What is Age Gyoza?
Gyoza is a Chuka dish (Chinese-inspired Japanese cuisine) in which ground meat and vegetables are wrapped in a thin, kneaded, rolled-out flour dough (known as gyoza wrappers) and steamed or pan-fried. Age gyoza is a deep-fried variation of the gyoza family!
Although the most popular type of gyoza in Japan is pan-fried pork gyoza, gyoza can also be made deep-fried! In this article, I will introduce a recipe for deep-fried gyoza based on ground pork and spiced with S&B’s oriental curry powder.
The dipping sauce I use here is a citrus-full ponzu sauce. You may wonder, “Do curry flavors and ponzu sauce go well together? In fact, it is a perfect combo for this gyoza!
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Curry-flavored Age-gyoza at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
Finely chop the onions, shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Grate the cheese, garlic and ginger and add them to a bowl with the ground pork, salt, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, lard, curry powder and sake.
Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
In this recipe, I shape my gyoza in “windmill style”. For detailed instructions and why I use this method for age-gyoza, see the section below.
Preheat the oil to 170°C (338°F). Once hot, add the gyoza and fry for 2 minutes.
Flip them over and fry on the other side for another 2 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to allow any excess oil to drain off.
How to Wrap Gyoza for Deep Frying Use
Gyoza is usually wrapped in a way that creates those characteristic folds, but when it comes to deep-fried gyoza, sealing it completely is more important than in pan-frying. So, for this recipe, I use a different wrapping technique called “windmill style.”
Since the windmill style fold has extra flaps, it creates an even crispier texture than with regular gyoza. Also, since the seams are folded over, there are less likely to be gaps, just make sure the middle point is properly sealed!
Another good point is this is also easier than the traditional folding style! So, I will list how-to-steps to wrap gyoza in windmill style here.
Make a “gyoza station” with a small bowl of water, the filling and a plate or tray for the completed ones.
Take a wrapper and add between 1/2 and 1 tbsp of filling. Be careful not to overfill, otherwise they will be difficult to close. Leave a generous border and wet it with water.
Pinch two parallel sides and push them to the center to create a cross shape with the edges.
Pinch all of the edges together firmly to make sure there aren’t any holes.
Create the windmill effect by folding each flap over going in the same direction.
Pinch the center once more to secure.
Place your completed gyoza on a lightly flour-dusted plate and repeat until all of your wrappers and filling are used up.
Of course, the folding method is up to you. If you want to fold gyoza the traditional way, check out my classic pork gyoza post for step-by-step instructions (includes video).
How to Store
As is true for all gyoza other than deep-fried gyoza, it is not recommended to store gyoza after cooking. Especially in the case of deep-fried gyoza, it is necessary to be careful because it will become very soggy when stored.
If you want to store gyoza, there is only one great option: freeze gyoza before frying. If you refrigerate them in the same condition, they will become soggy, so be sure to freeze them.
If you cannot finish eating the gyoza after frying and want to keep it, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a day or so, but it is best to cook only the amount you can eat because, for gyoza, you can precisely decide how much you want to cook beforehand.
Storage Summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – Not recommended.
Frozen – 2-3 weeks (before frying).
FAQ
Simply put, “age gyoza” can be translated as “deep-fried gyoza.” Age (揚げ) is deep-fried, and gyoza (餃子) is dumplings or potstickers in Japanese.
The difference between age gyoza (揚げ餃子) and yaki gyoza (焼き餃子) is simple: age gyoza refers to deep-fried gyoza with plenty of oil, while yaki gyoza refers to gyoza fried in a pan or skillet with a small amount of oil.
In a culinary context, the Japanese word “age (揚げ)” means to fry food in plenty of oil. This includes deep-frying or shallow-frying but does not include the method that only uses a small amount of oil, such as stir-frying.
I hope you enjoy this Age 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
Curry Flavor Age Gyoza (Deep-Fried)
Ingredients
Filling
- 200 g ground pork
- 100 g yellow onion finely diced
- 30 g preferred shredded melting cheese cheddar, gouda or similar
- 50 g fresh shiitake mushroom finely diced
- 50 g boiled bamboo shoots finely diced
- 2 tsp grated garlic or garlic paste
- 1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp lard or sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Japanese style curry powder
- 1 tbsp sake
Age Gyoza
- 45 gyoza wrappers 8.5cm diameter
- cooking oil for deep-frying
- ponzu sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Add all of the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl.
- Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly distributed.
- Prepare a small bowl of water and a tray for the completed gyoza next to you. Place a wrapper on your palm and add about ½-1 tbsp of filling to the center, leaving a thick border. Lightly wet the border.
- Pinch two parallel edges together and push them to the middle so that the edges form a cross along the top.
- Firmly pinch the edges to seal.
- Fold down each edge in the same direction to create the windmill shape.
- If there is a hole in the center, pinch firmly to close it.
- Repeat until you've used up all of your wrappers and filling.
- Preheat your oil to 170 °C (338 °F). Once hot, add the gyoza to the oil and fry for 2 minutes.
- Flip them over and fry for another 2 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drain off.
- Enjoy with ponzu or your choice of dipping sauce!
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