Japanese Pork Dumplings with Ginger and Green Onion are everybody’s favorite appetizer! These tender pot stickers are even better than the ones at your favorite restaurant, and they couldn’t be easier to make.
Japanese pork dumplings are totally doable in your home kitchen
Japanese food always amazes me ~ there is so much flavor packed into such simple, healthy recipes. Dumplings. also known as ‘gyoza’ or pot stickers, are pretty much universally loved. There’s something so enticing about biting into the soft chewy dough to discover a delicious juicy nugget of flavor in the center. I’ve made all kinds, chicken gyoza, salmon potsticker, and shrimp dumplings to name a few. While they may seem difficult to make, trust me, they’re not. Even if you sucked at origami as a kid, you got this!
What you’ll need:
What’s nice about this recipe is that you’ll get full on Japanese flavor with commonly found ingredients…aside from the dumpling wrappers you probably have everything in your pantry.
- Gyoza dumpling wrappers
- ground pork
- fresh ginger and garlic
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- green onions
- rice vinegar
- sesame seeds
What are gyoza wrappers
Gyoza or pot sticker wrappers are little sheets of fresh wheat dough made with wheat flour, salt, and oil.
Gyoza wrappers are about 3 1/2 inches round, and come in plastic wrapping in the refrigerated section of your supermarket, right near the tofu. If you live in a large city you should have no trouble finding them, but if you live in a more rural area, it might be an issue. It never hurts to ask your grocer, they’re often happy to order them for you.
You’ll also find large square wrappers, used for eggroll wrappers, and smaller squares for making wontons…I used those for my crispy goat cheese wontons.
You can even make your own gyoza dumpling wrappers, here’s a recipe.
How to fold Japanese pork dumplings
- Mix up your filling according to the recipe.
- Use a very small scoop or measuring spoon to portion out the filling and center it on a dumpling wrapper.
- Wet your finger and run it all around the edge of the dumpling.
- Fold the dough up over the filling and make little pleats along the edge to seal. See the video for details.
- Make sure your pleats are pressed firmly to seal and set the dumplings aside. They will naturally form a flat bottom as they rest.
- Once you get the folding technique down, you can crank out 50 dumplings in no time!
Once your pork dumplings are folded up into neat little packages you’ll brown them in a skillet or wok, and then hit the pan with a little bit of water, and cover. The dumplings will steam to perfection in just a few minutes and they’re ready to gobble up.
Japanese Pork Dumplings with Ginger and Green Onion
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2-3 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp tamari , or soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 8 green onions, trimmed and finely sliced, white and green parts. Save some for garnishing.
- 1 package gyoza wrappers, (50 wrappers)
- vegetable oil
garnish
- reserved sliced green onions
- sesame seeds
dipping sauce
- 1/2 cup tamari , or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sesame seed oil
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Put the pork in a large mixing bowl, breaking it apart as you add it to the bowl.
- Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sliced green onions. Use your fingertips or 2 forks to gently but thoroughly mix all the ingredients together without compacting the meat. At this point the meat can be well wrapped and refrigerated until needed.
- To make the gyoza, dip your finger in water and run it around the edge of the round gyoza wrapper. Place a small amount of the meat (between a teaspoon and a tablespoon) in the center of the dough and fold it half, pressing the center top together firmly with your fingers. Make small pleats, 3 on each side, with the front part of the dough, and press each pleat firmly at the top to make a half moon shaped little packet.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet that has a well fitting lid with oil. Heat the oil on medium high until hot. Add the gyoza, flat bottom side down, into the pan. Work in batches so you don’t crowd your dumplings. Cook for about 2 minutes, without moving, until they are a rich brown on the bottom.
- Pour 1/4 cup water right into the pan and cover immediately. Let the dumplings steam for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through. The pork needs to reach 160F.
- Serve the dumplings immediately, garnished with more sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and dipping sauce on the side.
- To make the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together, then taste to adjust any of them.
Notes
- You can make the dumplings up to a few hours ahead of cooking. Freeze if you need to make more than a day ahead of time.
- Don’t skimp on the fresh ginger, the flavor really pops.
- If you like Japanese food, I have other recipes on the blog for you to try ~ my miso ramen with shitake and chicken and my simple miso soup are a couple of favorites.
Nutrition
I wish it would have included nutrition info – especially sodium. Recipes look great, can’t wait to make pot stickers.