Gyoza (Japanese Pan-Fried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings)
Thin store-bought wrappers pleated around pork, salted cabbage, shiitake, garlic and ginger, browned on one side, steamed under a lid and crisped with sesame oil, with a soy, rice vinegar and chili oil dip.
Gyoza are Japan's version of jiaozi, and they arrived after World War II. Wikipedia says they developed from recipes Japanese settlers brought home from Manchukuo, the Japanese-run puppet state in northeast China, and that many of those returnees opened yatai food stalls selling ramen with gyoza on the side. Japanese gyoza are usually thinner-skinned than Chinese dumplings, since most restaurants use machine-made wrappers, and they taste more strongly of garlic. The standard style is yaki-gyoza: browned on the bottom, then steamed under a lid, the technique Chinese cooks call making potstickers.
Two cities fight over the title of gyoza capital. Nippon.com reports that Utsunomiya began promoting its top ranking in the government's household spending survey in 1990 and held the top spot for 15 years straight, before Hamamatsu in Shizuoka became its rival and Miyazaki beat them both for the first time. The survey counts only fresh gyoza bought at stores, not restaurant meals. Utsunomiya even has a gyoza statue carved from local Oya stone outside its station (Japan National Tourism Organization:).
Why it works the kitchen science
Salting the cabbage
The salt pulls water out of the cabbage before it meets the pork, so the filling stays tight and the thin wrappers don't go soggy or burst in the pan.
Fry, steam, fry
Browning first sets the crisp bottom, the lid and water cook the filling and soften the top, and the last minute uncovered with sesame oil re-crisps the bottom once the water is gone.
Step by step
- Step 1
Core the cabbage, cut the leaves into 1/3-inch strips and chop them finely, mincing the thick ribs very fine. Rub in the kosher salt and let it sit in a bowl until wilted, about 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Mince the green onions and the shiitake caps, grate the ginger and mince or press the garlic. Put them in a large bowl with the pork, sake, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper and knead by hand until the mixture turns sticky and pale.
- Step 3
Squeeze as much water as you can out of the cabbage, add it to the pork and knead until evenly combined.
- Step 4
Set out a small bowl of water and a baking sheet dusted with the potato starch; keep the wrappers covered. Put 1 level tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper, flatten it slightly and wet the outer 1/4 inch of the wrapper.
- Step 5
Fold the wrapper in half, pinch the top center, then make 2 or 3 pleats on each side, each pressed against the flat back half. Flatten the bottom so the gyoza sits up, set it on the sheet and cover. Repeat.
- Step 6
Heat a large nonstick or carbon steel skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp neutral oil. Arrange about 17 gyoza flat side down in a single layer, slightly apart, and cook about 3 minutes, until the bottoms are golden and release cleanly.
- Step 7
Pour in 4 tbsp water and cover at once. Steam about 3 minutes, until most of the water is gone, then uncover and cook about 1 minute more, until the pan is dry. Drizzle 1 tsp sesame oil around the gyoza and cook until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp and the center of one reads 160°F. Repeat with the rest.
- Step 8
Mix each serving of dipping sauce (1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and a few drops of la-yu) and serve the gyoza crisp side up.
Gyoza (Japanese Pan-Fried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings)
Serves 6 · 52 gyoza · 1 hr 20 min total
Filling
- 3/4 lb green cabbage (about 1/4 large head)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, for the cabbage
- 2 green onions (scallions)
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, with its juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 2 tsp sake (optional)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
To fold
- 1 package gyoza wrappers (52 wrappers, 10 oz)
- Water, to seal
- 2 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch, for the baking sheet
To fry (for three batches)
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 3/4 cup water
Dipping sauce (for 6)
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 6 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 3/4 tsp la-yu (Japanese chili oil), optional
Method
- Core the cabbage, cut the leaves into 1/3-inch strips and chop them finely, mincing the thick ribs very fine. Rub in the kosher salt and let it sit in a bowl until wilted, about 15 minutes.
- Mince the green onions and the shiitake caps, grate the ginger and mince or press the garlic. Put them in a large bowl with the pork, sake, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper and knead by hand until the mixture turns sticky and pale.
- Squeeze as much water as you can out of the cabbage, add it to the pork and knead until evenly combined.
- Set out a small bowl of water and a baking sheet dusted with the potato starch; keep the wrappers covered. Put 1 level tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper, flatten it slightly and wet the outer 1/4 inch of the wrapper.
- Fold the wrapper in half, pinch the top center, then make 2 or 3 pleats on each side, each pressed against the flat back half. Flatten the bottom so the gyoza sits up, set it on the sheet and cover. Repeat.
- Heat a large nonstick or carbon steel skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp neutral oil. Arrange about 17 gyoza flat side down in a single layer, slightly apart, and cook about 3 minutes, until the bottoms are golden and release cleanly.
- Pour in 4 tbsp water and cover at once. Steam about 3 minutes, until most of the water is gone, then uncover and cook about 1 minute more, until the pan is dry. Drizzle 1 tsp sesame oil around the gyoza and cook until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp and the center of one reads 160°F. Repeat with the rest.
- Mix each serving of dipping sauce (1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and a few drops of la-yu) and serve the gyoza crisp side up.
Adapted from Namiko Hirasawa Chen, "Gyoza (Japanese Potstickers)", Just One Cookbook (originally published February 9, 2011; revised April 13, 2024; republished May 10, 2026), 52 pieces. We follow it as written: 1/2 lb pork, 3/4 lb green cabbage salted with 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and squeezed, 2 shiitake, 2 scallions, ginger, garlic, sake, sesame oil and soy sauce; 1 level tablespoon of filling per wrapper; and, per batch, 1 tbsp oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes, 4 tbsp water under a lid for about 3 minutes, 1 minute uncovered and 1 tsp sesame oil to crisp. Just One Cookbook lists its yield as 52 pieces; the 6 servings and three batches are ours, as is the 160°F check. Just One Cookbook. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (4)
Tips
- Cook frozen gyoza straight from the freezer, steaming 1 to 2 minutes longer, as Just One Cookbook says.
- Flash-freeze uncooked gyoza on a sheet pan, then bag them for up to 1 month.
- Just One Cookbook suggests garlic chives in the filling, other ground meats, or a tofu and vegetable version.
- Don't crowd the pan: spaced gyoza brown evenly and don't steam each other soft.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Gyoza came from China after World War II. Documented as Wikipedia's account and Just One Cookbook's: settlers returning from Manchuria brought northern Chinese dumplings home.
- Utsunomiya is Japan's gyoza capital. Disputed: Utsunomiya led the household spending survey for 15 straight years; Hamamatsu and Miyazaki have led it since (Nippon.com).
- Gyoza have more garlic than Chinese dumplings. Documented as Wikipedia's account; this recipe uses just 2 cloves.
- The word gyoza comes from Manchu. Documented as Wikipedia's account (likely from the Manchu word giyose).
- Gyoza are always pan-fried. Folklore: yaki-gyoza is the most popular style (Wikipedia), but boiled and steamed gyoza exist too.
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