Reef Gyoza

Contributed by Nicolas Ta

INGREDIENTS

1 package of gyoza wrappers

1 Tbsp neutral flavor high heat oil 

¼ cup water 

FILLING

¾-1 lb ground fish (340 g)

2-3 leaves cabbage/lettuce (140 g or 5 oz)

2 green onion/scallion (15 g or 0.5 oz)

2-4 shiitake mushroom caps

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch ginger (fresh, grated)

SEASONING

¼ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra Soy sauce spray or dip

Ebi or kimchi furikake

Catch tips and processing specific to this meal:

Perch fish or any rockfish will be ideal for this dish as their meat is flakier than others.

When fileting the fish, run your blade perpendicular against the spine to scrape up shavings.

Since all the meat is going to be ground up anyways, it is good to spend the time to collect all meat and not waste.

METHOD 

Prepping ingredients

Remove stalks from shitake mushrooms and keep only the caps. Remove white bulbs from the green onions and keep the green parts for mincing. Add your fillets to a large mixing bowl first, and add salt and freshly ground pepper. you can ground the meat with a pestle, or using your hands to pick it apart. The added salt and pepper will help shred the fish. Mince your vegetables. Do not worry about making things too small, the smaller the better the mix. If ingredients are too big it will be hard to make clumps. Add your minced ingredients into the mixing bowl. With a large mixing spoon or clean gloves, continue to mix and squish the ingredients together.

Packing and folding

With dry clean hands, place a gyoza wrapper flat in your non-dominant hand. Grab a small amount of mix and place it in the center of your wrapper.. The best gauge is to have a clump in the center leaving room for the edges to fold. Before folding the dumpling, dip your pinky finger into a small bowl of water and run it along the outer edge of the wrapper. Make sure to only make half a ring, Doing a full ring makes the wrapper too slippery. 

Frying

Add oil to pan and use medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add your dumplings in then change the heat to low. Every 2-3 minutes turn the dumplings over. Perch and Rockfish meat cooks fast especially ground up in small bits. Also turning over repeatedly ensures the wrapper doesn’t burn. 

Adding sauce and seasoning

When your gyoza is golden and crispy, take it out and start plating. Spray soy sauce onto your dumplings with an even coat on top. (3-4 sprays). Then sprinkle your furikake seasoning over the dumplings. The soy sauce coat will help the seasoning stick to the dumplings. Now it is ready to serve, enjoy!