I like Gyoza!

              Gyoza is a one of kinds of dumpling that originally came from China. It is usually made of flour pastry filled with grinded pork and chopped vegetables. In Japan, Gyoza is really familiar as a family’s dish.

              There are many kinds of Gyoza stemmed from its way to cook. Generally, people cook Gyoza on a pan with strong heat. But we sometimes steam or boil them to get different taste. My favorite is actually boiled Gyoza with spicy soup. My mother used to cook it before I moved to Tokyo to attend my university. I really love Gyoza, and you will love it after you know that Gyoza is not only tasty also gives you a fun when you cook it.

              First step to make Gyoza starts at making wrappers that will cover ingredients. Prepare the bleached flour and warm water. Mix both them well with a hint of salt, after knead them until it becomes soft as earlobes place it in the fridge with a wrap for a half to an hour. Put it out the fridge onto a wood table veiled with flour, roll out into thin pieces. Cut with a cup placing upside down and repeat this until make 20 to 30 wrappers.

              Next step is making a staff inside Gyoza. Prepare ingredients; vegetables and grinded pork, seasonings. Chop the chives and cabbage, grate ginger and garlic. Combine the pork and them with salt and pepper and the oils into a large bowl. Ix everything together with your hands, making sure the mixture is not lumpy. Place the bowl into the fridge for 10 minutes.

              Then it is a fun time. Third step is making pre-Gyoza. Take a wrapper and place a small spoonful of the mixture in the middle. Dab a little water on the half of the wrapper’s edge and fold in two to make a semi-circle. While folding, pinch the two sides together and create waves while pinching. Repeat this step for all the wrappers.

              Finally, oil and heat a skillet on the stove. Put it medium heat and drop 8 to 10 pre-Gyoza making a circle. Fry them for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat. Add half a cup of water and cover it with a pan lid. Steam them until water evaporates. Add quarter a cup of flour water and wait until it gets a little burned. This step is called “Hane” meaning making wings. Then, place them on a plate, and we are ready to eat. This is the normal fried Gyoza.

There are many ways to enjoy Gyoza by changing ingredients like pork to shrimps, using different source, making original form of your Gyoza. That is why I love this food. We can enjoy using our ideas while cooking and eating. Gyoza is a really fun food.