"Rustic" Gyoza

Gyoa and pretty much all forms of Japanese dumpling are something that I have only newly began to like. The first time I had actually had Japanese dumplings was toward the end of my senior year in high school at a dinner/celebration for my schools team at MUSS (model United States Senate) at an Asian fusion restaurant called “David's Stir Fry Crazy.” Now to Western standards, the name of a restaurant can reflect the ambiance of a restaurant and how traditional it is, and in my western mind, I felt that given the name “stir fry crazy this restaurant would not be very traditional or “fancy,” but I was wrong. To Bahraini standards, names don't mean too much, for instance, some of the most traditional Italian pizza comes from a place called pizza express. So if you are in the Middle East, do not let the names of restaurants deceive you.

Though there are many kinds of Japanese dumplings, my favorite would be Gyoza for two reasons The first reason is that it is not packed with filling like most other varieties, so it does not just leave you with a mouth full of meat. Another reason that it is cooked in a different manner than most dumplings, it is seared on the bottom, whereas with dim som or shu mai, are just steamed. This different cooking method can be due to many reasons, but one reason is because of its shape and a smaller filling to wrapping ratio, it does not have to be cooked as delicately, so it can withstand being seared and moved around a lot more. What this alternate cooking method does is offer a textural contrast between the filling and the, for lack of a better term, I will say pastry, whereas with shumai, the pastry is slimy and serves no more of a purpose than to hold the filling, with gyoza, you get the soft pastry on one side, and a crispy bottom. In addition to the textural contrast, much like with meat, searing developed a more savory or umami flavor.

As a last note, for those of you who do not know what the word “rustic” implies half of the time is that it does not look perfect or pretty, sometimes associated with the word ugly, but it should not be this way, rustic food looks just as appetizing as other food, just a little less perfect. Now Japanese cuisine isn't known for being rustic at all, as presentation is just as important as preparation due to meticulous technique and culinary gender rolls (which would not fly for a second in the United States.) In Japanese cooking, many items are associated with a certain gender, traditionally sushi is only made my men for instance. Gyoza, along with most steamed dumplings are traditionally made by females, given their small nimble hands are better for perfectly forming and sealing dumplings. I however am a 6”4' male whose hands are probably twice the size of those of the average Japanese woman, so I am not as skilled or able to produce such fine little details, therefore, I don't attempt to do crimp them shut in the traditional manner, cause I would waste about an hour, probably half of my wrappers and filling and end up with the same results. If you are not often compared to a lumberjack (which has happened to me a lot since I have moved to florida,) or have more confidence in forming these better, I will attach a video on how to properly crimp and seal these dumplings. If not however, enjoy your rustic gyoza.

As a note, when I was making this, I cut my recipe in half, so if it looks like I used a lot less of these ingredients than stated below, that is why.

1 cup of bean sprouts

3 tablespoons of canola oil, divided

1 cup of chopped scallions, white and green parts

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon of minced ginger

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of honey

½ pound of pork loin (not tenderloin) cut into a ½ inch dice

24 wonton wrappers

Water for sealing the dumplings, plus ½ to 1 cup of water for cooking

For the sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey and a few drops of sesame oil, mixed together.

Saute the bean sprouts in 1 tablespoon of the oil at high heat until wilted, about 4 minuets

Add to a food processor along with the scallions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and honey, pulse until pureed to a smooth paste.

Add the pork to the processor and pulse about 20 times, until coarsely ground and combined, do not over grind or it will ruin the texture.

To assemble the dumbplings, place about a tablespoon of the filling in the middle and lightly apply the water to half of the perimeter of the wrapper (half meaning two sides, connected by a corner)

Press the wet corner to the opposite corner together

NOWWWW, heres the point where you can be creative, you can either follow this video: (attach link) or do like I did, crimp to seal in this fashion, pressing the sides together with a couple random crimps (you want to make sure that there is a sturdy bottom though, so I would not recommend simply folding in half.) If you want to crimp them the traditional way this video shows the "correct" way to seal it-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffvdeBY6Ryw

To cook, add the rest of the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet (if you are making the full recipe, either cook in two batches or use two skillets) and arrange the dumplings, flat side down with enough space to where they do not touch, heat the skillet on high and fry until the bottoms of the dumplings are seared golden brown.

Once seared, add in ½ cup of water and cover the skillet (I did not have a lid that fit this one, so I used a sheet pan) cook until all of the water is evaporated, if they do not feel completely cooked, repeat with another half cup (the wrappers of the dumplings should feel the way cooked pasta does)

Once they are fully steamed and the water has evaporated, add in the rest of the sesame oil and cook until the bottom re-crisps, for about 1-2 minuets.

Serve alongside the sauce, these are traditionally eaten as a first course or in a large meal with many types of dumplings, or if you are me, call an entire batch dinner.

Not bad for Gyoza made by a man, if I do say so myself.

*Final note, for those who feel sesame oil will make the food taste too “Chinese-y” a legit comment I got on my pad thai recipe, omit it and use regular oil. However, sesame oil is used throughout the entire continent of Asia in many forms, toasted sesame oil is used throughout southeast Asia from Japan, to China to Thailand, while raw sesame oil is used within the “Desi” nations like India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in the Middle East, it is used as an important emulsifying agent tahina, which is used in many foods.

I would also like to appologize that this recipe came without any seporate social analysis, I have had a very busy week, plus that pad thai recipe took a long time to create, write and analyze, however, my blog will be back to normal this week =)