Curiosities and recipe for Gyoza

Gyoza or Guioza is a famous Chinese dumpling that was spread in Japanese cuisine. In China, this dish is known as Jiaozi, its dough is similar to that of a common pastry, but it is steamed and then lightly fried or grilled.

The gyoza is usually filled with meat and vegetables, it has an oblate shape and is consumed with a soy sauce-based dip. Its dough does not become crispy like a pastry since it is cooked, it actually remains moist but flavorful.

History of Gyoza

The first Gyoza, which usually has a thicker dough and was only boiled, came to Japan during the Edo period through Zhu Shun Shui who was visiting Japan and made Gyoza for the Daimyo Tokugawa Mitsukuni.

The popular Japanese Gyoza that we know today only came to Japan after World War II. Japanese people returned from China to Japan and began selling Gyoza with a much thinner dough, due to food scarcity.

Curiosities about Gyoza

There are 3 main types of Gyoza which are:

• The Yaki Gyoza (fried gyoza), are fried in a hot pan before being cooked in water and steam;
• The Sui Gyoza are boiled and served with a light broth;
• The Age Gyoza are fried until they become very crispy;

Gyoza can be found in specialized restaurants, street food stalls, in some ramen restaurants, Chinese restaurants, and izakayas. Gyoza usually costs around 300 to 600 yen for half a dozen.

Gyoza is usually enjoyed with a soy sauce and vinegar dip. Sometimes a little Rayu chili oil is added. Gyoza is popular in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, and Hamamatsu. Some specialized restaurants offer Gyoza filled with shrimp, cheese, or unconventional ingredients.

Gyoza Recipe

Below we will teach a Gyoza recipe. It is worth remembering that you can also use the common pastry dough that is bought in markets.

Ingredients for the dough 

• 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
• 1 and 1/4 cups of warm water.
• 3 cups of wheat flour or 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 cup of rice or tapioca flour.

Making the dough 

1. In a bowl, place the flour and salt;
2. Mix and gradually add the water until the dough is smooth and comes away from your hands;
3. Place the dough in a plastic bag, close it, and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours;

Filling Ingredients

• 500g of ground meat;
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
• 1 teaspoon of salt.
• 1 tablespoon of rice wine.
• A little ground pepper. 
• 3 tablespoons of sesame oil.
• 1 stalk of finely chopped green onion or onion. 
• A little chopped cabbage.
• A little fresh ginger, finely chopped.
• A little chopped Swiss chard (optional).
• 1 crushed garlic clove. (optional);
• Ajinomoto (optional).

You can season and make the filling as you wish. Mix all the ingredients in the way you find best, until the meat binds together. You can steam for 10 minutes, you can use a colander. You can try other methods like boiling in hot water, or lightly frying before or after cooking it.

You can make the sauce to dip the Gyoza before eating, with 100ml of soy sauce, 100ml of vinegar, and a little chopped ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.

The Allrecipes Brazil website teaches in detail in the video below how to make this delicious and simple recipe, using common pastry dough. You can watch the video even while following other recipes, to get a brief idea of how to cook, fold, and seal the dumplings.