I love dumplings. Steamed, boiled, pan-fried, in a soup, on their own, dipped in soy sauce… Any way you make them, they’re delicious.

But I don’t like having to rely on take-out, so I like to make dumplings at home. Gyoza is a Chinese dumpling that’s popular in China and Japan. Gyoza is similar to wonton, but with a thicker skin and a flatter shape.

Gyoza is simple to make, though it does take a bit of time to shape all the dumplings, so do plan for that. I found a good recipe in a book called Japanese. Here are the ingredients for the filling:

3 ½ oz Napa cabbage, finely shredded
2 scallions, minced
¾ cup fresh ground pork
½-inch piece of fresh gingerroot, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
2 tsp mirin
Pinch of white pepper
Salt, to taste

I find ¾ cup to be an awkward measurement for ground pork, so I just use a 1-lb package and adjust the other ingredients accordingly. To make the filling, simply mix all these ingredients together, and you’re ready to shape the gyoza.

Using 1 lb of pork, I need about 50 gyoza skins. Gyoza skins are round, whereas wonton skins are square. If all you can find are square wonton skins, you can still use this filling recipe, just follow the wonton shaping method instead.

So, using a circular gyoza skin, place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dab your finger in a little water and run it around the edges of the skin (just keep a small bowl of water nearby). Fold the skin in half around the filling and press the edges together.

Dab your fingers in water again, and wet the curved edge of the dumpling. Make a series of little folds along this edge, and that’s it! Continue shaping the gyoza with the remainder of the filling.

The recipe from Japanese recommends pan-frying the gyoza. To do this, pan-fry the gyoza in a little oil until the undersides are browned. Then add water to about 1/8 inch depth, cover the pan, and steam until the skins are translucent (about 6 minutes). Uncover the pan to let any excess water boil away, then serve.

I like using my little bamboo steamer to cook the gyoza. Line the steamer with cabbage leaves, and place the gyoza on the cabbage with a little space in between each one. Place the steamer in a large, wide skillet with a little boiling water in it, and the steam goes up through the steamer, cooking the dumplings. Again, cook until the skins are translucent and the filling is cooked.

Serve the gyoza with equal parts rice vinegar and soy sauce for dipping. Eat them using chopsticks, and revel in your culinary prowess!