Gyoza is the term for Japanese dumplings. While there are a variety of fillings you can use, pork and cabbage dumplings are among the most popular. While making dumplings at home might seem daunting, they are a million times better than from frozen. If you follow my recommendations, this easy pork and cabbage gyoza recipe can come together in under an hour! Edit: This was one of my first posts when I started this blog in 2019; I have since updated this post for clearer instructions and better photography, but the recipe remains the same!
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What is Gyoza?
Gyoza is the name for Japanese dumplings. They are usually some sort of meat and vegetable filling wrapped in a circular skin made from flour and water. But, to be honest, I don’t really know how to classify what type of cuisine my dumplings are. My Chinese grandmother makes dumplings like this too. Are Chinese dumplings and Japanese dumplings all that different? Japanese gyoza are almost always pan fried, while Chinese dumplings can be cooked a variety of ways. However, the fillings can sometimes taste almost exactly the same to me. I know Korean and Thai families who make dumplings that taste somewhat similar as well.
Ingredients for Pork and Cabbage Gyoza
Speaking of differences, the filling variations for dumplings are endless and are unique to each family. Honestly, I often don’t really measure the ingredients I put into the fillings and just dump whatever is left in the fridge. I usually use some combination of pork, cabbage, green onion, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Some options for fillings you can try include:
- Carrot
- Spinach
- Yam noodles
- Leek
- Chives
- Crab
- Shrimp
- Chicken
- Water chestnut
- Potato
- Cheese?
I put a question mark next to cheese because that would not be a very Asian ingredient to try. But doesn’t it sound kind of good? Yes? No? Russian dumplings can have cheese, right? I’ll save this highly controversial topic for another post.
Ways to Cook Dumplings
Dumplings can be boiled, steamed, pan fried, or deep fried. Although Japanese gyoza are almost always pan fried, I always boil my dumplings because it is the easiest and fastest way for me to cook a whole bunch of them at once. It’s also the easiest way for me to tell that they’re finished cooking. After you’ve boiled them, you can still pan fry them too. I often do that with leftovers. Best of both worlds! If you’re going to pan fry them only, stick them on an oiled skillet. Pour in about 1-2 tbsp of water and then cover with the lid. Check to see if the dumplings are cooked through after 5 minutes, then continue pan frying until the water is evaporated and the bottoms of the gyoza get crispy.
(If you’re going to steam them, I highly suggest getting a bamboo steamer. I use it for most of my steamed mochi recipes as well!)
How to Fold an Asian Dumpling
I will be the first to say that I am NOT an expert on folding dumplings. I honestly learned just from watching some videos. At home growing up, we used those plastic dumpling molds you can get from Daiso or other Asian markets (or Amazon). This is great if you’re new to dumpling making and short on time. But the problem with those is that you can’t get enough filling in the middle. It takes a lot of work and practice, but once you get it down, folding by hand is totally worth it. I’ll try to describe my way of folding dumplings as best as I can in the instructions, but I highly recommend watching some videos of dumpling folding. Here’s mine:
In the beginning, you will probably be really slow. You may find that your filling leaks out or that you can barely get any filling in your wrapper at all. First step, stay calm. Don’t cry over spilt dumplings filling. Everyone goes through a learning curve! I recommend buying an extra pack of dumpling skins in case you can’t use up all your filling with just one pack.
Of course, you could make your own dumpling skins from scratch. Homemade dumpling wrappers often have more elasticity so they’re easier to fold. However, I typically do not make my own. Just filling and folding the dumplings is enough work for me, thanks. Maybe I need to have like three more children, and when they’re old enough to be my little dumpling folding servants I’ll make my own dumpling wrappers from scratch.
Dumpling making may be labor intensive, but I promise that it’s really fun. So grab a few friends, have a dumpling party, and give it a try!
Easy Pork and Cabbage Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 head napa cabbage
- 2-3 stalks green onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 packages store bought dumpling skin (can use homemade too)
Instructions
- Give the cabbage, green onions, and garlic a rough chop.
- Add grated ginger and dump everything in the food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are very finely sliced. (Alternatively, you can slice everything by hand).
- Add pork, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Either mix by hand or in the food processor (if big enough to hold all the filling).
- Get out your dumpling wrappers. Scoop about a tablespoon of filling onto one of the wrappers, placing it off center. With a finger dipped in water, wet the circumference of the dumpling skin, tracing the edges.
- Hold the dumpling skin like a taco. Starting from the part of the skin closest to the filling, pinch the two sides of the "taco" together at one end. Then, fold over a small portion of dumpling wrapper onto the portion you just pinched to create the overlapping pleats. Pinch the two sides together again. Repeat until you've completely folded and pinched all the edges of the dumpling wrapper together. I recommend looking up a video if it's your first time.
- Repeat until you've used up all your fillings. This may take you a long time in the beginning, but the more you practice the faster you get. It will also help to have more than one person folding dumplings at a time.
- If boiling, bring a large pot of water to boil. Place 5-8 dumplings in the boiling water (depending on how big your pot is). You'll know the dumplings are cooked when the skin becomes translucent and they float to the top. It should take only 3-5 minutes, depending on how much filling you managed to stuff in your dumplings. I also recommend cutting the first dumpling open to double check it's cooked all the way through.
- If pan frying, line dumplings on a well oiled skillet over medium high heat. Pour in 1-2 tbsp of water, depending on how big of a skillet you're using. Immediately cover with a lid and steam for 5 minutes, checking for doneness after. Let water boil off and continue pan frying until bottoms are crispy.
- Eat the cooked dumplings fresh with your favorite dipping sauce (I like soy sauce + vinegar). Or add them to your favorite soup dish.
Notes
More Easy Japanese Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, take a look at my other Japanese recipes: