Gyoza

One of my all time favorite foods. It's usually served as an appetizer but makes a good entree too. There are a lot of different ways to prepare gyoza (aka potstickers), so you can adjust the recipe to suit your tastes.

1 package won ton wrappers*
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups chopped cabbage
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Heat sesame oil and soy sauce in a large skillet over medium high heat. Mix in cabbage, onion, garlic and carrot. Cook and stir until cabbage is limp. Mix in ground pork and egg. Cook until pork is evenly brown and egg is no longer runny. The filling can be a little bland, so salt, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, etc. to taste.

Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the cabbage and pork mixture in the center of each wrapper. Fold wrappers in half over filling, and seal edges with moistened fingers.*

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook gyoza approximately 1 minute per side, until lightly browned.* Pour water into skillet and reduce heat. Cover and allow gyoza to steam until the water is gone.

Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar for dipping sauce*. Serve with hot rice.

*Kayla's Notes

-You can find won ton wrappers in just about any grocery store in the refrigerated section. It always takes me like 20 minutes to find them, so just keep looking. They're there, I promise!

-I like my filling pretty minced, so I usually throw everything in the blender for a few pulses after cooking. It makes filling the wrappers easier since you don't have large chunks of pork or vegetables getting in the way.

-The filling does well in the fridge for a few days (probably in the freezer as well). Filling and sealing the wrappers is a little time consuming when you do the whole shebang, so we like to fill just as many as we need for that meal and throw the rest in the fridge. It's pretty quick to fill 5 or 6 at lunchtime the next day and it makes for easy leftovers.

-If you're one of those weirdos who likes their gyoza deep fried instead of steamed (I won't judge), just add a little more oil to the pan and fry. Use a slotted spoon to remove and forget about the water step.

-You can buy gyoza dipping sauce in the international foods sections of all our local grocery stores. We usually like it better than the homemade stuff and it tends to be pretty strong, so a little goes a long way.