I'll be honest.  I had to practice a bit to get the knack of working with gyoza wrappers.  I'm really glad I persisted because these potstickers are SO good.   Served with rice, they also make a delicious main meal.  The recipe is from Kimito Sakata.  Thanks Kimito! ~ Kris 

 

Many of you may know that Gyoza is originally a pork dish.  Like most things, however, it can be made vegan. In place of the ground pork, I use ground crumbles and chopped shitake mushrooms. I imagine other meat substitutes may work such as tofu (firm) and  tempeh. Please let me know what other successful variation you find.

 

Gyoza is Japanese for "Pot Stickers". Gyoza can be steamed, fried or boiled. The following recipe covers the fried method which I like best.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1/3 cup chopped cabbage
* 2 T chopped green onion
* 1 package ground crumbles (Vegan)
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh shitake mushrooms
* 1 T fresh chopped garlic

* 1 tsp. sesame oil
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 2 tsps. soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
 

20 gyoza wrappers (buy the white variety - the yellow have egg in it)
Oil for frying (olive oil is better for you)

 

The proportions above are approximate. I taste and adjust as needed by adding additional soy sauce and sugar. The sesame oil is for flavor so if you like it, add more. If not, use less or omit it.  Same for ginger.

 

1) Throughouly mix all of the filling ingredients together in a bowl.   Adjust for taste as mentioned above.

2) Fill a small bowl of water about half-way full.  This is used to moisten the outer edges of the wrappers.

3) Take a wrapper and put it on the palm of your hand. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water, then place a teaspoon of stuffing in the middle of the wrapper.

4) Fold the wrapper in half like a small taco so the wet edges are together, then pinch the edges together pressing the air out.

Using both hands, finger and thumb, pinch the edge of the wrapper skin, fold over itself and press.  Do that for about 5 equally spaced areas along the edge of the wrapper.  Place the wrapper on a hard surface and gently push down with your hand to flatten.  Put the dumplings on a plate, keeping them separated (don't pile them on top of each other when uncooked).  Continue to stuff and fold the dumplings until the wrappers are gone.  If you have left over filing, you can fry it and enjoy it later with rice.

6)  Heat some oil in a frying pan with a tight fitting lid. 

 

7) Arrange the dumplings in the pan so as to fit as many as you can without squishing them or pushing them together or they will stick and fall apart later.

8) Cover and fry the potstickers until the bottom starts to brown nicely.

9) With 1/4 cup water in hand, carefully open the lid just enough to pour the water into the pan, then quickly close the lid (be careful because the hot oil may spash). The water will cause a steaming action. After the steam is all gone, carefully remove the dumplings with a spatula and put them on a serving plate. You may need multiple frying sessions if you made a large batch. 

10) Serve the Gyoza with a dipping sauce of Ponzu (which is a Citrus Soy Sauce).  Regular soy sauce and lemon juice also works well.  If you want some spice, add some chili oil, Sriracha or Chinese mustard to the soy sauce mixture.

 

The potstickers are great with rice.