Japanese Pork Dumplings

These Japanese-style pork gyoza combine a juicy pork, napa cabbage, chive, garlic, and ginger filling with crisp pan-fried bottoms and tender wrappers. Serve them hot with a tangy soy-vinegar dipping sauce.

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Prep Time 40

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1

Servings: 35 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Filling

450 g (1 lb) Ground pork, preferably not ultra-lean
300 g (about 10 oz) Napa cabbage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Fine salt, for salting the cabbage
50 g Garlic chives or Chinese chives, finely chopped
2 green onions Green onions, sliced, if not using garlic chives
2 cloves Garlic, finely grated or minced
1 tablespoon Fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sake
1 tablespoon Toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Ground white pepper

Wrappers

35-40 wrappers Round gyoza wrappers, about 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) in diameter

Cooking

1 tablespoon Neutral cooking oil
120 ml (1/2 cup) Water, approximately
1 teaspoon Toasted sesame oil, optional for finishing

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons Soy sauce
2 tablespoons Rice vinegar
To taste Chili oil or Japanese chili paste

Method

Step-by-Step

Finely chop the napa cabbage, toss it with 1 teaspoon salt, and leave it for 10–15 minutes. Squeeze it very firmly in a clean towel or with your hands until excess moisture is removed.
Combine the pork, drained cabbage, chives or green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper in a large bowl. Mix in one direction for 2–3 minutes until the mixture becomes sticky and cohesive.
Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the edge with water, fold the wrapper in half, then pleat or firmly seal the edges; cover finished dumplings with a slightly damp towel.
Heat the neutral oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange the dumplings flat-side down in one layer, leaving a little space between them.
Fry the dumplings for 2–3 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. Carefully add about 120 ml water and immediately cover the skillet.
Steam the dumplings for 5–7 minutes, until the wrappers are tender and the pork is fully cooked. Remove the lid and continue cooking until all water evaporates and the bottoms become crisp again.
Drizzle with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil if desired and serve immediately with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil or Japanese chili paste. Confirm the pork filling reaches 71°C (160°F).

Notes

Squeeze the cabbage thoroughly so the filling does not become loose or split the wrappers. Do not overfill; approximately 1 tablespoon per wrapper gives the cleanest seal and most even cooking. For crisp bottoms, use a nonstick skillet, add hot water when possible, and uncover long enough for every drop of moisture to evaporate.