Oh, hey there, delightful little pillows of porky goodness. With their crispy bottoms, soft, chewy tops and a seriously tasty filling these Pork Gyoza are a slight addiction of mine.

In the world of dumplings, gyoza are among the best. Simple to make using store-bought dumpling wrappers and with a flavoursome filling they’re a real treat. I tend to make a big batch and eat them as the main course and serve them with a 2 ingredient gyoza dipping sauce.

  • A few very simple ingredients
  • Flavour, flavour, flavour
  • They take minutes to cook
  • Make them ahead (a day or 2 is fine, in fridge, covered)
  • Freeze them (in an airtight container)
  • Perfect in soups, as a side, appetiser or even main dish

Japanese gyoza may look intimidating to make but they really aren’t. The filling takes minutes and if you can’t get the hang of pleating them it actually doesn’t matter. As long as they are sealed, they’ll still cook perfectly and be delicious so fold them any which way you like.

Why not have a Japanese night and have these tasty morsels as an appetiser, then follow them up with this Oven Baked Teriyaki Salmon or this Chicken katsu.

Sauce being poured into a small cup with gyoza on a plate.
Closeup of the crispy bottom on gyoza.

What Is Gyoza?

The Japanese Gyoza are small, pan-fried pork dumplings, very similar to Chinese potstickers. Authentic gyoza can be made with many different fillings. A classic combination is a mixture of ground pork, cabbage, garlic, ginger and spring onion are very common.

The filling is all at once incredibly simple and absolutely brimming with flavour. My pork gyoza recipe uses spring onion but you can swap it for finely chopped leek or garlic chives.

There is no need to make your gyoza skins or gyoza wrappers from scratch. Very good ones can be found in Oriental supermarkets and some major supermarkets. Gyoza wrappers are normally white and round, however you can use regular thin wonton wrappers instead and use a round cookie cutter to cut them into circles.

How To Make Japanese Gyoza

Gyoza are actually very easy to make. Just take the ingredients for the pork filling and mix them all together in a large bowl. Wrap the filling in special gyoza wrappers and cook.

The top steams while the bottom fries getting golden and crisp and they cook in under 10 minutes.

A collage of 6 images showing how to make pork gyoza.

How To Fold Gyoza

These Japanese pork dumplings are folded to form a little pillow with pleats along the top and forming a crescent shape. The crescent shape is achieved by pleating just one side and leaving the other side flat. Here are the steps to folding them.

The pleating on just one side will naturally force the dumpling into a crescent shape.

  1. Holding a gyoza wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand, place 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the centre (start small and work up as you get better at folding)
  2. Brush some water around the entire edge of the gyoza wrapper
  3. Grab one edge and fold it over the gyoza filling to meet the other edge without sealing (so that it’s the shape of a taco)
  4. Seal just a tiny bit of the corner closest to you dominant hand together.
  5. Place the thumb of your dominant hand on that seal
  6. Now, with your non-dominant hand place the index finger on the inside very close to the bottom corner.
  7. With your non-dominant thumb on the outside, slide that side of the wrapper down to overlap it over the corner a little bit.
  8. Press that new seal down with the thumb of your dominant hand
  9. Repeat until you have 6-7 pleats and have reached the other end.

How To Cook Gyoza

Japanese Gyoza have a wonderful combination of texture from being both steamed and pan fried. The top is soft and slightly chewy, while the base is crispy. Here’s how you do it

  1. Pan fry: Start by frying the gyoza in just a little oil in a large non-stick skillet or frypan until the bases start to take on some colour
  2. Steam: Add some water being careful to use the lid of the pan to shield yourself from spitting oil. Place the lid on top and let the pork gyoza steam for 3-4 minutes until the water has evaporated.
  3. Finish: Remove the lid and let them cook a little longer until the bases are golden and crisp
A gyoza dumpling between being held with chopsticks.

Gyoza Dipping Sauce Recipe

A simple mixture of equal amounts of rice wine vinegar and light soy make the perfect gyoza dipping sauce. This Japanese sesame sauce is also a common option for dipping gyoza.

Tips For The Best Pork Gyoza

  • Don’t knead the ingredients together – just a light mix until they are distributed evenly.
  • Use light soy sauce not the sushi style or sweet soy.
  • Be careful when adding the water – it will cause the oil in the pan to spit, so hold the lid of the pan over it while you pour the water in so you don’t get splashed.
  • Don’t cook them too long – 3-4 minutes is perfect for the pork filling to be cooked and the gyoza wrapper to soften. Any longer and the gyoza filling will be dry.

Substitutions

  • Gyoza wrappers – If you can’t find traditional gyoza skins / wrappers just use regular thin wonton wrappers and use a circle cookie cutter to shape it.
  • Gyoza filling – change the filling to make fish, beef or chicken gyoza or even vegetarian gyoza. Prawn gyoza are wonderful too.
  • The signature pleated shape is cute but if you find it tricky, just fold the wrappers and seal them with a flat seal. So long as the filling is sealed inside, it will taste delicious.

What’s not to like about a delicate little dumpling wrapper, encasing a tasty, juicy pork mince filling? Pork Gyoza are such a delicious authentic Japanese treat that are actually very simple to make.

You can make them ahead of time and even freeze them for later. Such a versatile little dumpling, you can change up the filling and use them in soups, as a side dish, appetiser or even as a main.

A batch of gyoza on a grey plate.

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A batch of gyoza on a grey plate.
5 from 6 ratings
These Pork Gyoza are little Japanese dumplings filled with a flavourful pork filling. This Japanese version of potstickers is both steamed and pan fried and incredibly addictive.

Ingredients

FOR THE GYOZA DUMPLINGS

  • 200 g pork mince (ground pork) (7oz)
  • 1 ½ cups chinese cabbage
  • 1 ½ teaspoons grated ginger (notes)
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons spring onion (green onion), finely chopped (notes)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 22 round gyoza or dumpling wrappers
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil (notes)
  • cup water

FOR THE GYOZA DIPPING SAUCE

  • ¼ cup soy sauce (60ml)
  • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar (or mirin) (60ml)

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Instructions
 

  • Wash the cabbage leaves, then finely shred – you’ll need 1 ½ cups. Place it in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it soften for 5 minutes, then drain well, pressing out the water, and set aside.
  • Put the pork mince, ginger, garlic, spring onion, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, pepper and salt in a separate bowl and thoroughly mix together. Add the cooled cabbage and mix to distribute everything well.
  • Prepare a small dish of water, the pork mixture, a teaspoon, the gyoza wrappers and a clean plate on your workspace.
  • Take one wrapper on the palm of your non-dominant hand. Use your finger to run a little water around the entire edge.
  • Place 2-3 teaspoons of pork mixture in the centre (notes), fold it in half bringing the edges almost together so it looks like a little taco shape.
  • Press the bottom corner on one side together with the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand and press together firmly.
  • Now use the index fingertip (inside) and thumb (outside) of your non-dominant hand to fold a small pleat over the thumb that is holding the seal closed. Now move that thumb on top of the pleat.
  • Repeat to make 6-7 small pleats on one side while the other side remains flat. This will cause it to bend into a small crescent with a pleated top edge.
  • In a non-stick fry pan (that has a fitting lid) – see notes, heat the oil over medium high. Place the dumplings in, pleated edge pointing up and fry until the bottoms just start to take on some colour.
  • Carefully pour in the water using the pan lid as a shield as it will splatter. Cover with the lid an allow the dumplings to steam for 3-4 minutes until the water has evaporated. The dumplings should be softened, shiny and a little translucent.
  • Remove the lid and allow them to fry 2 more minutes until the bottoms are a nice golden brown colour.
  • Serve them crispy side up with the combined soy and vinegar for dipping.
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Notes

  1. I use an Australian standard 20ml tablespoon
  2. Gyoza skins can be found at large supermarkets or Oriental supermarkets
  3. The amount of pork mixture you can fit into the wrappers will depend on the size of them and how well practiced you are at folding the dumplings. Start with less and as you get better work up to more filling.
  4. The pan: Make sure to use a non-stick pan. If your pan is not non-stick, you’ll need to use more oil and check the gyoza often to make sure they aren’t sticking.
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