Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings) Recipe

• 170 ml / 6 fl oz of water
• 200 grams / 7 oz of strong white flour

• 250 grams / 8 oz of ground pork mince
• 1 cup of finely chopped white cabbage
• ½ cup of finely chopped button mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of soft brown sugar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil

• water for assembly
• peanut or vegetable oil for frying

• ½ cup of soy sauce
• ½ cup of rice vinegar

Wrappers

In a medium sized bowl, mix the water and the flour to a dough. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky but is still soft. Place an up-turned bowl over the dough, and let it stand for 30 minutes. Cut the dough into 32 pieces, roll each piece through a pasta machine or roll out thinly by hand with a rolling pin. Using a cutter cut each piece into a thin circle 10cm (4 inches) across.

Filling

Very finely chop the cabbage, button mushrooms and spring onions or pulse them in a food processor until they are very fine. Combine the cabbage, mushrooms, spring onions, garlic, ginger and the ground pork together. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil and mix well.

Assembly

Place one teaspoon of the filling onto a circle of dough. Moisten one edge with water and bring the edges together, pinch and crimp the gyoza closed, moulding into a small 'pasty' or 'moneybag' shape. Repeat with the remaining filling mixture and wrappers.

Cooking

Heat a large frypan, add a little oil and fry batches of the Gyoza until the bottoms are slightly golden brown. Add enough water so that it reaches half way up the sides of the gyoza. Ensure the frypan keeps a high heat and wait until all the water has evaporated. Remove the gyoza from the pan and serve with the following dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce

Mix the same quantity of soy sauce together with vinegar.

Makes 32 Gyoza