Shrimp Gyoza & Pomegranate Ponzu Recipe

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Ingredients

The Gyoza

• raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (if necessary)
• Chinese Chives / Nira
• garlic
• ginger
• sesame oil
• rice wine
• tiny bit of salt
• egg white
• gyoza skins

The Ponzu (dipping sauce)

• pomegranate seeds
• lemon juice
• sesame oil
• chilli oil

How to make Shrimp Gyoza & Pomegranate Ponzu

This recipe includes a video on How To Make Gyoza - please watch the video if you are unsure about how to use gyoza skins!

This one was a bit experimental and to be absolutely honest, I only made the pomegranate ponzu because I had a pomegranate that I wanted to get rid of :) However! It's an interesting combination - and it was quite delightful how when you put the crisply fried gyoza dipped in the wine-coloured ponzu into your mouth, you taste pomegranate for the first couple of seconds which then give way to the more robust flavours of chilli, shrimp and chive. Quite yummy.

The Ponzu

We'll make the sauce first so we can set it aside. For when the gyoza are done.

1. Put your pomegranate seeds into a blender and strain the juice into a bowl.

2. Mix in a dash of lemon juice, a touch of sesame oil and a drizzle of chilli oil. Taste it - it should be quite tart, with a little sweetness. Some chopped coriander or mint would also be great in this, I think.

The Gyoza

The only difficult thing about making gyoza is the actual wrapping of the skins. For that, rather than try to cumbersomely describe the process in words, I made a video which is linked below.

1. Roughly chop your shrimp and add to a big mixing bowl. Finely chop the chives and throw them in. Mince some garlic and ginger - only a small amount is required, really the gyoza should taste of shrimp and chive, not of garlic - and add it to the bowl. Add a touch of sesame oil, about the same amount of rice wine and a tiny grinding of salt. Mix thoroughly and add an egg white to bind.

2. Grab your gyoza skins and make gyoza! To see how this is done, please watch my Youtube video on How To Make Gyoza :)

3. As I mention in the video, keep your gyoza somewhere cool before you cook them. Ideally, put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes beforehand. This will help the skins to stiffen so they don't become inflated, gelatinous blobs during cooking.

Cooking The Gyoza

Everyone has a different method for cooking gyoza - fry first boil last, boil first fry last yadda yadda - here is my method which is a foolproof way of getting satisfyingly crispy bottoms as well as pleasantly steamed tops. It's a boil first first fry last method.

1. Heat about a centimeter of water in a flat-bottomed wok (or any pan you have with a lid).

2. When the water is at a rolling boil, gently lay your gyoza in rows. Laying them in rows makes it easier to remove them later (just scoop them up in rows). Cover, allowing space for escaping steam, and let boil for a few minutes.

3. Uncover. There will still be some water left at this point. Let it all boil down and watch the pan carefully. When it begins to go all frothy and dry, add some oil to the pan (there may still be a tiny bit of water in the pan but that's ok). Tilt the pan so that the oil covers all edges of the gyoza. It's safe to tilt the pan as the gyoza will most likely be stuck completely to it.

4. Let the gyoza fry for 4 -5 minutes on a medium heat. Absolutely do not touch the gyoza at all - they will not be ready to be released from the pan until the very end of the cooking process. You will need use your spidey sense a bit and carefully watch the bottom fringes of your gyoza to give you an idea of how brown the undersides are - careful not to burn them.

5. When you think the bottoms have browned enough, turn off the heat. Grab a flat spatula and scoop the gyoza up off the pan in rows. Eat them fresh from the pan, dipped in the ponzu, all crispy and succulent :)

• 
  Larph says

  wow, i love gyoza. gonna give that pommegranate ponzu ponzu a whirl, too. thanks for sharing!

• 
  yongfook says

  I definitely felt that the ponzu could be improved - if you have any suggestions after trying it, let me know!

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  Judy says

  ah.. a bloke making dumplings, bless :) p.s. would a touch of some kind of cider/lemon vinegar as alternative to the lemon juice kill the ponzu?

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  happy says

  great photo

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  caccy46 says

  Looks wonderful - you're right re cooking methods. I fry first, then add just a bit of water to fryer, cover and steam. My suggestion for a bit more interest or zing to the sauce is to replace the lemon juice w/ white wine vinegar and a small dash of sugar (sugar optional).

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  caccy46 says

  Those are some gorgeous looking gyoza! What an incredible picture.

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  iconsam says

  Fantastic. Glad you put those pomegranates to use.

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  Laynie says

  Because they are called 'guo tie' in Chinese, in America they're called 'pot stickers'--the direct translation.

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  bednar85 says

  Pomegranates aren't in season here currently. Would it be possible to substitute the seeds with actual pomegranate juice? How much juice did the seeds produce?

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  wenwenzz says

  It reminds me the gyoza made by my mum. I love it!

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  wokkingmum says

  This looks great! It's not easy to find pomegranate here unless I go steal from pple's plant :p

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  reinarama says

  pomegranite sauce que bueno

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  happi6url says

  yummmmm! I'm going to try the ponzu sauce with a bit of sugar to enhance the pom flavors.. That's what I did with my strawberry ponzu dressing experiment for a grilled shrimp and strawberry salad..

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  LissCooks says

  Hi! Your gyoza are beautiful! I made some for the first time yesterday, and I watched your video yesterday to fold them properly. One question-I'm not sure you'll be able to answer this-I made my dough by hand, 1/2 cup water and 2 cups flour, and it was a little stiff. The final dough tasted fine, but I would have loved it softer. Also, how do I keep the dough from drying out as I'm rolling it, and futhermore, then, from sticking at every step of the way? Thanks!

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  anjelikuh says

  your video was extremely helpful, i've always wondered how they wrapped it into a curve.

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  petitmiam says

  That sounds soooo good. I really want to try it, only pomegranates are hard to get, especially when it's midwinter here. Dipping sauce sounds particularly fantastic.

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