start off with a batch of gyoza wrappers.

For the insides, I used pork mince and chinese chives. I find the
oniony taste of the chives go really well with pork, adding a
fresher depth of flavour to the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, place a blob of the pork mince in the
middle of the wrapper.

Dip a finger into some water and run that along the edges of
the wrapper before pleating the wrapper from one side. Grab a
little edge of the wrapper, make a little fold by pulling it towards
the left.

The finished gyoza should have a little porky belly sticking out
from the top view.

From the back view, you should have a level, flatter side.

To cook the dumplings, place the flat side down in a frying pan
with a little bit of oil. Let the bottom of the dumplings brown.
Turn the heat down if it gets too brown too quickly. The
dumplings char quite easily.

Once the bottoms are a nice golden brown, pour in a
centimetre of hot water into the pan…yup, there’ll be lots
of steam and sizzling.

Cover the pan.

Once the water is totally evaporated and the dumplings are all
nicely steamed. Remove from heat, and start cooking the next
batch. Or you could just start eating…

The best accompaniment to gyozas – thinly sliced ginger…

With a mixture (50-50) of light soy sauce and chinese vinegar. My
favourite is Chingkiang vinegar which has a fantastic flavour.

Dip the dumplings in the ginger-soy-vinegar mix, chomp
chomp…aaahhhh. Food origami never tasted so good.

300g minced pork
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
100g chinese chives, chopped
light soy for seasoning
a light drizzle of sesame oil
white pepper

300 g minced pork 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 100 g chinese chives, chopped

(preparation above)