What is Chicken Yaki Gyoza?
Yaki gyoza is Japan’s most popular dumpling dish inspired by Chinese jiaozi. The main characteristic of Japanese gyoza is that it is neither steamed nor served in soup, but pan-fried. The word “yaki” means “to fry” and this cooking method results in a perfectly crisp base that can’t be beaten.
The most mainstream gyoza in Japan is pork yaki gyoza, but it can also be deep-fried (age-gyoza), boiled in soup (sui gyoza) or even be made with different fillings, such as tofu gyoza or prawn gyoza.
In this article, I will be sharing a chicken-based gyoza recipe.
How I Developed This Recipe
Pork yaki gyoza is the most common type of gyoza in Japan. Pork is often fatty and succulent with a unique sweetness compared to chicken, so the challenge was to find a way to compensate for this.
However, my goal was to create a chicken gyoza that could rival the pork version. To make this happen, I decided to mix ground chicken with small chunks of chicken thigh to make it juicier and improve the texture.
To give the chicken gyoza a unique flavor, I used umeboshi (pickled plums), shiso (perilla leaves), and sesame seeds to give them a sour taste that sets them apart from traditional pork gyoza. I served it with a ponzu dipping sauce to complement the dish. This gyoza is great for anyone who loves sour flavors.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Chicken Yaki Gyoza at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
The pieces should be smaller than bitesize but chunkier than ground chicken. This will make the filling more juicy with a better texture. Keep in mind that the bigger the chicken pieces, the harder it will be to wrap.
Add the finely chopped chicken thigh, ground chicken, yellow onions, perilla leaves, umeboshi paste, green cabbage, garlic chives, sake, soy sauce, salt, black pepper, grated ginger and sesame seeds to a large mixing bowl.
Mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Take a gyoza wrapper, add about 1 tbsp of filling to the center, leaving a finger-width border around the edge. Wet the edge lightly with cold water.
Gently fold the wrapper in half but don’t press the edges together yet. Pinch one corner before you start pleating.
Push the edge of the wrapper over your fingernail, then remove and press to make each pleat.
Repeat until you reach the end. Press to secure.
Repeat until all the filling and wrappers are used up.
Heat a frying pan on medium and add a drizzle of cooking oil. Once hot, place the gyoza in the pan and fry until the bottom is crispy.
Pour freshly boiled water around the pan. Be careful of splashing oil.
Place a lid on the pan and steam until almost all of the water is gone.
Remove the lid and continue to cook until the water has completely gone. Then drizzle with sesame oil and fry for one more minute.
Remove from the heat.
How to Store
If you want to save time and effort in the future, freezing your chicken gyoza before cooking is the way to go. Not only will freezing preserve their fresh taste and texture, but it also means you won’t have to go through the meticulous process of making them again.
Plus, frozen gyoza is a convenient option for busy days or when you want a quick homemade meal.
Remember that storing uncooked gyoza in the fridge can lead to soggy dumplings, so freezing is the way to go.
If you have leftover cooked gyoza, store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours and reheat them in a frying pan for optimal crispiness. Avoid freezing cooked gyoza, as it will result in a deteriorated texture.
Storage Summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – (Uncooked) Not recommended. (Cooked) 1 day.
Frozen – (Uncooked) Up to a month. (Cooked) Not recommended.
I hope you enjoy this Chicken Gyoza recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Gyoza Recipes
Chicken Yaki Gyoza with Umeboshi and Shiso
Equipment
- Steel Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 100 g boneless chicken thigh
- 100 g ground chicken
- 50 g onion finely diced
- 20 perilla leaves (shiso) shredded
- 2 tbsp umeboshi paste 2 medium umeboshi makes about 1 tbsp of paste
- 50 g green cabbage finely diced
- 30 g garlic chive(s) finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
- 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds to drizzle – optional
- 25 gyoza wrappers
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 150 ml freshly boiled water
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ponzu sauce for dipping
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Can’t find certain Japanese ingredients? See my substitution guide here.
Instructions
- Finely chop 100 g boneless chicken thigh. The pieces should be smaller than bitesize but chunkier than ground chicken.
- Add the finely chopped chicken to a large mixing bowl along with 100 g ground chicken, 50 g onion, 20 perilla leaves (shiso), 2 tbsp umeboshi paste, 50 g green cabbage, 30 g garlic chive(s), 1 tbsp sake, 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), ½ tsp salt, 1 pinch ground black pepper, 1 tsp grated ginger root and 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds.
- Mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Take a gyoza wrapper and add about 1 tbsp of the filling to the center, leaving a finger-width border around the edge. Wet the edges with a little water.
- Fold the wrapper in half without letting the sides touch yet. Pinch one corner and start pleating.
- Fold and press to make the pleats until the gyoza is close.
- Press the edges down firmly to ensure it is properly sealed.
- Repeat until all of the gyoza wrappers and filling are used up.
- Heat a frying pan on medium and add 1 tbsp cooking oil. Once hot, place the gyoza in the pan with the flat side facing down and fry until the bottoms are crispy and brown (approx 3-5 minutes).
- Pour 150 ml freshly boiled water around the pan. (Be careful of oil splashing.)
- Place a lid on top and cook until the liquid is almost gone.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid is completely gone. Drizzle with ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil and cook for 1 more minute before removing the pan from the heat.
- Arrange on plates and serve with ponzu sauce.
- Enjoy!
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