Sam Makes Someone Else's Mom's Dish!

Mom's Homemade Gyoza

Former model turned "Top Chef" competitor Candice Kumai has written a delightful cookbook with nothing but healthy, guilt-free recipes. With recipes like "Bright-eye Blueberry Bran muffins" to "Totally Mexi-Cali Carnitas," this cookbook has a lot of options. I chose "Mom’s Homemade Gyozas." A simple, tasty dinner to make at home alone or a great one to get friends to help you. 

Yields about 30 pot stickers

Dipping sauce

• ¼ cup reduced- sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• scallions sliced thin

Gyoza (Potstickers)

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 5 diced mushrooms, rinsed and chopped   (I used Cremini)
• 5 scallions finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
• 3 large cabbage leaves finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• All-purpose flour
• 30 round wonton skins (about ½ a package)
• 2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

Sauce:
Whisk together the soy sauce and vinegar and add the scallions.

Gyoza:

• Mix together: ground beef, mushrooms, onions, cabbage and garlic in a bowl
• In a separate bowl mix together: soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and sugar.
• Combine both together.
• Sprinkle your counter top with a little flour and have a little bowl of water next to you.
• Place a wonton wrapper on the floured area and scoop out about two teaspoons of the filling onto the center of your wrapper.
• Dip your finger in the water and moisten the edges of the wrapper
• Fold the wrapper in half and press the edges together.
• Use your index finger and thumb to pinch the edges so they have a cute ruffled look. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers. 

  To Cook:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about two minutes.
2. Lay the Gyoza flat inside your pan and cook until the bottoms are golden brown about one to two minutes.
3. Add ¼ of a cup of water to the skillet and reduce the heat.
4. Cover and cook without turning until the wrappers are translucent.
5. Uncover and cook until the water evaporates and filling is cooked through about 2-3 minutes longer.
6. Cook the next batched adding a tiny bit more oil as needed and ¼ cup water for each batch.
7. Wipe out the skillet between batches.

Notes: Substitute ground beef for ground pork or turkey. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them. Cook the Gyoza in batches, just do as many as will fit flat into the size skillet you are using.