My Best Pork Dumplings (Gyoza) Recipe

Whether you call them potstickers, gyoza, or just dumplings, one thing for sure is they are awesome. These are more of a "gyoza" because of the flavours used. The filling is a classic pork and cabbage (the best kind, IMO), but read on and I'll share many secrets to making the juiciest, most delicious filling that will beat any restaurant. And don't forget to watch the video tutorial for both the pretty and quick ways to wrap dumplings!

Ingredients

Here are all ingredients you'll need for these to-die-for pork dumplings:

• White peppercorns (black is okay too)
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Napa cabbage
• Salt
• Ground pork (preferably not lean)
• Toasted sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• Dashi powder (optional but highly recommended; if not using add 1 tsp more soy sauce)
• Sugar
• Tapioca starch or cornstarch
• Garlic chives or green onions
• Dumpling wrappers, store bought

Dipping Sauce

• Rice vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Sugar (optional, but Thai people like to add this to lessen the sharpness of the vinegar)
• A little drizzle of rayu (Japanese chili garlic oil, optional but highly recommend!) You can also use another chili oil of your choice.

How to Make Pork Dumplings

Here's a bird's eye view of how to make these tasty dumplings, but be sure the watch the video tutorial, and also read the following section about tips for making these dumplings extra good!

1. Pound the garlic, white peppercorns, and ginger into a paste.
2. Separate the stems from the leaves of napa cabbage.
3. Finely dice the stems.
4. Chop the leaves into ribbons.

5. Saute the herb paste until aromatic, then add the napa cabbage stems.
6. Cook until the stems are soft and looks like a thick paste.
7. Add the napa cabbage leaves and cook until the leaves are wilted and the mixture is mostly dry.

9. Combine all of the seasonings, starch and the pork.
10. Knead well until the mixture looks like a fine paste.
11. Add the cooled cabbage mixture and the garlic chives.
12. Mix gently until well combined.

13. Wet the edges of the dumpling wrapper and fill with about a tablespoon of filling.
14. Pleat the dumplings if you wish, or keep them unpleated. (See video tutorial for how to pleat dumplings.) You can freeze them at this point.
15. Pan fry the dumplings in oil in a skillet until the bottoms are golden brown.
16. Add some water to the pan to create steam.

17. Close the lid and steam the dumplings for 3-5 minutes. Then open the lid and allow excess moisture to evaporate.
18. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Folding the Dumplings

In the video I show you how to make dumplings with no pleats and lots of pleats. Pleats look nicer, clearly, but if you're not concerned about looks, here are some things to consider:

Pros of not pleating:

• Way less work, obviously.
• Without pleats, you can put more filling in and make dumplings with higher meat-to-wrapper ratio. Bigger dumplings = fewer dumplings = even less work.
• With no folded parts, the wrapper remains thin all throughout the dumpling. This makes a difference if your dumpling wrapper is on the thicker or chewier side.

Cons of not pleating:

• They won't naturally form the crescent shape, so you have to make sure to manually bend them (see video for how to do this). Without the crescent shape they won't be able to sit up and you won't get those nice browned, seared bottoms.

Pork Dumpling Recipe Secrets & Tips

As I was testing out this recipe, I discovered many tricks and tips that have made a big difference. You'll want to give it a try!

Secret #1: Key to Juicy Dumpling Filling

The most important factor for a juicy filling is the fat content of the ground pork. There is little you can do if you're starting out with pork that is too lean.

Many Western stores only carry lean ground pork, so check out Asian grocery stores which often have "regular" ground pork that is fattier.

If you have access to ground pork with different fat content percentages, shoot for 25-30% fat. For comparison, lean ground pork in Canada has a maximum of 17% fat, and regular ground pork is max 30%.

Secret #2: How to Keep ALL the Flavour In

Many recipes will ask that you salt the cabbage to draw out moisture, or boil and squeeze the daylight out of them to get rid of excess liquid. That's fine, but you lose a lot of that sweet napa cabbage flavour and not to mention nutrients!

I came across a technique from Lisa Lin of Healthy Nibbles, where she sautés the cabbage so that in the process of removing the liquid, the flavour gets concentrated rather than removed. Brilliant!

Secret #3: How to Keep the Meat Juices In

Starch! When meat cooks, muscle fibers tighten and the juice gets squeezed out. We all know this by experience of cooking burger patties. The little bit of added cornstarch or tapioca starch helps absorb and retain this juice inside.

Secret #4: How to Add Extra Umami

Dashi powder! Also called "hon dashi," it's a Japanese fish stock powder that adds umami and those iconic Japanese flavours. This is my secret weapon, which I've also used in my garlic fried rice recipe.

Secret #5: Getting the Right Texture

You don't want to just mix the meat, you want to knead it for a period of time. This develops the protein and make the filling smoother and "bouncier", as opposed to having that coarse burger patty texture.

Secret #6: Serve it With This

Honestly, these are so flavourful you do not need to serve them with any condiment, though I do think that they benefit from the simple soy-vinegar dipping sauce to balance the richness. But for MAX flavour, try adding "rayu" or "layu", which is Japanese chili oil with crispy garlic, sesame oil, and other delicious seasonings. If you've never had this, try it and you'll want to put it on everything!

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

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