Vegetable gyozas (Chinese dumplings)

I love the way the different cuisines of the Asian continent season their dishes. The most insipid foods are transformed into tasty morsels, with peculiar flavors and very powerful. Among my favorites are the gyozas, some Chinese dumplings that I could eat with two hands and every day of the week.

In some villages in northern China, gyozas, also called jiaozi, wontons, or Peking dumplings , are believed to have rejuvenating properties. They symbolize fortune and it is customary to prepare them for the New Year's Eve dinner, also known as the "Spring Festival". The Chinese eat the jiaozi, standing up, while exchanging wishes for prosperity and happiness.

This version is a bit laborious because it uses homemade dough, but it is infinitely richer than the industrial dough. It is a perfect recipe to prepare during the weekend, when we have more time to cook. The filling, which admits all kinds of ingredients , can be prepared in advance. Although I like vegetable gyozas, tremendously addictive.

Ingredients (for 28 units)

For the mass:

• 200 g of wheat flour
• 10g of salt
• 90 ml of hot water
• 50 g of cornstarch (for flouring)

For the filling:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 piece of fresh ginger about 2-3 centimeters
• 3 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 leek (only the white part)
• 1/4 zucchini
• 50 g bean sprouts
• 5 large mushrooms
• Vegetable oil
• 30ml soy sauce
• Salt
• ground black pepper

For cooking the gyozas:

• Vegetable oil
• Sesame oil
• Water
• Sesame seeds
• Fresh parsley

De Buyer Mineral B cast iron skillet , Caractère de Revol porcelain plate and Now de Revol mug .

Preparation

How to make the Gyoza dough:

1. Mix the flour and salt in a deep and wide container. Pour the hot water little by little while stirring.
2. When there is no more water left to add, we work the dough with our hands until we get a homogeneous ball that detaches from the walls of the container.
3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for 10 more minutes. Wrap in cling film and store in the fridge for a couple of hours, during which time we can make the filling.
4. Once the dough has rested, we remove it from the fridge and work it into a cylinder. Cut into 28 pieces of the same size.
5. Sprinkle each piece with a little cornstarch and press with the palm of your hand, forming discs.
6. We take a piece and, with the help of a rolling pin, we form a thin disk. We repeat the operation until we finish with all the dough.
7. So that the pieces without spreading or the already ready discs do not dry out, we cover both with a damp cloth.

Prepare the filling:

1. Peel and chop the garlic cloves and ginger. We pass them through a fine grater and reserve.
2. Peel the carrots and celery, removing the strings. Cut into pieces of about 2 centimeters.
3. We remove the outer layer of the leek, cut it in half lengthwise, and wash it well under the tap with cold water. Cut into discs of about 2 centimeters.
4. Wash the zucchini, remove the end and cut into thick pieces.
5. We clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, removing any traces of earth. We cut into quarters.
6. Wash the bean sprouts and dry them well.
7. We finely chop all of the above, either with a knife, with a manual chopper or with a robot.
8. Heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and sauté all the vegetables together over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add the soy sauce, raise the heat and let it evaporate.
9. We check the point of flavor and season to taste. Let cool completely before filling the wafers with the vegetable mixture.

Forming of the gyozas:

1. Prepare a small container with water. We are going to use it to moisten the edge of each wafer and to act as glue when folding the dough. This way the gyozas will not open or the filling will come out during cooking.
2. Brush the outline of each wafer with water and place a small portion of the filling inside. Join the central ends and pinch to join well. We make folds with the front part of the wafer while joining the back part, from left to right, from right to left.
3. The leftover filling can be frozen to make more gyozas another day or use in other recipes.

Termination:

1. Heat a little vegetable oil in a pan and place the gyozas on top.
2. When the base has browned (it will take about 3-5 minutes depending on the temperature of the fire) we add water until the bottom is covered.
3. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated.
4. Sprinkle the gyozas with sesame seeds and chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately, accompanied by cooked rice, noodles, soy sauce, broth, etc.

De Buyer Mineral B iron skillet , Caractère de Revol porcelain plate and Opinel serrated knife .