Driven to explore alternative gyoza filling ideas, presented here are three gyoza filling recipes: salmon and asparagus, truffled potato, and duck and orange—all accompanied by a flavour enhancing ponzu dipping sauce and some pickled daikon.
Add all the ingredients to the jar and mix well. Add the lid.
Allow to steep in the refrigerator for a couple of days or up to a week.
Alternatively, if time is short, allow the ingredients to steep for an hour, then bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Drain the ponzu sauce through a fine strainer and it is ready to use.
Pickled daikon
Peel the daikon and cut into shapes of your choice e.g slices, or in this case, julienned.
Sprinkle the salt over the daikon and toss. Leave for an hour or two. The salt will draw out water from the daikon.
Meanwhile, grate the ginger and squeeze out the juice. Retain the juice and discard the solids.
Trim and halve length ways the fresh chillies.
In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sake, ginger juice, and sugar to a boil then remove from the heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Shake off any water from the daikon, and gently squeeze to remove whats left.
Clean a suitable container (e.g. a glass jar with a lid) in boiling water.
Add the peppercorns, chillies, and daikon to the container and pour over the pickling liquid. Close the lid.
Allow the daikon to pickle for 2 or 3 days before using.
Salmon and asparagus filling
Halve the salmon fillet.
Dice one half of the salmon into small (3 or 4 mm square) pieces.
In a food processor, process the other half of the salmon together with the miso until a paste.
Blanch the asparagus spears in boiling water for 2 minutes, until bright green. Plunge into used water to stop the cooking.
Trim the lower half of the asparagus spears. Freeze for later use in a stock.
Finely dice the upper half of the asparagus spears.
Mix together the asparagus pieces, salmon pieces, salmon paste, and salt.
Fill gyoza wrappers until no more filling.
Truffled potato and corn filling
Wash the potatoes, smear in olive oil, then bake for one hour at 200 degC. Allow to cool.
Boil 1 cob of corn for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
Halve the potatoes then scoop out the white flesh and press through a potato ricer.
Slice the corn kernels off the corn cob, then break up into individual kernels.
Stir together the potato, corn kernels, truffle component, salt and pepper.
Fill gyoza wrappers until no more filling.
Duck and orange filling
Remove the enclosing membrane of each segment of orange and separate the small capsules of intense citrus flavour.
Finely dice the duck meat.
Mix together the duck meat, citrus, and salt (if using).
Fill gyoza wrappers until no more filling.
Preparing the gyoza
Wrap fillings into the gyoza wrappers. Use the guide here: https://youtu.be/9uzGezdkuso
Heat a skillet and add half the sesame oil. Place half the gyoza in a single layer in the pan.
Fry over a medium heat.
When the wrapper is starting to brown (1 - 2 minutes), add boiling water, enough to reach a 1/3 of the gyoza’s height.
Add a lid to the pan and steam over a high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.
Take the lid off and add more sesame oil to the bottom of the gyoza.
Cook for 2 - 3 minutes more with the top on.
Plating
Assemble a selection of gyoza with a small bowl of ponzu dipping sauce and a pile of pickled daikon.