Gluten Free Gyoza

Gyoza are dumplings, or Japanese potstickers, and they’re delicious –  light and crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. They’re often served as a side dish at ramen restaurants, as street food, or even at specialty gyoza restaurants. Like tempura, they’re usually made with wheat flour. However, in my cooking class, I learned how to make gluten free gyoza!

image source: pixabay

They look fancy, but once you get the hang of it, they’re actually pretty easy to make. The tricky part is making (or buying) gluten free gyoza wrappers. In my cooking class, I learned how to make the gyoza wrappers from scratch. But to be honest, I use store-bought wrappers made with rice flour. They’re cheap here in Japan (only about ¥300 for a package of 25), and they save a lot of time. If you can’t find them at your grocery store or local Asian market, I would suggest something like this or this from Amazon.

I would suggest cooking your gyoza in a non-stick pan with a lid. My first at-home attempt was with a stainless steel sauté pan, and it didn’t work at all. Now I use something like this:

I’ll include instructions for making gluten free gyoza wrappers (or “skins”) from scratch, with the caveat that I have not made these on my own successfully. I have, however, made gyoza with store-bought wrappers many times, and they’ve turned out great!

One more note – for the filling, I include pickled Chinese cabbage, which is readily available in Japanese supermarkets but may be difficult to find outside of Asia. This is the closest I could find on Amazon. Kombucha kelp (powdered seaweed) may also be difficult to find, but you can skip it. I’ll include some other options for the filling, as recommended by Just One Cookbook. Just use what you have on hand, and don’t stress about the ingredients!

Gluten Free Gyoza

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Japanese

Ingredients

  

Gluten Free Gyoza Wrappers (Skins)

• ⅔ cup rice flour called rice powder in Japan
• ¾ tsp potato starch
• ⅓ cup boiling water

Gyoza Filling

• ½ lb ground pork (or other ground meat)
• ½ cup pickled Chinese cabbage can also use 5 oz green cabbage
• ½ cup green onions and/or leeks
• 1 tsp kombucha kelp powder
• 2 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger or ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sake optional
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• ⅙ tsp black pepper

To Cook Gyoza (each batch)

• 1 tbsp rice, vegetable, or canola oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 1 tbsp gluten free rice vinegar, unseasoned
• 1 tbsp gluten free soy sauce

Instructions

 

Preparing Gluten Free Gyoza Wrappers

• Put rice flour and potato starch in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake it to mix the powders. Mix well.
• Put the powder mix in a plastic bowl.
• Add boiling water to the center of the bowl, and mix with a spatula.
• When the powder and water are mixed completely, knead it by hand in the bowl until the dough becomes glossy.
• Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
• Knead the dough again for 2 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 10 small pieces and roll each into a ball.
• Using a piece of wax or parchment paper, lightly press on the dough to flatten it.
• Use a rolling pin to stretch each piece to about a 4 inch circle.
• Keep wrappers damp and covered until you're ready to use them.

Making the Gyoza Filling

• If using pickled cabbage, drain well and mince.
• If using cabbage leaves, discard the core and mince the leaves.
• Mince green onions, leeks, and shiitake mushrooms.
• Combine the ground meat, vegetables, sake, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and seasonings.
• Mix well by hand.

Folding the Gyoza

• Prepare a small bowl of water.
• Place one wrapper flat on the palm of your non-dominant hand.
• Add about a teaspoon of the filling to the center of the wrapper.
• With your other hand, dip a finger in the water and draw a circle around the outer edge of the wrapper.
• Fold the wrapper in half over the filling and pinch at the top to lightly seal.
• Pleat or fold the outer edge of the half circle. Watch this video for instructions.

Cooking the Gyoza

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of oil.
• Add the gyoza in a single layer, flat side down. Don't crowd the pan. You will need to cook in batches.
• Cook uncovered until the bottoms turn golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add ¼ cup of water to the pan, then cover. Steam the dumplings for about 3 minutes, or until most of the water evaporates.
• Remove the lid and allow extra water to evaporate. Be careful not to let the gyoza burn on the bottom.
• Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and cook for another minute or two, until brown and crispy on the bottom.
• Transfer to a serving dish and serve with dipping sauce (1 tablespoon of soy sauce and one 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, combined).

I know it sounds tricky, but it’s really quite easy, once you get the hang of it, especially if you use store-bought wrappers. I usually make a batch of about 20 gyoza, and I serve them as an appetizer or side dish with our dinner. My family loves them!