Pork and cabbage for the win! A combination that transcends continents. Gyoza are Japanese “pot-sticker” dumplings, usually filled with ground pork and cabbage, though shrimp is also common.

I love this preparation because it is primarily made of local ingredients I often have on hand (pork and cabbage) but of course with the Japanese pantry items that take it in a completely different direction.

This is a very simple recipe. The only nuance is that you should grind the pork in the manner described in this sausage-making introduction. In other words, the pork should be about 25-35% fat by volume (pork butt is ideal), and should be properly chilled before grinding, and should be thoroughly mixed with liquid (soy sauce in this case) to develop a cohesive texture. Of course, if you have to use regular or lean ground pork from the grocery store everything will be fine, just the filling won’t be as moist and cohesive.

Gyoza

Ingredients

• 454 g ground pork (preferably quite fatty, and ground in the style described in this post on sausage-making…
• 25 g soy sauce
• 20 g garlic, finely minced
• 20 g ginger, finely grated
• 40 g green onion, sliced
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 225 g nappa cabbage, very finely sliced
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 50 round gyoza or wonton wrappers

Procedure

1. Toss the sliced cabbage with the salt and sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes on the counter.
2. Meanwhile, combine the ground pork, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment on speed 2 until the meat has come to together and become quite sticky, roughly 2-3 minutes.
3. Press the cabbage and strain off the liquid that accumulates in the bowl.
4. Add the strained cabbage to the pork mixture. Mix with the paddle attachment until the cabbage is thoroughly incorporated, roughly 1 minute.
5. Divide the mixture into roughly 15 g portions. I use a tablespoon.
6. Wet the perimeter of a wrapper. Put a portion of the meat mixture in the centre and fold in this method.

Yield: about 50 yummy Gyoza