Fun weekend project: make your own gyoza
When people think of Japanese cuisine, they often think of sushi, Wagyu, yakitori and fresh tuna. But Tim Anderson, the ultimate expert on Japanese cuisine, shows that Japanese cuisine is actually largely plant-based at its core, and that vegetarian recipes can easily be transformed into plant-based dishes by replacing one or two ingredients. In his book Vegan JapanEasy, Tim teaches you how to stock a Japanese pantry and use essential flavorings such as miso, dashi and mushrooms for delicious snacks, ramen, noodle and rice dishes. And he tells you how to make your own gyoza!
Tim: “Making gyoza takes some practice, but it isn’t difficult – and once you get into the flow, repeatedly folding and pleating becomes a lovely meditative task that you do without even thinking about it. If you’re making a lot of gyoza, you can make them together with friends or family, turning it into a fun and social activity (making gyoza and gossiping go hand in hand).”
“Oh yes, gyoza are even easier to make if you use ready-made wrappers from the freezer – nobody in Japan looks down on that either, but you will have to go to an Asian supermarket. Or follow the recipe for gyoza wrappers. I’m known for not being very good with dough, but this works perfectly for me, and it’s made with pantry ingredients you probably already have at home. And remember: even failed gyoza taste good, so don’t worry if the pleats aren’t perfect. True beauty comes from within.”
How to make the gyoza wrappers
- Stir the wheat flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. While stirring with a spoon or spatula, gradually add the hot water. Once all the water has been added, knead with your hands. When a ball of dough forms, it should be soft and very dry; the dough may feel too dry, and that’s fine because it will become more moist as it rests. Let the dough slide onto the counter and dust it with some cornstarch. Knead it for about 10 minutes until smooth. (If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can use that too – after a few minutes, you’ll have a ball of dough.)
- Roll the dough into 2 sausages approximately 2.5 cm thick. Wrap them in plastic wrap and let them rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Unwrap the dough – it should now be firmer and less dry. Dust the counter with some extra cornstarch and cut each sausage into slices approximately 5 mm thick – you can cut about 20 slices from each sausage. Roll each slice between your hands into a ball, then roll each ball out on the counter into a flat disc. Try to make them very thin, but not so thin that they become difficult to work with – 1 mm thick is a good aim, but 2 mm is fine too. Dust each wrapper with cornstarch and stack them. Cover the stack with a clean, slightly damp tea towel so the gyoza wrappers don’t dry out. If you don’t use them immediately, you can store them, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
How to make the kimchi and tofu filling
Tofu and kimchi are a kind of edible yin and yang. One is quiet and shy, the other aggressive and unpredictable. Together, they are perfectly balanced in this fantastic gyoza filling.
- Mix everything except the spring onions, wheat flour, salt and chili powder together in a bowl. Slide it into a frying pan and stir-fry for 10 minutes over medium-high heat until everything dries out and the garlic and ginger soften a little. When the tofu mixture is fairly dry and starts to brown, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spring onions and flour.
- Slide the contents of the pan into a bowl and let cool until you can handle it.
- Mix everything with your hands, crumbling the tofu as you do so (a few larger pieces are fine, but if there are too many, the filling won’t hold together). Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and chili powder if necessary. Fill and cook the gyoza.
How to make the garlic mushroom and bamboo shoot filling
I’m not a fan of vegan recipes that try to imitate meat – vegetables are delicious enough on their own, so no thanks – but when I tried this recipe, I still thought: damn, this is MEATY. You can’t convince people that this is pork, but the gyoza do have a similar juiciness and are just as filling and satisfying.
- Mix the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sesame oil, nutritional yeast flakes, pepper and ginger root together in a bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic until just golden brown. Add the mushroom mixture and stir-fry until most of the mushroom liquid has evaporated and about one-third of the original volume remains. Stir in the wheat flour and brown sugar. Taste and add salt to taste. Fill and cook the gyoza.
How to fold the gyoza
- When making gyoza, you need 6 things: the filling, the wrappers, a small bowl of water, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or dusted with cornstarch, a small spoon and a slightly damp tea towel or slightly damp kitchen paper.
- Place a few gyoza wrappers on the counter (I don’t know why, but I always work on 4 or 6 at a time). Moisten your fingertips with the water and dampen the edge of each wrapper (don’t use too much water, or the wrappers will become too soft).
- Spoon some filling into the center of each wrapper (a generous tablespoon), and seal the gyoza. There are 2 ways to do this. The easiest way (on the left in the image below) is as follows: fold the wrappers in half over the filling and pinch the edge closed so you have half-moons. You don’t need to pleat them or seal them beautifully, but make sure they are very well sealed. Then bring the ends of the half-moon together and press them firmly, creating tortelloni.
- The more difficult way, with which you’ll make a great impression!, is as follows: fold the wrappers in half over the filling but don’t seal them. Pinch the edges together on one side. Then use the index finger of your right hand (if you’re right-handed) to hold the filling in place while you pleat and seal the wrapper; use your thumb to pleat the side of the wrapper closest to you, pressing each pleat firmly onto the other side of the wrapper. You can make about 5 pleats in each gyoza. Pinch the other end closed. You now have a beautiful, traditional half-moon gyoza.
- Whichever folding method you use, place the gyoza on the lined or dusted baking sheet with the seam facing up, so they develop a flat bottom, and cover with a damp tea towel so they don’t dry out. Once all the gyoza have been filled, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until ready to use, but I wouldn’t keep them for more than a day because they can become soggy. (At this point, you can also freeze them on the baking sheet. Make sure they aren’t touching each other. Once frozen, you can put them in a freezer container or bag and cook them straight from the freezer.
Cooking the gyoza
To cook the gyoza, you need 3 things: approximately 1 tablespoon of oil, a good non-stick frying pan with a well-fitting lid and approximately 100 ml of water.
- Heat the oil in the pan over high heat and add the gyoza (as many as fit, or as many as you need – you can freeze the rest). When the gyoza start to sizzle, pour the water into the pan and cover with the lid.
- Steam for 5 minutes with the lid on the pan, remove the lid and let the water evaporate. The gyoza should then be crisp and golden brown on the bottom – lift one up to check. If they are still quite pale once the water has evaporated, simply cook them for a few minutes longer. Slide the gyoza onto a plate and serve with ‘gyoza sauce’: 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar, with a splash of chili or sesame oil.
Title: Vegan JapanEasy
Author: Tim Anderson
Price: €25.95
Publisher: Good Cook
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