Gyoza are Japanese pork and cabbage dumplings which are cooked through a combination of pan frying and steaming, very much like Chinese potstickers.  This version is an adaptation of a recipe in Japanese Soul Cooking by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat.

Garlic chives are thicker than standard chives and are available at Asian grocery stores, like Grand Mart.

3 cups finely chopped green cabbage

1 tsp. salt, divided

1-1/2 cups garlic chives, finely chopped

1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic (about 2 large cloves)

1Tbs. finely chopped fresh ginger (about 1 oz.)

2/3 lb. ground pork

2 tsp. soy sauce

4 Tbs. toasted sesame oil, divided

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. sugar

3 Tbs. potato starch, divided

30 gyoza skins (or other dumpling skins 3-4 inches in diameter)

2/3 cup water

Soy sauce

Rice Vinegar

Rayu or other chili oil or hot sauce

Start the filling by mixing together the chopped cabbage and ½ tsp of salt and letting it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Using cloth or paper towels, express as much water from the cabbage as possible, so that the dumplings are not watery.

Put the squeezed cabbage in a large bowl and add the rest of the filling ingredients: garlic chives, garlic, ginger, ground pork, soy sauce, 2 Tbs. sesame oil, ½ tsp. salt, ground pepper, sugar, and 2 Tbs. of potato starch.  Mix well so that everything is well distributed and sticky.

In a small bowl, mix together 1 Tbs. of potato starch with 3 Tbs. of warm water.

Line a tray with baking parchment or a silicone mat.  Put each gyoza skin on a work surface, and moisten the edge with the potato starch water.  Put about 1 Tbs. of filling in the center of the skin and fold up the sides into a half moon shape, crimping the edges.  Continue until all the filling or all the skins are used.

Heat a large and wide pan which can be covered by a lid.  Heat 1 Tbs. of sesame oil in the pan, and swirl to coat the bottom evenly.  Add the dumplings, crimped side up into the pan in a systematic order. 

(Depending on the size of your pan, this may need to be done in two batches, in which case use the amounts of oil and water below for each batch.)  Fry for 1 minute.  Pour in the 2/3 cup of water, cover, and cook for 4 minutes.  Remove the cover.  At this point the water should be largely evaporated.  Sprinkle in another Tbs. of sesame oil, and fry for another minute, bringing the total cooking time to 6 minutes.  With a sharp spatula, scrape under the bottoms of the dumplings and separate them from the pan onto a plate for serving.  If done correctly, the bottoms will be nicely browned and the top and filling cooked through.

Serve with a sauce consisting of soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili oil, hot sauce, etc.  The proportions of this are a matter of personal taste.  I like equal parts soy sauce and vinegar, with a touch of hot sauce, such as SriRacha.

Note – If there are more dumplings than you want to eat at one sitting, the extra dumplings can be frozen.  Cook them as above, starting with them frozen, adding an extra minute or so to ensure that they are cooked through.