Aint no party like a gyoza party!

There's no more fitting way to start off this Blag than with bug-made vegetarian gyoza. What a joy! What a love! What a bite!
Right now gyoza are definitely my favourite food morsel. I could (and often do) eat many.
My very first attempt of making gyoza was with a friend and was quite a disaster. There was flour and squidgy vegetable everywhere! SO. I have learnt my lesson and have decided that it is A-ok to use pre-made wrappers to begin with. After all, I am still learning.

Vegetarian Gyoza: makes 12:

Ingredients:

1 pack round dumpling wrappers (avail. at asian grocers)

4 mushrooms

1 small red chilli (optional)

4 slices firm tofu (covered, squished, drained)

2 slices fried puffy tofu

1 spring onion

1 garlic clove

Steaming liquid:

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup water

Dipping sauce:

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon corn flour

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Cover your firm tofu with a tea towel and press with a heavy object. I used a plate on top and 3 cans of beans! Leave this for at least 20 minutes and you will be left with slightly soft yet quite firm tofu and a soggy tea towel.

Finely dice all ingredients and add to a mixing bowl.

At this point I added a dash of soy sauce and rice vinegar, just to mimic the flavours in the dipping sauce.

(Don’t make the mistake I did once of adding salt – this will draw out the moisture and make the mix very wet which is what you do not want.)

To put the gyoza together, take one wrapper and wet around the edges with water, this will help them stick together.

Place a teaspoon of mix in the middle (you can make them bigger when you are more confident in folding) and proceed to fold.

Lightly lift the gyoza in half upwards, but do not stick together.

Proceed to pinch and fold the front wrapper onto the back, so you end up with almost a half moon shape. This process is ridiculous to explain – but very simple. My tip is to youtoob it

Once you’ve made all twelve gyoza’s lay them in a line on a plate.

To prepare dipping sauce: simply combine soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and corn flour in a small bowl and stir. Either microwave it in 20 second increments or simply heat it on the stove top. The end result you are looking for is a non-cloudy thick(ish) sauce. Mine only took 40 seconds in the microwave. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds to serve.

Slide gyoza’s into your heated, oiled frying pan, flat side down and fry for 5 minutes or until lovely and golden and crisp!

Add the soy sauce/water mix and out lid on instantly. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.

The gyoza’s should be a little sticky, but cooked all the way through and ready to serve with your dipping sauce. Om nom nom!

ENJOY!