Gyoza or Guioza is a famous Chinese dumpling that has been popularized 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.
Gyoza is usually filled with meat and vegetables, it has a flat shape and is consumed with a soy sauce-based dip. Its dough doesn't get crunchy like a pastry since it is steamed; in fact, it stays moist but flavorful.
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Gyoza's history
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 arrived in 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.
Fun facts about Gyoza
There are 3 main types of Gyoza which are:
- You Yaki Gyoza (fried gyoza), they are fried in a hot skillet before being boiled in water and steam;
- You Sui Gyoza they are cooked and served with a light broth;
- You Age Gyoza they are fried until they are very crispy;
Gyoza can be found in specialty restaurants, street food stalls, some ramen restaurants, Chinese restaurants, and izakaya. Gyoza usually cost around 300 to 600 yen for half a dozen.
Gyoza is often enjoyed with a soy sauce and vinegar dip. Sometimes a bit of Rayu chili oil is added. Gyoza is popular in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, and Hamamatsu. Some specialty restaurants offer gyoza stuffed 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 you buy in markets.
Ingredients of 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
- In a bowl, place the flour and salt;
- Mix and gradually add the water until the dough is smooth and comes away from your hands;
- Put the dough in a plastic bag, close it and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours;
Stuffing Ingredients
- 500g of ground beef;
- 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 chives or onion, finely chopped.
- A little chopped キャベツ.
- A little bit of fresh ginger, finely chopped.
- A little chopped チンゲンサイ (optional).
- 1 clove of smashed garlic. (optional);
- Ajinomoto (optional).
You can season and make the filling however you want. Mix all the ingredients in the way you think is best, until the meat binds together. You can steam for 10 minutes, you can use a colander. You can try other experiments like boiling in hot water, or giving a light fry before or after cooking it.
You can make the dipping sauce for the Gyoza before eating, with 100ml of 醤油, 100ml of vinegar, and a little chopped 生姜, garlic, and sesame oil.
The site Allrecipes Brasil 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, so you can have a brief idea of how to cook, fold, and seal the pastéis.