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–+ servings

Chicken Yaki Gyoza with Umeboshi and Shiso

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 25 gyoza

Ingredients 
 

  • 100 g boneless chicken thigh
  • 100 g ground chicken
  • 50 g onion finely diced
  • 20 perilla leaves (shiso) shredded
  • 3 pickled plums (umeboshi) or 2 tsp store-bought umeboshi paste per umeboshi
  • 50 g green cabbage or Napa cabbage, finely diced
  • 30 g garlic chive(s) finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp sake or dry sherry/white wine
  • 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper or white pepper
  • 1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
  • 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
  • 25 gyoza wrappers
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 125 ml freshly boiled water
  • toasted sesame oil to drizzle
  • ponzu sauce for dipping

Instructions 

  • Finely chop 100 g boneless chicken thigh until it's small and chunky with more texture than ground chicken.
    finely chopped chicken thigh on a wooden chopping board
  • Place it in a large mixing bowl along with 100 g ground chicken, 50 g onion, 20 perilla leaves (shiso), 3 pickled plums (umeboshi), 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.
    chicken yaki gyoza filling ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
    Chicken yaki gyoza with umeboshi and perilla leaves filling mixed in a metal mixing bowling
  • Take a gyoza wrapper and add about 1 tbsp of the filling to the center, leaving a finger-width border around the edge. Rub a small amount of water around the edge.
    wetting the edge of a gyoza wrapper with water
  • Fold the wrapper in half without letting the sides touch, then pinch one corner and start pleating.
    folding chicken gyoza wrapper in half
  • Fold and press to make the pleats until the gyoza is closed.
    pleating one edge of gyoza wrapper to seal chicken gyoza
  • Press the edges down firmly to tightly seal.
    sealing chicken gyoza by pressing edges
  • Place on a flour dusted plate and repeat until all of the gyoza wrappers and filling are used up.
    completed chicken gyoza on a white and blue plate
  • 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 2-3 minutes). Check frequently to prevent burning.
    crispy base of chicken gyoza
  • Pour 125 ml freshly boiled water around the pan. (Be careful of oil splashing.) If cooking the gyoza in smaller batches, reduce the water accordingly.
    pouring freshly boiled water over cooking gyoza
  • Place a lid on top and cook until the liquid is almost gone and the tops of the gyoza are soft and supple.
    chicken gyoza steaming in a frying pan with lid
  • Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid is completely gone. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and cook for 30-60 seconds before removing the pan from the heat.
    drizzling cooked chicken yaki gyoza with sesame oil
  • Serve with ponzu sauce and enjoy!
    dipping chicken gyoza flavored with umeboshi and perilla leaves in ponzu sauce

Notes

Use all ground chicken if you can't get chicken thighs.
Prep all vegetables, herbs, and seasonings before starting to keep the process smooth and stress-free.
Keep oil at a steady shimmer. If it starts to smoke, lift the pan off heat for 30 seconds to prevent burning.
Adjust the amount of boiling water and cooking oil based on how many gyoza you cook at once. Use less for smaller batches.
Store cooked gyoza in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Raw filling lasts 1-2 days refrigerated. Freeze uncooked dumplings flat on a tray, then bag airtight; cook directly from frozen for best results.
Mix and refrigerate the filling up to a day ahead or freeze freshly pleated dumplings right away for meal prep.
Reheat chilled gyoza in a skillet with a little oil and water to re-crisp the bottoms without drying them out.
Serving ideas: Steamed white rice (gohan), Miso soup with tofu and wakame, Wakame seaweed salad, Japanese sesame spinach (goma-ae)