Hallo Leute! Today, I have a tutorial on how to make two types of dumplings- wontons and gyozas- with just one filling. I decided to go with a simple pork and mushroom filling instead of one with prawns because of one simple reason - seafood is hella pricey here in Germany, and I'm nearing the end of my money so, cheap pork filling it is then! Also, if you're wondering where to get the dumpling skins, you can find them in the frozen section of most larger Asian supermarkets. I of course, got them from my reliable ol' AsiaGo at Tempelhof. These dumplings are really easy to make, with ingredients that you can find in your local supermarket (barring the skins of course), so let's get started!
Ingredients (for the filling)
- 500 g minced pork meat (or if you like, mixed beef and pork)
- 8-10 brown champignons, diced (or if you have them, shiitake mushrooms work even better)
- 4 tbsps Hua Diao or Shao Xing wine
- 2 tsp cornstarch (Speisestärke in German)
- 2 chopped spring onions
- 4 tbsps light soy sauce
- 2 tsps minced ginger
- 4 tsps sesame oil
- 2 tsps white granulated sugar
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the cornstarch and wine until the cornstarch is all dissolved.
- Add the everything else, and mix well!
I told you it was easy. The slightly harder bit is folding the dumplings, but once you've gotten the hang of it, it's like riding a bicycle, you won't forget.
Method 1: Wontons
- Place the (square) wontons in the palm of your hand, then scoop one teaspoon of the filling into the centre.
- Using either water or a beaten egg, gently wet with a finger half of the perimeter of the wrapper.
- Fold the wrapper in half, and seal it by pressing the edges together.
- This next part is a bit tricky, so if you don't get what I'm explaining, refer to this YouTube video here. Fold the wrapper in half again, then taking the two exposed edges to either side, fold them down and seal again with water.
And there you have it! There are other ways to wrap the wontons, of course, but I'll leave it up to you to figure out which way you want to wrap it. I just thing they look adorable here, like tiny flowers. Delicious, savoury, edible flowers. Yum.
Once you've wrapped the dumplings, either cook them immediately or store them in the freezer, or else the moisture from the filling will seep into the wrappers.
You can either boil the wontons and make wonton soup, which is what I've done here, or you can deep fry them. I personally hate deep frying things myself, because it makes a complete mess in the kitchen, so I opted for the easier (and also healthier option). Simply bring the broth to a boil (I used powdered chicken stock, for simplicity), dump the wontons in, bring the pot to a simmer and wait for them to float to the top! That takes approximately 5 minutes, but you can cheat and just cut a wonton in half to see if the filling is cooked.
You can throw in some veggies or noodles to make a more hearty meal. I opted for regular chinese cabbage, but most people pair this dish with Bok Choy.
Method 2: Gyoza/Guo Tie (I actually took pictures of this process! Wonders never cease)
- Place 2-3 tsps of filling into the middle of the gyoza wrapper.
- Similarly to the wontons, wet half of the circumference of the wrapper with either water or a beaten egg. Then seal the center of the wrapper (don't seal it all the way yet!)
- Placing one finger in between the wrapper edges so they don't stick, pleat one side of the wrapper (as below), and seal by pressing onto the other side each time you make a pleat.
Et voila! You should have a wrapper that looks more or less like this. Similarly to the wonton dumpling, either cook straight away, or freeze the gyozas. You can also boil the dumplings, but we want more variety in our lives, so I'm going to show you the traditional pot-sticker method, which involves pan frying, and then steaming in the pan.
First of all, heat the oil on the pan on medium heat. Once the oil starts to sizzle a bit when you touch it with a spatula, place the gyozas on the pan like so.
Pan fry it for about 2-3 minutes, or until the bottoms have turned a crispy, golden brown. Then pour cold water in the pan to about 1 cm depth. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cover with a lid. If you don't have a lid for your frying pan, use aluminium foil. Steam the dumplings for 6-8 minutes, then remove the lid and let the rest of the water evaporate.
The end result: slightly wrecked because the Hermes delivery guy came to the door, and I had to leave the pan unattended to sign for a package, which resulted in the bottoms sticking slightly to the pan.
No big loss though, they're still perfectly edible. Serve with a dipping sauce of vinegar mixed with soy sauce and fresh ginger cut into fine julienne.
And finally, sit back and savour your creations! Hopefully this tutorial was helpful, and that I didn't confuse anyone with my wrapping instructions.
