Hello friends! Please say hi to Rachael, who’ve I’ve been mentoring in the blog-world as a Steamy Kitchen intern.

She’s a kick-ass gyoza ninja and I’ve asked her to write up her super-secret recipe for these savory pan-fried Japanese style dumplings.

Rachael lived in Japan for a number of years and here’s her story and a step by step photo tutorial on how to make Gyoza.

xoxo Jaden

How did a girl who was born in the Rocky Mountains and raised in California and who graduated with French and Law degrees end up writing a food blog called La Fuji Mama and striving to perfect her gyoza recipe?  The story starts seven and a half years ago when I married a man who had lived and studied in Japan.  Six months into our marriage, we moved to Japan, a place completely foreign to me.  Before my marriage, I had traveled all over Europe and lived in Paris, but I had never imagined that I would ever live in Asia.  But there I was, living on the outskirts of Yokohama in a tiny little 400-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment in a neighborhood devoid of any other foreigners.

My kitchen consisted of a large sink, a gas range with two burners and a “fish fryer” beneath the burners (like a little mini broiler), a refrigerator that was considerably shorter than I was, a toaster oven, and two cupboards. I spent my free time exploring, eating, watching and listening, and loving each moment more than the last.  After almost a year, we returned to the States.  Three years later, my husband’s company asked him to transfer to Tokyo, which he happily agreed to.  I soon found myself living in Japan for the second time, this time in downtown Tokyo, in a slightly larger 950-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment, with a slightly larger kitchen, and a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji.

I quickly settled into life, feeling much more comfortable the second time around, and trying to embrace the experience.  Our ties to Japan were further strengthened by the birth of our first child in a Japanese hospital.  A piece of my heart will always be in Tokyo because of that experience.

Our move back to the US a year ago was a difficult one, but we try to keep the “homesickness” for Japan at bay with trips to Mitsuwa (our nearest Japanese grocery store) and lots of home cooked Japanese meals.

My first foray into Japanese home cooking started a few weeks after we moved to Japan the first time.  One of my neighbors, a woman named Miki, periodically knocked on my door to ask if I wanted to “cook and talk.”   I looked forward to those knocks – they meant that I got to accompany her to her apartment and spend an hour with her, helping her to both cook a meal and practice her English.  It was in her kitchen that I stuffed and pleated my first gyoza.

Miki made it look easy–her hands rhythmically pleating the top layer of the gyoza wrapper and simultaneously pinching it against the smooth bottom layer as she went–finishing each gyoza within moments of having started it.  My first gyoza took me forever to complete, looked sloppy, and didn’t hold together well when cooked.  But with a few pointers from Miki, my gyoza quickly started to look more as they should (although I still can’t stuff and pleat a gyoza as fast as she could).

Over the last seven years I’ve tweaked the gyoza recipe I learned from Miki, adjusting the amounts of ingredients here and there to suit our palates, and adding a couple of ingredients used by other wonderful Japanese cooks I’ve met along the way.  The recipe I’m going to share with you today is that recipe in its latest form (though ask me again in a few months and it will probably already be slightly different).

My most recent adjustment to the gyoza recipe is in the technique I use when mixing the filling.  In Elizabeth Andoh’s cookbook, Washoku, she describes a method that helps tenderize the meat and helps hold the filling together.  She explains that it’s “a bit like baseball practice” because you are gathering the filling into a ball and throwing it back into the bowl repeatedly. The bonus to the technique is that you get to play with your food.

How to make Gyoza

Gyoza are really easy to make.  Just mince, grate, and measure out your ingredients as called for,

and then mix the gyoza ingredients together in a bowl using your hands. 

Yep, you’ve gotta get your hands dirty to make these!  Next you’ll use Elizabeth Andoh’s “baseball practice” technique.  Scoop up the mixture into a ball with your hands and throw it back with some force into the bowl. Repeat this several times to tenderize the meat and help the mixture stick together.  Now it’s time to form your gyoza.  Put a bit of the meat mixture in the center of a wrapper, get your fingertip wet and then trace a line around half of the wrapper.

Then you fold the wrapper in half over the filling,

and pinch it in the center.

Now comes the fun part–the pleating! Holding the wrapper in that middle spot that you just pinched with your left hand, make a pleat in the top part of the wrapper, pinching it against the flat edge of the wrapper at the back.

Holding the filled half-circle in the left hand, pleat the top of the wrapper from the middle out, pressing it to the flat edge of the wrapper at the back (only the front edge will be pleated–the back edge stays flat).  Proceed to make two or three more pleats to the right of the first pleat.

Then switch sides and pleat the other side (to the left of the pinched middle).

Set aside the stuffed dumpling with the pleated-wrapper edge up.

Repeat the process until all of your wrappers have been filled and pleated.  It’s always nice to have a partner in crime for this part because it goes a lot quicker.

Now you can either cover the gyoza with some plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for a couple of hours until you’re ready to cook them (or you could freeze them to keep them for longer) or you can cook them right away.  The gyoza are first fried on their flat side (pleats up),

until the bottom is nice and brown.

Then, water is added and the pan sealed with a lid

until the upper part of the gyoza is steamed.

Then you serve them browned side up with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a few drops of chili oil.

If you can’t find round gyoza wrappers, you can always use square wonton wrappers and cut them into circles using a large biscuit cutter.

Or you can really go all out and make your own wrappers.

These gyoza have a hint of heat from the addition of crushed red chili pepper.  They also contain aka miso paste (red/dark miso paste), which has a wonderful pungent salty flavor.  If you cannot find aka miso paste, you can either leave it out altogether, or subsitute shiro miso paste (white miso paste).  If you leave the miso out, increase the salt by 1/2 teaspoon.  If you substitute shiro miso paste, leave out the sugar and increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.

I’m a big fan of Japanese artisan sake and wanted to post an article about sake and food pairing. But I’m not the expert, so when author, instructor and publisher of one of the most comprehensive websites about Japanese sake (SakeWorld.com), John Gauntner,  offered to write a post, I practically did a back-flip! And then, to top it all off, Morgan of Vine Connections (a former client of mine) came over and brought a caseful of sake for me to try. So, I invited friends Michael, Debbie and Barry to come by and party. Our meal was non-Japanese, which was perfect because we really got a chance to experience how clean, crisp Japanese sake plays so well with other foods, especially cheese, manicotti, smoked wild boar and home made bread ~Jaden

by John Gauntner

I’ll just come right out and say it: sake holds as much potential for pairing with food as wine. It’s true. And the rules and principles are the same.

Sure, it has its limitations. Sake is subtle; it has a much smaller presence or “footprint” than wine. It’s generally more demure, more delicate. And it has a lower overall acidity and no tannins. All this limits it in some ways, but helps its pairing potential in others.

But know this: sake is NOT limited to Japanese food, nor even to Asian food. Perish the thought! Sure, sake has limitations. Food that is too strong in any facet – spicy, rich, hot – will overpower sake. But take away those obvious mismatches, and what remains in western cuisine works very well indeed with sake.

Sake and food is hardly rocket science. It works just like wine does. You want to compare and contrast. So you look for similarities or contrasts that bring out the best of both the food and the sake. If you’re lucky, you get a synergy that makes both food and drink better than they would have been alone.

Interestingly, though, traditionally in Japan sake and food have not been paired as precisely as wine and food in the west. Sure, they have always enjoyed sake with food in Japan. But sake was used to support the food, taking a supporting role. “Ryori ni jama shinai,” they say. “Sake that does not interfere with the food.” Sure; this is changing. But historically, and often today as well, this was the thinking.

So what do you look for? What do you latch on to when pairing? Lots of things. Sweetness or dryness, fruity aromas or earthy ones, flavors that can run from rice-like to herbal or nutty. Structure, volume, acidity, texture, and length of finish are valid too.

One more biggie with sake and food is umami – that elusive savoriness that some call a fifth flavor element. Without it, sake is too simple. Too much umami and it’s cloying. But matching umami in sake and food is a great pairing principle.

There are a number of situations where wine doesn’t quite work, but sake is near perfect. Vinegar-laden food is one example, including leafy green salads. Soy-tinged food is another, which is important as that important flavor element finds its way into more and more dishes. And sake asks no quarter of wine when oysters are on the table.

One thing you can’t do is pair a sake to a dish based on the label alone. That works for wine quite often; not so with sake. Why not? Flavors and aromas are not consistent enough across regions, nor across grades of sake. The label alone will not tell you enough. You have to taste it to know how to pair it.

Fortunately, it is hard to have a real mismatch with sake: even if the pairing is not perfect, you have leeway. So feel free to experiment.

See the chart for a few suggested pairing strategies, starting with either the sake profile or the food. These are just examples; the principles will take you off on your own. Try appealing pairings for yourself and discover just how food-friendly sake truly is.

Sake – Food Pairing Chart – Starting with Sake

(I’m working on getting these charts bigger and downloadable)

Sake – Food Pairing Chart – Starting with Food

More information on Japanese Sake

Japanese Sake Grades
How is Sake Made?
How to Read the Labels
How to Serve Sake
Sparkling Sake: sake2me
Sake World – John’s  website about sake
esake.com – Over 350 pages and 400 photos. A great resource!
The Sake Notebook – list of 250 recommended Japanese sake and Sake’s Hidden Stories – an ebook by John Gauntner

One of my favorite cooking shows of all time is the original Iron Chef. No, not the modern version that plays over and over on Food Network right now, but the one taped in Japan with the silly English dubbing that always cracks me up. The episode that I drooled most over was “Battle Matsutake.” Matsutake Tempura?! Oh hello lover!

So since that episode, I’ve been pining for Matsutake mushrooms. I kept hearing that in Japan, it’s a seasonal, rare, expensive thing….so I just sorta passed it up as, “okay, one day…” type of food.

And a couple of weeks ago I found out that Matsutake mushrooms are harvested here in the Pacific Northwest (okay, not really “here” as I’m in Florida, but I mean here as in American soil!) and this year is one of abundance. My good friend Dave from Earthy sent me an email when they first started arriving, and I almost canceled the rest of my travel plans to come home so I could play with the ’shrooms.

But how to cook?

Marc of No Recipes and Stephan of Zen Can Cook came to the rescue with ideas and recipes. I had dinner with both of them a few months ago in NYC, but we don’t have a photo to prove it.

Because we were too damn busy eating, laughing and stuffing our faces at dinner. Oh and drinking lots too. No wonder!

So, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a few Matsutake mushrooms, remember to keep the recipe simple. The mushroom is so fragrant and earthy that you don’t want manipulate it too much. Keep it simple, with few good quality ingredients and enjoy its natural aroma and taste.

What is Matsutake Mushroom?

Fall is the season of Matsutake mushrooms. In Japan, it’s a highly prized mushroom, perfect specimens selling for as much as $250 for 6 small Matsutake mushrooms! I compare it to truffles – the Matsutake has a penetrating, deep earthy aroma. It’s texture is thick, meaty and hearty.

Matsu = pine
Take = mushroom

The Matsutake grows only under pine trees, and I’ve heard that the never grow in the same place twice. How frustrating for mushroom hunters, eh? American Matsutake is a little different from the Japanese species, but just as fragrant and delicious.

Hsiao-Ching Chou wrote, “In that regard, the matsutake resembles the truffle, which lends its perfume to any preparation it encounters. A broth with several slices of a pine mushroom would be served in a lidded bowl or pot, for example, so that the scent of earthy pine with a tinge of cinnamon swirls within the container until it is finally released.”

Hurry! Matsutake mushrooms are only available September through November!

How to make Matsutake Dobin Mushi

First, clean your mushroom with a damp cloth, wiping off as much dirt as possible. Cut off the tough bottom nub of the mushroom. Use a paring knife, turn the knife around so that you’re using the upper dull edge, and scrape off the thin outer layer on the stem.

Cleaned mushrooms and trimmed stems

We’ll be making dashi broth from scratch. You’ll need 3 ingredients to make dashi – water, bonito flakes and dried kelp.

To make dashi, use large bonito flakes or katsuobushi. They come in a big package at the Asian market. Look for the big flakes. The little flakes are for garnishing. Big flakes should be the size of a cornflake.

Look how beautiful these bonito fish flakes are! So light, airy, flakey. Don’t sneeze.

You’ll also need a 6-inch piece of dried kelp (seaweed) or kombu for dashi:

They usually come long, folded and then dried. You’ll only need 6-inches and just a single layer, so break it apart.

Do not soak the kelp or even rinse it. Just take a damp cloth and wipe it down to clean any dirt off the seaweed. Add the kelp to water and turn the heat to medium-low.

Just before it comes to a boil, add two big handfuls of bonito flakes, stir and turn off the heat immediately.

Then strain.

The kombu is still good! Don’t throw it away….

Just rinse and pat dry. Let dry on your counter top and then when the kelp is completely dry, store back in your pantry. You can reuse.

Now it’s time to make the dobin mushi. Ladle the strained dashi into a teapot.

Next, add the ingredients. Today, I had sliced fish, sliced carrots and sliced Matsutake mushrooms. I have also make dobin mushi with chicken, shrimp and ginko nuts. What you add to your dobin mushi is up to you. Below, I have a list of links to dobin mushi recipes that you can look at.

Place all ingredients into the teapot. Also add Japanese sake, a touch of soy sauce and just a sliver of lime peel.

Dobin mushi is steamed, not boiled directly on a flame. I have a wok here and have inserted a steamer stand. Bring water to a boil.

Place the teapot on the steamer rack.

Cover with lid.

Steam for 8 minutes.

Pour the aromatic broth into a teacup.

And then enjoy the goodies inside the pot.

Treasure hunting!

More Matsutake

Matsutake Mushrooms from Earthy.com

Fantastic Forage

A Recipe to Savor the Autumn: Kinoko Dobin Mushi

Matsutake Dobin Mushi Recipe

Mad About Matsutake

Introduction to Matsutake

Wild about Matsutake

Hunting for Matsutake Mushrooms

Here’s my latest video from Good Bite – a roundtable with friends Matt Armendariz and Julie Van Rosendaal and we talk about S-S-S-SOUP!

I’m a lazy souper.

Well, let me rephrase that. I’m a forgetful and highly distractable gal and anything that sits on the stovetop for more than 30 minutes tends to be forgotten about, and that means long simmering soups.

So I have to use shortcuts like the pressure cooker or longcuts like the slow cooker (but at least there’s an auto shut-off) or better yet, I make soups that only take 10 minutes from start to finish….like my 10-minute miso soup recipe!

But watch and find out what Matt and Julie love about soup!

And here we have lovely Aarti showing you how to make the miso soup:

The recipe for 10-Minute Miso Soup is on Good Bite

We’re currently spending the long weekend at Mount Dora again with good friends Brian and Rachelle.

Despite being smack dab in the middle of Florida, I was floored by the fresh sushi at Mount Dora Sushi. Owner Janet Craig, who is half-Japanese runs this restaurant with her family. It’s one of the most popular dining destinations in the area, some drive over an hour away just to sample the best sushi around.

So, lets talk about Uni, or sea urchin. Thank goodness for my friend, Casson Trenor, author of Sustainable Sushi and an activist with Greenpeace. Through his book and through the Monterey Aquarium iPhone app, I can usually navigate through a sushi menu pretty well and choose to dine on delicacies that are sustainable. I wanted to call Casson and be sure though, since Uni’s situation is a little more complicated.

Uni that we enjoy here in the U.S. comes from several places, Alaska, California, Canada and Maine, for example. Yes, it also comes from Japan but is extremely expensive, and usually out of pocket book reach of many diners… which is good because we know very little about the harvesting practices and regulations in Japan (pssst…pass on Japanese Uni until we know more information!)

According to Casson, Uni from Maine should be avoided at all costs. There is little regulation, management and stock strengths are at approximately 10% of what they once were. Uni from Canada is excellent, as they enforce strict quotas on the hand-harvesting of Uni. California is a good resource for the delicacy as well.

It’s wonderful to see this small sushi company in the middle of Florida doing whatever they can to protect the sustainability of sushi. While their menu list isn’t absolutely perfect, Janet assures me that every day they do what they can as a small company to respect the environment, including specifically sourcing Uni from California and Canada. Here is the recipe for their Mount Dora Sushi Uni Shooter, one of the best I’ve ever had.

===

Mount Dora Sushi with Chef Kobayashi doing his magic:

Vivid purple flowers and a yummy vegetable flower made from celery, tomato and green onion:

I loved these Japanese ramune soda drinks as a kid – A glass marble seals the top of the bottle, which is held in place by the carbonation. To open, you have to push the glass marble down into the neck of the bottle. Andrew thought it was the coolest thing in the world.