Mushroom Gyoza- Little Samurai Dumplings of Deliciousness

I love a dumpling- and always want to order them when I'm eating out at a Japanese restaurant..and I love Yum Cha.. ( aka Dim Sum) although have sadly not had it nearly enough since moving here from Aus.. and it's quite tricky to get vegetarian dumplings at Yum Cha. 

Fortunately, I once lived with Manri- my lovely Japanese flatmate- and she taught me how easy it is to DIY your own gyoza dumplings, which allows you to experiment with your own fillings. 

And so- recently, I experimented again... And these little beauties came into being. 

Now- these ARE a bit of a fiddle to make- but I have to say I make a whole lot all at once- it's quite theraputic to stuff & fold, stuff & fold, stuff & fold. After a while you do start to get your folding technique sorted quite quickly. I then freeze the ones we don't use immediately. The frozen goyza aren't quite as delicious as freshly made gyoza but hey- quick dumplings for a speedy mid-week dinner? Maybe with some noodles or some miso soup and stir fry veggies to help out = Dinner WIN! 

 Now- I neglected to take pics of exactly how I folded the little parcels. But you essentially put a small teaspoon of the stuffing mix on one side of the gyoza wrapper, then slightly wet the edge with a bit of water, fold the other half over and sort of fold and press to make the dumpling. I'm fairly certain there are tutorials out there on Youtube that will help. Hey- one day I plan on making my own.. watch this space. 

Mushroom Gyoza: aka Samurai Dumplings

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Author: Louise-Claire Cayzer

Ingredients

For the Gyoza

• 2 packs gyoza wrappers
• 5 dried shitake mushrooms.
• 175 grams chestnut mushrooms
• 1 large (or 2 small leeks)
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• ½ tsp granulated konbu (dashi) stock (or other vegetarian boullion)
• 1 Tbs Mirin or other sweet wine (or water and a small sprinkle of sugar or honey)
• 1 Tbs fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil

For the Dipping Sauce

• 3 Tbs Soya Sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
• a drop of sesame oil

Instructions

For the Filling

• Soak the shitake mushrooms in hot water for half an hour or so. Save the broth for miso soup!
• Meanwhile, very very finely chop the leek and other mushrooms very finely.
• Then, for the now re-hydrated shitake mushrooms, trim off the quite woody stem, then mince finely.
• Add the leeks, garlic, ginger and chilli to a frypan, sweat until soft.
• Add the mushrooms, konbu stock powder, mirin and soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Cook until combined and soft.
• Let cool.

To Stuff

• Set yourself up a station with the filling, gyoza wrappers, a small dish of water and a greaseproof paper lined tray to recieve the made dumplings.
• On each dumpling, put a scant teaspoon of filling, on one half slightly wet the edge, then fold the other edge over the filling, pleating the edge and pressing down to form the half moon shaped dumpling.

To Cook

• Prepare a frying pan- to which you have a lid that just fits inside it, with a bit of vegetable oil so that the pan is hot enough to gently fry.
• Boil the kettle.
• Place as many dumplings as you dare inside ( my small/standard pan lets me cook 8 at a time), flat side down.
• Fry the dumplings until a little golden and crispy underneath.
• Pour 1cm of boiling water from the kettle into the pan and clamp the lid on top.
• This will then steam the dumplings.
• Once the water evaporates.. you're ready to serve!

Notes

I buy gyoza wrappers from the Japan Centre in London. But they are really easily to find in pretty much any Chinese or Japanese (Asian) grocery store. I buy them frozen & keep them in the freezer until about an hour before I want to use them.