Serves 4
Ingredients
50-60 gyoza dumpling wrappers
3 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1-2 tbsp chilli paste, to serve
For the filling
20g dried shiitake mushrooms
80g tinned chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp sesame oil
80g tinned sweetcorn, drained
50g tinned water chestnuts, drained
1/2 small pointed cabbage, finely chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
1 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sake
1-2 tsp cornflour, as needed
For the dipping sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
2 tbsp toasted and ground white sesame seeds
Preparation
1. First prepare the filling. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of water for 1 hour. Drain, squeeze out excess water and finely chop the shiitake mushrooms.
2. Put the chickpeas in a food processor or blender with the sesame oil and blitz to form a smooth texture. Chop the sweetcorn roughly and put in a large bowl along with the puréed chickpeas. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well using your hands—the consistency should be firm enough to form a ball but not too dry. If you feel the filling is too wet, then add a little more cornflour.
3. Place a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your left hand and dab 2/3 of the edges with water. Place a tsp of the filling in the centre of the wrapper and fold over, making small pinched creases to seal the edges together. Repeat for the rest of the filling until you run out of wrappers or filling.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, and then carefully add the dumplings in lines. Pour 120ml water into the pan and partially cover with a lid, making sure there is a decent gap between the lip of the pan and the lid, so that some steam can escape. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated.
5. Take the lid off and turn up the heat to high, add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the pan, then cook for a further 1 minute or until the base of the dumplings is brown and crisp.
6. Meanwhile, combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
7. To serve, use a palette knife to scoop up a line of dumplings and quickly turn over onto the plate, crispy side up. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce and chilli paste on the side.
