Chicken Gyoza (Pot Stickers)

The world is divided into two camps.  Those who are good at origami and those who suck at it.  It always gave me a headache, but one of my daughters is a whiz.  One year she made beautiful paper crane ornaments for our Christmas tree, and every January I carefully pack them away, in awe of her dexterity.  If you're lucky enough to be in the good-at-origami camp, these Japanese pot stickers will be a breeze for you to make.   But don't despair if you're in the suck-at-it camp, these are waaaay easier than a paper crane, and anyway, the folds are purely decorative, so you can say the heck with it if you want to and just leave them plain.

At our favorite Japanese restaurant they serve amazing feather light chicken gyoza.  We always order some for the table the minute we arrive.  They come four to an order.  And we have a family of four.  So no one ever, ever gets to have two.  It's really frustrating.  (Another order is out of the question, they're really expensive!)

This recipe made 27 pot stickers, which means we each get to eat 6.75 of them.  That's reason enough to make these delicious little dumplings at home.

The gyoza wrappers are sold next to the wonton and egg roll wrappers, usually in a corner of the refrigerated section of your grocery store.  Ask for them if your store doesn't carry them, that's how I got mine.  These are similar but not the same as the square Wonton wrappers.

The filling is made up of ground chicken, minced napa cabbage, along with some scallion, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and fresh ginger.  I added a minced hot pepper.  A teaspoon of filling goes in the center of each wrapper, then the perimeter gets moistened and folded over.  One edge gets pleated by making little folds in the dough, and then is pressed firmly against the other side to to seal the gyoza.

If there's one thing that's harder than folding origami, it's trying to teach someone how to do it.  You'll just have to play with it until you figure it out.  It's not that hard, promise. 

Chicken Gyoza
makes approx. 27 dumplings
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup finely minced Napa cabbage
2 scallions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small hot pepper, seeds and all, minced (optional)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil

• Mix everything together in a bowl.

1 package gyoza wrappers

• Spoon approximately a teaspoon of the meat mixture onto the center of a gyoza wrapper.
• Dampen the perimeter of the wrapper with a wet finger.  Fold in half over the filling.
• Keeping the back side of the dumpling straight, bring together four or five small pleats on the front side of the dumpling, and press to seal.
• Cover the bottom of a large skillet with vegetable oil and heat on medium until the oil is hot.  
• Working in batches, place the gyozas, flat side down, in the hot oil and let them brown.  
• When the bottoms have become crisp and brown, pour about 1/4 cup water into the pan, and cover to let the dumplings steam.  
• After a few minutes, take the lid off and let any remaining water evaporate off.  Check the temperature with an instant read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked.  It should be at least 160 degrees.   If not, put the lid back on and steam a little longer.
• Serve hot with dipping sauces.

Dipping Sauce #1 (Simple soy and vinegar)
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice wine vinegar
add minced garlic or grated ginger if you like

• Mix to taste, and garnish with sesame seeds. 

Dipping Sauce #2 (Sweet Chili)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water

• Mix the cornstarch and water in a small glass and set aside.

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
juice of 1 lemon or lime
2 Tbsp red chili paste
1 Tbsp sriracha chili sauce 
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp fish sauce
dash salt

• Mix the above ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 4 minutes, then add the cornstarch.  Let the thickened sauce simmer on low for another minute.  Cool and refrigerate or serve.