Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Gyoza / Potstickers

I'll be honest I don't know the difference between the two.  I love them both.  Menus where I live seem to list both names almost synonymous with what shows up on my plate.  So call it whatever you want and I'll call them delicious.  This recipe comes from my sister who lived in Japan for a time teaching English and conversational English.

Homemade Gyoza / Potstickers

1	Cabbage (Naptha supposedly works best; I used standard my first time making it)
1/2 lb	Ground pork or turkey (I used 1 lb ground turkey)
3 tsp	Sesame oil
3 tsp	Soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp	Ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp	Ground garlic
1 1/2 tsp	Salt

2                packages of wonton wrappers

Cut up cabbage into very small pieces. Put in bowl and add salt. The salt helps to purge some of the water out of the cabbage.  Squeeze cabbage to remove excess water before mixing with meat.  I also placed it on paper towels to press some of the water out. 

Mix remaining ingredients with cabbage.  You'll want to use your hands for this to be effective. 

Put a small amount of the mixture in the middle of wonton wrapper and fold.  The square type wontons fold over into a triangle and then connect the two corners.  Use warm water to seal the wontons and avoid getting the mixture on the edges. The back of  most packaging has helpful instructions and pictures.

Freeze if desired.  Flash freeze first (on a cookie sheet or flat surface) until frozen and not sticky.  After flash freezing you can place them into ziploc bags.

COOKING: Add 1 to 2 T oil to pan and heat over med-high. Fry bottoms of gyoza until golden brown. Add water to pan until bottom is covered but not too deep (1/4 c or less). Cover with lid and cook for 7-8 min or until bubbling sound changes to a sizzle. Serve with rice.

DIP: soy sauce and couple drops of chili oil (or even tabasco) and small amount of vinegar to taste.

* I made approx 1 gallon size freezer bag of gyoza / pot stickers with this recipe.  It works great for freezing...just add a couple more minutes of cook time.  When I cook mine I'll try to remember to add a couple more photos.