Don't Screw Up Your Homemade Gyoza With The Wrong Wrappers

If you often find yourself craving a delicious and satisfying bite of gyoza, you can largely credit its wrapper for that perfect chewy-yet-crispy texture. While you can play around with various fillings, such as traditional minced pork and cabbage or vegetarian options, having the right kind of wrapping is critical.

There are a variety of dumpling skins for home cooks to choose from, from wonton wrappers to sheets of egg roll dough. But in this case, it's best to seek out gyoza wrappers specifically, which are typically robust, unlike the wrappings of wontons. With gyoza, you can be fairly generous when stuffing them. But while there are plenty of amazing ways to use wonton wrappers, when it comes to making this particular kind of dumpling, wonton skins are too fragile, flimsy, and prone to splitting. So, when you finally decide to give homemade gyoza a try, don't strike out with a lackluster substitute. Instead, for the best results, you'll need to make sure you use a suitable wrapper — or else suffer the culinary consequences.

If you're planning on pan-frying, you might assume that subbing in wontons for gyoza wrappers would give the dumplings a nice crunch. While it's true that wonton wrappers are known for delivering a light, airy crunchiness, that isn't really the goal of making these snacks. When you fry them, each dumpling should ideally be crispy and golden on the bottom with a moderately chewy and slippery exterior. The slightly thicker gyoza wrappers are made for this. They're also ideal if you plan to steam your dumplings by using a bamboo steamer basket.

Even though the wrappers are thick, you still don't want to make the mistake of overstuffing the gyoza. When scooping your filling into each wrapper, make sure to use no more than 1 tablespoon for each parcel at a time. If you use too much, the gyoza will be too full and they can easily rip or burst open, resulting in misshapen dumplings that you might ultimately have to toss.

When you purchase gyoza wrappers, the packaging is usually sealed tight to lock in the moisture, whichs keeps them fresh. So, when it's time to get to filling and shaping your potstickers, have a damp paper towel on hand. Place the paper towel on top of your pile of wrappers to help the edges maintain their moisture as you work for easy folding.

Once you've made your own gyoza using store-bought wrappers, you're ready to serve and enjoy. Experimenting with different kinds of sauces is a great way to introduce all kinds of complementary flavors. You can opt for a spicy chili oil to amp up the heat or go for a soy, mirin, and sesame oil-based dipping sauce that balances salty and sweet. Next, you'll be itching to attempt making gyoza wrappers from scratch. But for now, avoid wonton or egg roll wrappers and stick to products specifically labeled for gyoza so your homemade dumplings are the best they can be.