tsp of filling was just enough. 

After placing the filling, wet the dumpling edge with water.

Fold it into half-moon shape and make sure that it`s perfectly sealed.

Then, pleat the top curve to make this decorative shape. Skipping it won`t hurt at all, though.

Heat oil on medium heat. Arrange the gyoza in it and let it fry until the bottom side get browned. This will take like 3-5 minutes.

If it`s browned already, pour in water until 1/3 to 1/2 of the dumpling height. This will make a loud sizzling sound. We`re about to steam them.

Shortly after pouring in water, put a lid on and cook on high heat. We need the steam to be trapped inside.

The dumplings are ready when most of the liquid has evaporated, the skins has softened and turned slightly transluscent, and you can see the filling. Five minutes should be enough for this.

When the water`s gone and dumplings are cooked, place a plate on the pan and flip the pan over. This will give you the browned side of the gyoza facing up on the plate. Or just use your spatula.

Serve it with dipping sauce, which is usually a mixture of soy sauce, chilli-infused sesame oil, vinegar, and lemon juice.

Dip dip....

..and have a bite.

Ingredients:
Garlic chives, chopped
Cabbage, thinly shredded
Shrimp, minced
Cayenne pepper
Coriander
Salt
Pepper
Garlic, chopped and sauted
Ginger, chopped and sauted
Dried shrimp, chopped and sauted
Chilli, sliced and sauted
Corn starch

Dumpling skin (round-shaped type)