Gyoza

• 3 C finely chopped cabbage
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C ground pork, raw (don’t measure too closely)
• 3 T lard
• 1/2 C chicken stock
• 1 1/2 C green onions, chopped finely (white and light green parts only)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 T sesame oil
• 3 T mirin
• 2 T cornstarch
• 50 gyoza wrappers
• canola or vegetable oil

1. Put cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Mix around and let sit for about 20 minutes. Squeeze all the water out of it before adding it to the pork.
2. Combine pork and lard with hands. Add chicken stock and combine again.
3. Add green onions and cabbage (with water squeezed out)
4. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Add oil, mirin, cornstarch, and mix until combined.
5. Put a level tsp of filling in the middle of the wrapper. LIghtly wet the edges of the wrapper with your finger. Fold the bottom up to the top (in half) and squeeze to seal the edges. You can do a fancy fold if you like, but it’s not totally necessary. Repeat for the rest of the filling.
6. Heat a nonstick pan to medium high heat with 2 Tbsp oil in the pan. Put about 6-8 gyoza in the pan, in rows, and cook for a minute or so. Add water to the pan (probably a little more than half a cup) and cover with a lid. Wait a few minutes until water evaporates. Then remove lid, drizzle a little oil on the top, and fry all sides of the gyoza. Note: the gyoza will stick if you try to move it before it has browned on the side you are working on. Just wait, and it will come off. If it is too hot, it will burn, and you will notice.

Ingredients can be changed slightly. You can put chopped up shrimp, for example, or finely minced mushroom, or, my favorite, shiso leaves.