Sunday, March 15, 2009

Go Gyoza!

On weekends when I don't have huge plans I like to undertake cooking projects that I have never attempted before. I will try things that I know are time consuming and tedious because it is so much fun for me. I love to cook and I love to experiment with daring recipes. I have been wanting to make homemade gyoza or dumplings for a long time but my weekends have been too busy and jam packed. This past weekend I had my first free Saturday in a long time and I couldn't wait to jump right into the gyoza recipe I had been saving.

Stuffing the gyoza is the only detailed part of the entire recipe. Otherwise, cooking the stuffing and cooking the finished gyoza is simple. While stuffing the gyoza I knew I wouldn't be able to take pictures because the process is very intricate leaving no free hands for snapping pictures. I asked Forrest to help me out by taking some pictures as I stuffed and folded the gyoza, but we quickly realized that still pictures didn't convey the steps properly. I decided that a video was the best way to demonstrate the steps. For me, listening to my voice is like nails on a chalkboard so I chose not to narrate the steps in the video. I asked Forrest to do it because he has a much more pleasant voice (he used to host a sports talk radio show in college - he wants me to tell you that). He agreed because he is supportive. Ok, really - he agreed because I begged him.

Pork Gyoza
Adapated from Cooking Light November 2006

Yield

10 servings (serving size: 3 pot stickers)

Ingredients
  • Cooking spray
  • 8 ounces of 50% less fat pork sausage
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions (about 2)
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 cups packaged cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 30 gyoza skins
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1 cup water
Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 6 minutes or until done, stirring to crumble. Add 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper and stir. Add onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil; cook 30 seconds.

Stir in coleslaw,

and cook 30 seconds or until cabbage wilts, stirring frequently.

Combine 3 tablespoons water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pork mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

Place pork mixture in a food processor

and process until the pork is ground into smaller chunks, only a few pulses of the food processor. Do not puree.

Working with 1 gyoza skin at a time (cover remaining skins to prevent drying), spoon 1 scant tablespoon pork mixture into center of each skin. Moisten edges of skin with water. Fold in half, pinching edges together to seal. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer (cover loosely with a towel to prevent drying).





When all skins are filled, remove towel

and cover with plastic wrap; freeze until firm for about 30 minutes. Place in zip-top plastic bags, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Arrange frozen pot stickers in pan in a single layer; cook 2 minutes or until browned on bottom.

Add 1 cup water to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes.

Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

These gyoza were actually a lot easier than I had anticipated. Cooking the stuffing took all of 10 minutes and after the third gyoza the crimping/stuffing method became a breeze. They were very delicious and pretty and I love the fact that they are all frozen in the freezer and I can cook as many as I want at a time. They only take about 10-15 minutes out of the freezer which makes them worth the upfront time to stuff them all in order to have the special treats waiting in the freezer at your disposal.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum yum yum!!! These look great! I love dumplings. At my sushi recipe they serve gyozas in a clear broth soup. Maybe you can try that with a few of the gyozas. Wish I was there to taste and make fun of Forrest in his video debut!

Your Sister,

Jessica

Anonymous said...

They turned out perfect...and I love the pretty presentation in the first picture!

Anonymous said...

What a great narration! Your cameraman deserves a gold star for his filming contribution. Steven Spielberg: move over! Your gyosa look incredibly delicious.

Nikki said...

These look really good - we may have to try them! And thanks for the video, it worked perfectly for explaining that step! Oh, and I'm the same way as you in terms of trying some daring recipes on weekends cuz like to!

Kerstin said...

I'm really impressed - they look great! And yummy too.

MaryBeth said...

Great job Elizabeth...They are perfect.

Anonymous said...

I've never made homemade gyoza before, but I love to eat them. I'll have to try them out.

Sara said...

I also do my more time consuming recipes on weekends. I've never made gyoza before, yours look great!

Anonymous said...

They are absolutely beautiful and I love the how-to video!!

Spryte said...

YUM!!! I LOVE gyoza!

Mary Ellen said...

These look delicious! I also love when I have a few hours to experiment with a new recipe. It's my favorite thing to do on the weekends!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Beautiful job!!

teresa said...

These are one of my very favorite foods! Yours look beautiful!!

Woody said...

I like the diabetes stuff in the background of the video.

I miss my radio show but a guest spot on my wife's blog is always good.