Gyoza

One of the benefits of having an unemployed husband is that he has way more time to help out around the house. He now cleans, does dishes, and does almost half of all cooking and other food related stuff. I love the little things, like how he brings me coffee while I'm working, or how he's got my cereal preferences down perfectly. Which doesn't seem like much but it's an amazing feat considering the intricately constructed bowl I prefer: a mix of granola (for crunch), brown rice flakes (for flavour) and All Bran (for fiber) with chopped walnuts, raisins and fresh banana, all layered just so according to how well they keep their crunch once milk is added.

But he can do more than pour cereal: he now cooks actual meals, something he hasn't done regularly in a long time. A recent meal was gyoza (Japanese style jiaozi, or potstickers), something I've been bugging him to make for ages, and although he used store-bought wraps rather than homemade they were just as delicious as I remembered. He also made a sukju namul (a Korean style appetizer made with bean sprouts) and a simple soup with hakusai (Chinese cabbage), carrot and meatballs made from excess gyoza filling. He also made sure there was a cold happoshu in the fridge, because few things are as good with beer (or beer-like beverages) than gyoza and sukju namul.

This was the first batch, perfectly cooked until crisp on the bottom.

Inside the gyoza: ground pork, nira (garlic chives), ginger and garlic. They are dipped in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot sauce.

The second batch was finished with a very thin batter of flour and water, which resulted in a paper-thin layer around each gyoza that was pure crunch.

Look at all of that crispy brown goodness!

I plan on pestering him mercilessly until he cooks them again. And this time he better make the skins from scratch.

Comments

[Sharon]

Amy, would you consider posting a recipe for the gyoza? These look delicious!

I'd love to know how to make your own gyoza skins as well.

Thanks!

[astrorainfall]

Wow, I'm really impressed with the gyoza meal and the CEREAL. Your man certainly pays attention to the finer details.

Chanced upon your blog from 7:10 — loving it! Your photos are droolworthy...

[Christie @ Fig & Cherry]

Lucky you! I wish my hubby made me gyoza! :)

[buyo]

Handmade skin are SOOO MUCH harder to make but SOOO MUCH better tasting! XD

[Heidih]

That is some amazing crust on those potstickers. Can you give more detail on how that thin crust with the flour/water slurry was actually executed. It sounds like something fun to put on the table.

[Amy]

Sharon, he doesn't really follow a recipe (he used to work in a ramen shop so is familiar with gyoza). There are dozens of recipes online in English, with quite a bit of variation, and this one looks good: http://www.wasabibratwurst.com/gyoza-recipe/

Thanks for stopping by, Astrorainfall!

Christie, he doesn't make gyoza so often but yeah, I guess I'm lucky!

Buyo, I agree, but it takes so much longer. We've decided that for yaki-gyoza (fried) it's not necessary to make the wraps, but for sui-gyoza (boiled) it's really worth the extra effort.

Heidih, I didn't watch him do it but this is what he said: Use 1 Tbsp flour to 1 cup water and add it at the same time as you'd normally add water. Cook as usual (cover and steam on medium-low) for about 10 minutes or until water has mostly evaporated. Then remove lid, turn heat to med-high and cook for one minute or until the crusts are golden and crispy.

[zee]

Amy, staring at your gyoza made me hungry.. Ooh, I wish I can eat it right now. But then, maybe I'll try to make some. I would love to be able to make my own gyoza. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Aspasia]

Those gyoza look amazing. I need to find someone I can convince into making me some ;)

[Mari L'Esperance]

Amy, can your husband come over to cook for us?! We're a bit far away (Oakland, CA, to be exact)... I knew there was a silver lining to his losing his job! Enjoy those husband-cooked meals while they last... : )

[Amy]

Zee, gyoza aren't that hard to make, just a little time consuming. The only problem is they disappear so quickly once they're cooked, so the reward for all that work is short-lived.

Aspasia, I'm sure you can convince the man of the house. If my man can do it, anyone's can.

Mari, he'd love to! He loves loves loves California and still hopes to live there again some day.