Pork stuffed gyoza, with homemade gyoza wrappers

If you’ve never tried Trader Joe’s pork gyoza, you are missing out. Those frozen treats got me through my college hangovers – they’re that good. So good they inspired me to learn more about them and make my own.

Japanese gyoza may seem like Chinese dumplings and with good reason: they were adapted from Chinese dumplings. During the occupation of Manchuria, the Japanese ate Chinese dumplings and, following the war, returned home to make the meal with a Japanese spin to it.

They’re half moons stuffed with meat and veggies. They’re served pan fried or steamed. And they get you through college hangovers. And with the homemade gyoza wrappers, it takes the taste to the next level.

Note: part of this recipe was adapted from Foods of Jane.

What you’ll need

For the wrappers:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of water
• Salt
• 1-2 tbsp. cornstarch for dusting

For the filling:

• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small ginger root, minced
• 1 cup of cabbage, chopped
• 2 tbsp. of rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• Salt, pepper for taste
• Adapted from Foods of Jane

For the dipping sauce:

• 1/3 cup of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. of honey
• 1 tsp. of sesame oil
• Red pepper flakes, for heat

How to make it

1. Boil the water you’ll use to make your wrappers. It will likely cut the amount of water you have to work with in half and that’s okay!
2. In a mixing bowl, add your AP flour and season with a little salt. Slowly mix in the water, working the flour and water with your hands in between pours (be careful: the water is hot). Eventually, a sort of silly putty should begin to form. Keep working until you’ve used all of the water, or until you can form your dough into a ball.
3. Transfer to a floured surface and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Roll it out so that it’s fairly thin. I typically go for about a 5 on my pasta machine, but if you’re hand rolling, roll until it’s not quite translucent and you’re not afraid of rips.
4. Use a round cookie cutter (or trace a can/ mason jar/ etc.) to get circles that are about 3 in. wide. Dust with a little cornstarch so that they don’t stick to the surface and set aside.
5. Heat your cabbage in a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until the cabbage begins to soften (about ~5 minutes).
6. Combine your filling ingredients (including your cabbage) into a large bowl and mix. Add everything back into your skillet and cook until the pork is cooked through (~6 minutes).
7. To make each gyoza, set the wrapper in front of you and place about a tbsp. of filling in the center. You don’t want to over-stuff. Use water to wet the edges of the wrapper and fold in half.
8. Here’s the tricky part, and it definitely gets better with practice. Begin at the right corner of your now half moon shape. Press about a finger tip’s width of wrapper together, then with the portion of the wrapper immediately next to it, make a small fold over that pressed together piece. Press together and repeat, making your way across the gyoza (see photo above).
9. Choose to either steam or pan fry your gyoza. I typically choose to pan fry, because I luv fat. In a non-stick skillet, add some vegetable oil and a little water. Heat it up. Add your gyoza on one side and cover. Leave for 2-3 minutes, and then flip to the other side.
10. Combine all ingredients for your dipping sauce.
11. Plate, serve, cry because it’s so good. Power through any hangover you could ever have ever again.