Recently, oriental cuisine has become very popular around the world. In particular, it is about Japanese and Chinese dishes. Probably everyone knows and many love sushi, rolls, miso soup. What do you know about dumplings in Japanese? Have you met them on the menu of an oriental restaurant? If you have ever tried Japanese dumplings, you most likely thought about how to cook them at home. And surely this thought was immediately dismissed, believing that only a professional could do it. In this article, we will reveal to you the secret of their preparation, and you will understand how simple and tasty it is.
Brief educational program
So, for a start we will go deep into history. It has always been believed that dumplings are an original Russian dish. With all due respect to Slavic cuisine, it is still worth noting that dumplings came to us from China. In the Middle Kingdom, this dish is given special attention. First of all, the very name "dumplings" from Chinese is consonant with the wishes of success and prosperity. Most often they are cooked on New Year's Eve. There is a Chinese belief that says: when you eat pelmeni, you need to make a wish, and it will come true.
Thanks to the Chinese, dumplings began to be made in Japan. Do you know what Japanese dumplings are called? They are called gödze. This name means the same as "jiaozi" in Chinese, that is, dumplings. But the cooking technique and the recipe are slightly different. Chinese jiaozi are steamed, boiled with soup, and Japanese gedze dumplings are only fried in oil. In addition, the filling of these products can be varied: meat, fish, vegetables and even fruits. But first things first. First, let's talk about the classic recipe for Japanese "envelopes."
The classic recipe for Japanese dumplings. Cooking dough
Despite the exotic nature of this dish, cooking it is not difficult. Even inexperienced culinary specialists will be able to pamper their relatives with an unusual oriental dinner.
Before you start cooking, you need to know how to cook the dough for Japanese dumplings. There is nothing complicated about this, but if you still have doubts that you can cook it yourself, we suggest you buy it already ready. Fortunately, today in every supermarket you can find anything.
For the test you will need only three ingredients:
- Wheat flour - 500 g.
- Drinking water - a glass (250 ml).
- Salt is a teaspoon.
To prepare the dough, it is necessary to dissolve the salt in warm water. Then add to flour and knead elastic dough. It should not pester. After the dough is ready, cover it with cling film and let it brew for about half an hour. Better send it to the fridge.
Classic Gyoza Filling
While the dough "fits", you can cook the filling. Classic Japanese dumplings are made from minced pork and Beijing cabbage. So, for the filling we need:
- Minced pork - 250 g.
- Beijing cabbage - 3-4 leaves.
- Chives are a bunch.
- Onions - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 2 cloves.
- Ground ginger - half a teaspoon.
- Sesame oil - Art. l
- Soy sauce - 0.5 tbsp. l
- Starch (potato or corn) - 1 tbsp. l
- Drinking water - 1 tbsp. l
- Spices (salt, pepper, sugar) - to taste.
Cooking:
- Chop finely Beijing cabbage and onions (both species).
- Mix vegetables with minced meat, add sugar, salt and starch.
- Grind the garlic and add to the bulk. Send grated ginger there.
- To prevent Japanese dumplings from being dry, add water, soy sauce and sesame oil to the filling.
- The filling should be slightly marinated, so leave it alone for half an hour.
- After the required amount of time has passed, you can begin the creative process, namely modeling. If you have never made regular dumplings, then, of course, you may have some difficulties. Therefore, a little lower in the text you will find information on how to properly sculpt the gedze.
- Japanese dumplings usually do not boil, as we used to do with any dumplings, but fry them. Pour the sesame oil into a skillet, put the gijo, pour a little water and close the lid. Dumplings must first be steamed, and as soon as all the water has boiled, they need to be fried only on one side.
- Ready gedges are served in a flat plate, spreading crisp up. They eat them with chopsticks, dipping in the sauce.
- Enjoy your meal!
In addition to minced pork, it is acceptable to use other fillings. For example, you can cook Japanese shrimp dumplings. This option is considered more festive. Gedges are also prepared with vegetables, such as pumpkin, as well as chicken, salmon and beef.
Shrimp gijo
In order not to bother, you can buy shrimp already cooked. They must be crushed. To do this, you can use a blender or a meat grinder. In addition to shrimp, you will need Chinese cabbage, onions, garlic, soy sauce and spices. Combine all the ingredients and marinate in a mixture of sesame oil, spices and vinegar. Shrimp filling is ready.
The technique of modeling Japanese dumplings
It is very simple to sculpt gedze, the main thing in this matter, as they say, is to get your hand in hand. First you need to roll the dough into a thin layer. Using a regular glass, make round cakes. In each put a little filling. The technique of sculpting gijo reminds dumplings. Pinch the edges of the dough so that one part remains flat and the other is an accordion. Gedze dumplings resemble a crescent in shape.
By the way, there is a tradition of sculpting “happy” dumplings. We will tell those who do not know what it is about. The essence of tradition is as follows: among the bulk of all dumplings is “happy”. It can be either an empty gijo, or with a coin inside, or even pepper. If you came across a whole dumpling - this is fortunately, with pepper - to love and passion, and if with a coin - to money. This Chinese tradition still lives on.
Tips from professionals
1. Cabbage and onions for the filling can be chopped in a blender.
2. So that the onions do not bitter, you can marinate it in soy sauce.
3. No need to put a lot of toppings. For one cake, just a teaspoon is enough.
4. The chopped cabbage needs to be slightly salted so that it gives a liquid. This juice must be squeezed.
5. Soy sauce with the addition of sesame oil and vinegar is usually served with gedze dumplings.
6. At the edges, the layer of cake should be thinner than in the center.
Conclusion
Summing up, I would like to note that any dish prepared on their own, and even more so dumplings that were molded with their own hands, will always be tastier. In families where much attention is paid to this process, children who take part in this tend to learn faster to work in a team and also to communicate.
Now you know how to cook Japanese dumplings, the recipe of which is identical to that used by the chef in restaurants. As you can see, there is nothing complicated, therefore, even if you are a beginner culinary specialist, you can easily cope with this task. The main thing is to show persistence and desire. And do not be afraid to make a mistake - everything is fixable.