Gyoza (Chinese Potstickers)

Since I was born in Taiwan, I have always loved Chinese food.  One of my favorite memories is going to the "Gyoza House" after church Sunday evenings to order gyoza and moo shu pork.  I would literally pig out on both.  Did I just admit that?  Gyoza (or potstickers as some Americans will call them), had to be one of my favorite foods growing up.  When we moved back to the States in the early 80's, it was hard to find good gyoza, so we learned to make them ourselves.  To the best of my ability, I will try to get the recipe right.  It is hard, since a lot of it is just throwing in, or sprinkling in some seasoning by sight, but this will be as accurate as I can get.  My 1 and 3 year old LOVE them as well.  I am so happy.  They are a great way to get some spinach into their diets!  So here we go...

Gather your ingredients, and place in a large bowl...

Mix just until well combined...

Use the round gyoza wrappers if you can find them... (You'll need about two packages.)

Working with about 6 at a time (so the wrappers don't dry out), place a generous couple teaspoons of mixture in the middle of each wrapper.  (A tablespoon might be too much.)

Have a small bowl with water handy, and with your finger, dip it in the water, then around half the edges of the wrapper...

Fold the wrapper in half, and press well to seal the entire seam...

Next, starting from one side, made "folds" on the top part of the seam and crimp it well...about 4 or 5 should do it.

Place in a bamboo steamer that has either a Chinese cabbage leaf lining, or a wet cloth cut to fit... (I place my bamboo steamer directly in my wok, that has a generous amount of water underneath.  Bring water to boil.)

Steam them for a good 18 minutes, adding more hot water as necessary.  Serve with a small bowl of soy sauce that has a tiny splash of both white vinegar and sesame oil added. 

YUM!

Gyoza (Chinese Potstickers)

1 lb. ground pork
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 box of chopped frozen spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry
1/2 cup shredded and chopped Chinese cabbage (use rest of leaves to line bamboo steamer)
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
Several dashes each of white pepper, black pepper, and salt
1 to 2 Tbs. of sesame oil (your call)
1 to 2 Tbs. of soy sauce (your call)

Gyoza wrappers (1 or 2 packages, can be found in either produce or freezer section of store)

Dipping Sauce
Soy sauce (mainly)
Small splash of white vinegar
Small splash of sesame oil
~Combine in a small bowl, and garnish with green onion slices if desired.

~Mix the pork with all of the ingredients until just well combined.  Place a generous 2 teaspoons of mixture in the middle of each wrapper.  (It is a good idea to work with about 6 at a time as to not dry out the wrappers.)  Wet one half of each wrapper with water with your finger.  Fold in half and seal well.  Fold or crimp 4 or 5 times starting on one side of seal, and working your way to the other.  Place in a cabbage lined (or wet cloth lined), bamboo steamer.  Once water has come to a boil, steam for a good 18 minutes, adding more hot water as necessary.  (You can freeze uncooked gyoza individually on a cookie sheet, once frozen, remove from sheet and place in a freezer bag.  To cook from frozen state, steam for 25 minutes.)

Serve with dipping sauce.  Have chopsticks handy, steamed rice, and whatever else sounds yummy!  I served mine with some Asian flavored broccoli.

Enjoy!