I needed a “fun” food project this week, so I decided to make some homemade pork gyoza, which is kind of an updated version of a recipe I made almost six years ago (whoa!), Pork & Ginger Pot Stickers. I tweaked the filling a bit and decided to try the more traditional (and more difficult) pleated folding style. These tasty little dumplings are great to keep in your freezer so you can cook a few at a time to add to add to your meal.
What Are Gyoza?
Gyoza are a Japanese pan-fried dumpling made with a delicate wrapper and filled with seasoned vegetables and meat (or just vegetable) filling. The gyoza are pan-fried to create a deliciously crispy bottom, then briefly steamed to give them a delicate finish. The recipe below is just my interpretation of this traditional Japanese food, so if you’d like to try an authentic recipe, see a video of them being made, and learn more about these tasty little dumplings, check out this recipe for Gyoza from Just One Cookbook.
Can I Use a Different Meat?
Yes, if you prefer to avoid pork, you can swap in ground turkey or chicken. OR, you can mince some fresh shrimp and use that. Just make sure that whatever you’re using it is chopped or ground into a super fine texture so that it cooks quickly in the gyoza.
Freeze Your Pork Gyoza
Once you finish filling and folding your pork gyoza, you can freeze them, which means you can keep them on hand and pop a handful in a skillet any time you get the craving. So go ahead, make a big batch, and reap the benefits later! To freeze the gyoza, lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they’re not touching, freeze until solid, then transfer to a heavy-duty freezer bag for longer storage.
Frozen gyoza can be dropped straight from the freezer into a pot of boiling water to cook. Let them boil for 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to float, then fry as directed below.
Pennies on the Dollar!
And let’s not forget the cost… Even though I used expensive ground pork, these little guys turned out to be only about $0.18 each. An appetizer order of Pork Gyoza at a restaurant will easily run you $6-$8, and you get how many? Maybe six? So yeah, about $1 each at a restaurant.
So, want to see how it’s done?
Pork Gyoza
Servings 50 gyozaIngredients
- 4 cups finely shredded or chopped cabbage ($1.42)
- 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil, divided ($0.04)
- 3 green onions ($0.44)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.05)
- 1 tsp sesame oil ($0.11)
- 1/2 lb. ground pork ($3.00)
- 50 gyoza or wonton wrappers ($3.69)
Instructions
- Sauté the cabbage with 1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat until wilted to half its volume. Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl.
- Slice the green onions, mince the garlic, and grate or chop the ginger. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground pork to the bowl with the sautéed cabbage. Massage the mixture with your hands until it is evenly mixed and slightly sticky or tacky in texture.
- Spoon about one teaspoon of the pork mixture into the center of a wrapper. Dip a finger in water and wet the outer rim of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over the filling and pinch the edges to close (here is a video demonstrating different folding styles).
- When ready to cook the gyoza, heat 1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add the gyoza with the seam side up, and fry until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Using the lid as a shield, pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water into the skillet and quickly place the lid on top to contain the steam and splatter. Let the gyoza steam in the skillet for 1-2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has boiled away. Remove the lid and let the gyoza cook for a minute more, or until the bottom is crispy again. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!While you’re at it, make a batch of Simple Sweet and Sour Sauce to dip your gyoza!
How to Make Homemade Gyoza – Step by Step Photos
Begin the gyoza by sautéing the cabbage for the filling. I used 1/2 of a small head of cabbage, or about 4 cups once finely shredded. Chop or shred the cabbage as finely as possible to make it easier to mix with the pork and fill the tiny gyoza. Nappa cabbage is best, but if you can’t get it (my store was out of Nappa), regular green cabbage will also work. Sauté the cabbage with about 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it has wilted to about half of its original volume (5-8 minutes). Transfer the sautéed cabbage to a large bowl.
Thinly slice three green onions, mince two cloves of garlic, and grate about 1 inch of fresh ginger (about 1 Tbsp). Add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the bowl, along with 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1/2 lb. ground pork.
Mix the ingredients with your hands until everything is evenly combined and the mixture is slightly sticky or tacky.
If you want to do the fancy pleated folds, you’ll need round wrappers, but you can do the easy folding style with square wrappers. If you can only find square wrappers, you can use a cookie cutter or any other sharp round object (like my metal measuring cups!) to cut them into circles. Make sure to not let the wrappers sit out uncovered for very long, though, because they’ll start to dry out and become brittle. You can either keep them in the package or cover them with a slightly damp paper towel.
It takes far less filling to fill each of the wrappers than you’d imagine. Over filling makes them extremely difficult to fold. I used about one teaspoon in each wrapper. Dip your finger in water and wet the outer edges of the wrapper to help them stick or glue together. It’s best to see how to fold these little suckers in action, so here is a link to a video that demonstrates three folding styles, including the easiest way and this more intricate pleated fold. However you choose to fold, make sure to pinch the edges tight to keep them from opening.
As you fill and fold the gyoza, line them up on a baking sheet or cutting board, with the seam side up. You can freeze them at this point, or cook them.
To cook the Pork Gyoza, heat 1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the gyoza, seam side up, and fry until they are brown and crispy on the bottom. (P.S. I took these photos in a stainless steel skillet, but switched to a non-stick for the next batch. They don’t call these suckers “pot stickers” for nothing. Non-stick will make this process a LOT easier.)
Use the lid of the skillet as a shield and carefully pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water into the skillet. Place the lid on top as quickly as possible to contain the splatter and steam.
Let the gyoza steam in the skillet for 1-2 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated and the wrappers look slightly translucent (the water should be rapidly simmering). Remove the lid to let the last bit of water evaporate and the bottoms of the gyoza crisp up again. Once crispy, remove to a plate and cook a second batch if desired.
And that’s it! Just a few minutes in the skillet and they’re done. Gyoza are often served with a mix of soy sauce and rice vinegar (2:1 ratio), to which you can add a little red chile paste for more flavor. Or just pop ’em in your mouth as is. :)
Mmmmm Pork Gyoza!
Neat! My mom got my husband a dumpling mold (?!) for his birthday last year (for SURE something she just had lying around in a drawer somewhere) and since I usually buy frozen gyoza from Trader Joe’s, I thought we’d never use it. But this looks like it would be a fun challenge! Plus my mom would be delighted if we used her gift. Thanks, as always, for the easy-to-follow recipe! PS, my husband cooked an entire meal for us by himself for the first time ever last week (your 3 pepper pepperoni pasta). We use your recipes for 95% of our dinners together because they are so descriptive of the whole process that they’re never intimidating, even for an absolute beginner, AND they taste great! Sorry you had a crummy week!
These look delicious. My kids love pot stickers. It’s not as healthy, but have you ever tried cooking these in deep fryer?
I haven’t… I have an irrational fear of deep fryers. Hahahah
Thank you! I need a good “go to” recipe for pot stickers. I have tried a lot of your recipes and check your blog every morning for something new. It’s actually in the bookmark section of my tablet. Thanks again, Beth.
So sorry about your miserable week. Take care.
So sorry to hear about your week!
I’m so surprised by how easy this recipe is, I’ll have to try some chicken ones!
This looks so yummy. I’m always looking for good ground pork recipes. It’s regular price is only $2 lb. At my local grocery store. After freezing, do you thaw before cooking or just cook them frozen?
They’re pretty small, so they actually thaw very quickly in the skillet straight from the freezer. You can also cook them the opposite way: drop into boiling water first (again, straight from the freezer), then scoop them out and into a hot skillet to crisp up.
Thanks a ton for the recipe! Immediately went to the grocery store to grab everything I didn’t have, and now I have a ton of these things in my freezer! They took a while to fold, but honestly tasted great.
Now I just have to find something to do with the rest of the cabbage…
Get your ground pork from an Asian market! It’s generally under $2 a pound around Chinese New Year. Makes it easy to find the rest of the ingredients, like nappa cabbage, easy and cheap! My friend and I host a Chinese New Year dumpling making/eating party every year, and it costs well under $40 to feed over a dozen people (including non-dumpling sides)
Asian market would be a good place for the wonton wrappers, too – a pack of 60 for $1.69, at least here in the Midwest. Bummer about your car/purse. But chin up, buttercup!
Oh no, Beth, so sorry to hear about your car and purse. That’s so terrible. I really hope you can get everything straightened out as soon as possible.
And these look super delicious — I had always wondered how gyoza were made!
Gyoza needs Ponzu sauce~ I have some Yuzu Ponzu that I love.
I’m sorry to hear about your crappy week. :(
I have two whole cabbages in my fridge right now and I was loathe to make two batches of czech sweet & sour style shredded cabbage with them (though that’s what my boyfriend likes and why he bought me two ugh). I think I will make this instead! I’ve worked a bit with wonton wrappers before, I have a really amazing recipe for pork dumpling soup. This looks fun.
If you make any large batches of pot stickers I highly suggest getting a press (just search up gyoza press). That’s what we use and it makes it so much easier. Get the one with the handles. My mother makes the best pot stickers I’ve ever had (and she made about 600 for her and my dad’s wedding reception). She grinds up the meat herself in a food processor, and she uses this cooking method. They’re always amazing and I eat about 20 before we put them in the fridge & freezer. You can also cook up the filling and it’s good on rice noodles.
Sorry to hear about your car and purse! I would have ended up buying an entire chocolate cake for myself.
just tried a different recipe (and had to make my own wonton rappers) didn’t like it that much will try this one next though as usually you recipes are amazing.
Sorry to hear about your troubles! Gyoza are a very good way to cheer yourself up though. We use whatever ground meat we can get – turkey, pork, beef, lamb…it’s all good. I never fry the cabbage, just shred it finely. Also I always make my own dough – even cheaper! 3 cups flour (I use 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 white flour) 1 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt. Mix well and work with hands until not sticky but feeling just a bit damp. Cover and let rest 15-20 min. Then form dough into a long snake and chop into 60-70 little slices. Flatten each into a circle and fill. Yum! We sit together and talk while we make them. Add a beer or a glass of wine – instant party!
I don’t even eat pork, but these look amazing. Mostly, I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your car and your purse. I hope you didn’t lose much cash–I know how annoying it is to have to cancel everything (can be worse than losing the dough–doh!). Did they damage the car?
Thank you! Yes, the driver’s window was all smashed in–total mess. :P But I was able to take care of everything SUPER fast and even got in to get the window fixed the next afternoon. :) I’m very grateful!
it sounds delicious
can we substitute pork by chicken
Thanks for sharing
Yes, that should also work fine. :)