I spent some time with my Japanese friend recently who very kindly offered to teach me how to make gyoza, those succulent Japanese dumplings that both kids and adults adore. Thank you, Ritsuko Chuter.

Over at my place, Asian food is a big deal and if I can make anything that is “legit” as my husband would say, it’s smiles all round and happy tummies. My kids love Asian food and that would make sense as they’re half Chinese. I love it because it’s so tasty and there’s always such a variety of food on the table, something for everyone. It’s very communal and a great way to get your kids trying different flavours.

I also love this kind of food because you can put in all kinds of things like extra veggies and herbs. I’m always trying to get as much nutrition into my family as possible.

I’m not a natural cook. It doesn’t come easily to me. However, I will experiment and I will give anything and everything a go. You could say I’m a “yes” lady.

Only recently I made gyoza on my own and changed the recipe up a bit, according to what I had in the fridge. My husband Richie (Aussie born Chinese) scored them 5/5 in terms of a winner for home cooking (this is generous, he’s a hard scorer usually) but 3/5 on the Japanese authenticity scale (this is because I didn’t follow the recipe the second time – ha ha, it’s no reflection on you Ritsuko!).

In a separate sitting I asked my daughter Eedi (7 years old) what she thought. She gave Ritsuko’s gyozas 5/5 and mine 3/5. There is work to be done!

Here’s the original recipe from the master – take it away Ritsuko and again – many thanks:

Gyoza Ingredients

Pork mince – 150g (I try to get free range and organic) This can be substituted for other meat or prawns or a mixture of both.

Garlic chives – 1 bunch or about 30–40g (finely chopped)

Cabbage – 60g (finely chopped)

Ginger – 1 small piece, grated finely

Garlic – 1 clove, grated finely

Oyster sauce – 1Tbsp

Sake – 1tsp

Soy sauce – 1tsp

Sesame oil – 1tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Pepper – 1 pinch

Gow gee wrappers – 1–2 packets (can be bought from an Asian supermarket)

Gyoza Method

Chop garlic chives and cabbage finely.
Grate garlic and ginger or chop very finely.
Mix chives and cabbage with the pork, garlic and ginger.
Next put in sake in sake to reduce the smell of the meat. The rule in Japanese cooking is “sake – soy – vinegar”, put them in in that order.
Next add oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and mix it all up.
Now make your shapes: Wet your finger and wet the edge of the gow gee wrapper all the way around – this will help it to stick together.
Next, place a teaspoon of the meat mixture into the middle. With the semi-circle edge that is facing you, pleat it and stick it to the flat back of the other side of the semi-circle. This also creates a flat area on the bottom so you can pan-fry your gyoza.
Once they’re all done you can cook them in the pan: Place a thin layer of oil in your pan (I use coconut oil) and put it on medium to high heat. Place all the gyoza into the pan (you may need to do them in rounds) and wait for a slight sizzle, then add 1 cup of water so they’re in 1cm of water, and put the lid on.
Cook for 3–5 minutes or until all the water evaporates.

The bottom of the pan can easily burn at the end so be careful about that and reduce the heat towards the end.

Repeat cooking in batches or freeze them using baking paper in between the layers and sprinkle some flour on them so they don’t stick together.

End result – mmmmm – they were sooooo good!

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