ぎょざ cooking question

[Charlie Brown]

My wife has cooked me some gyoza a couple of times and she is having trouble with them sticking to the pan after the water cooks out and she turns them over to cook the top side. I personally don't have a problem with them, they are おおいしい, but she gets upset because they don't look as pretty as the local japanese resturant. The recipe does not call for turning them over after the water boils out but then the top of the dumplings don't cook, the dough is still raw. I was wondering if any chefs out there had any suggestions.

Thanks
Charlie

[AJBryant]

Then (1) use more water, and (2) a non-stick pan.


Tony

[Charlie Brown]

This is the recipe http://www.japan-guide.com/r/e107.html she is using, and she is using the right amount of water. The non stick pan would work, but I have to wonder how was it cooked before non stick pans were available.

Thanks
Charlie

[zengargoyle]

i think they're supposed to stick to the pan before the steaming process, and a few recipies specifically state to not use non-stick pans. i would say use more water, or a tighter lid. i see that the recipe you indicate doesn't mention putting a lid on the pan.... most of the ones i've seen put a lid on during the steaming process, that might be enough to keep the dough from staying raw.

edit: you might want to google for 'potsticker' or 'chinese dumpling' for more recipe ideas, i think they are pretty much the same thing with maybe different choices for fillings.

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks Zengargoyle san, I will let her know.

Thanks again,
Charlie

Edit: Just told my wife your suggestion Zen san, she is all excited I may have to eat more gyoza before the week is out. Yeehaw

[Justin]

Yeah, you definatly need to use a lid when you go to add the water, as the steam is what cooks the upper half of the gyoza. Afterwards you can still flip them if you'd like to get the top-side crispy as well, but we usually never do.

Another thing we always add that I didn't see on the recipe was ostyer sauce (大さじ１〜２ぐらいでいい), maybe we're just weird though. If you're a fan of kimchi as well, you can make a nice spiced-up gyoza by fine cutting some up and adding it to the mix of things.

[Hatori]

you should probably look for another reference for this meal.

[two_heads_talking]

if you hae a hard time with gyoza sticking to the pan, try another method.. don't steam them, fry them.. that's what i do.. fried gyoza and steamed rice = heaven..

@zengargoyle.. most cultures have a dumpling of sometype.. even america we have teh chicken and dumpling (just dough in our case).. usually the filling and the way it is "tied" can tell you alot about the country that it originated in..

[kanadajin]

fried gyoza and steamed rice = heaven..

1) fried gyoza??
2) gyoza and rice = heaven?!?!?! Gyoza is gross.. At least it was the last time I had it

[anikaliki]

Ive had gyoza and I think its pretty good, though I've never had it fried

[Justin]

Yep, frying is also another way to go about cooking gyoza's, you can boiling them as well. All this talk is making me hungry for some gyoza here, might just have to pick up the ingridients to make them here tonight.

[oKawa]

Yum!:p I tried making some myself last month. Even though it wasn't as beautiful as the restaurant it still tasted great! I've had them fried to, that's my next project, but I don't have a deep fryer. Maybe I'll just flip them.

[two_heads_talking]

i fry them in a fry pan.. with some peanut oil. peanut oil can withstand alot of heat so it won't burn..

also if you time it correctly, you can pan fry the gyoza and then place it in the steamer with the rice to soften them up so you get the fried taste, but not the crunch.. although i love the crunch, so i don't do this as often..

you can pop on down to the international store and get them for about 5 dollars for 30 or so gyoza..

[Charlie Brown]

Yes, fried is good, she fried some last night too. She had some of the stuffing left and she mixed it with rice making kind of a "dirty rice" (a cajun dish), also very good.

Thanks for all the replys,
Charlie

[Infidel]

kanadajin wrote:

fried gyoza and steamed rice = heaven..

1) fried gyoza??
2) gyoza and rice = heaven?!?!?! Gyoza is gross.. At least it was the last time I had it

some places make it good, other places make it sucky. It's not the gyoza's falt.

Actually, here in Virginia, I haven't had any good potstickers until recently. I was beginning to give up but last week I went to Chang's and got the pan fried one, they were delicious