Miso Chive Gyoza

Everytime my hubby and I go out for Japanese food, we’re always offered some miso soup to slurp along with our meal. Although I love drinking miso soup with my meal (which is often a chirashi bowl), I don’t actually like it when it’s served before my meal. By itself, miso soup can be really salty, especially when it only has a few scant cubes of tofu to balance out its pungent brininess.

The deliciousness of miso is most apparent when it’s used with a variety of bland, one-note ingredients. Tofu, noodles, and vegetables all benefit from miso’s almost meaty flavor, which is exactly why I’ve mixed all these ingredients together to create a veggie-based version of everyone’s favorite Japanese dish…gyoza!

Miso is very much like a thicker, full-bodied soy sauce. Instead of using the thick paste version of miso to make these gyoza, I’ve opted to use miso concentrate, which is a lighter, liquid version of real miso. The thinner consistency of miso concentrate means that it melds with the rest of the filling ingredients easily and evenly.

Another great thing about miso concentrate is that you can find it without making a special trip to the Japanese market. Since it’s not a refrigerated product (before opening), it can be found in the Asian section of well-stocked markets or even online. If you want to use regular miso paste in this recipe, use less of it and dilute it with 1-2 teaspoons of hot water before proceeding with the recipe.

Flowering chives are the main veggie showcased in these Miso Chive Gyoza. These chives are thicker and sturdier than the more common version of Chinese chives, and have a small white bud attached at each tip. In my opinion, flowering chives have a much more pronounced garlic flavor compared to the flat chives that look like super long blades of grass. Both types of chives will work in this recipe, so feel free to switch up using either variety depending on which type you find (or which one is cheaper, because Asian chives are never cheap!).

Do you ever wonder why chives are always used in Asian dumplings? The simple answer is that thin veggies like chives make flavorful fillings without one having to go chop crazy. A pierced dumpling means that flavor will be lost, so it’s important that a filling be relatively homogenous and not bulky so that it won’t poke out through the soft dumpling skins.

Feel free to use this dumpling filling with store-bought wrappers–the dumplings will turn out every bit as delicious. To finish these yummy pan-fried pockets, dunk them into some homemade Ponzu Dipping Sauce, which gives the veggie filling a hit of salty citrus. Instead of making ponzu the traditional way, by boiling the sauce with konbu and dashi stock, I make an easy version by throwing in some seaweed furikake and bonito flakes with the other sauce ingredients just before serving.

These Miso Chive Gyoza are just perfect when served with a crisp Matcha Mojito or some grassy, bold Japanese green tea. If the summer heat has you craving a chic meal with lots of fresh and bright flavors, then this is definitely the meal for you! I’ve decided to bring these over to celebrate Fiesta Friday over at my friend Angie’s beautiful site, The Novice Gardener.  It’s my first time showing up to the party, so I’m ready for a good time!

Miso Chive Gyoza with Ponzu Dipping Sauce

Makes 32 dumplings.

Ingredients:

{Dumpling Skins}

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup glutinous rice flour

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup hot water

bench flour

{Filling}

2 Tbsp peanut or canola oil

1/3 lb. garlic chives (nira), finely cut into 1/4″ pieces

5 large, dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in warm water for 2 hours, then finely diced into 1/4″ pieces

1/4 block extra-firm tofu, drained, dried, then cut into 1/4″ pieces

1 oz saifun (bean thread noodles), softened in warm water for 15 minutes, then drained and finely cut into 1/4″ pieces

1 tsp garlic, grated

1 tsp ginger, grated

1/2 Tbsp michu (rice wine)

1/2 Tbsp mirin

1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chile oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

4 Tbsp miso concentrate

{Ponzu Dipping Sauce}

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp mirin

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

{Garnishes- to taste}

shichimi togarashi

furikake

bonito flakes (optional)

Equipment:

stand mixer with dough attachment

large zip top bag

Asian rolling-pin 

work surface

1 Tbsp measure

large skillet with lid

large sheet pan

spatula or tongs

Directions:

1.)  Make the Dumpling Skins. Combine all the dry ingredients for the skins together into the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn mixer on low and add 1 cup and 2 Tbsp of hot water in a steady stream. When the dough starts to come together after a few minutes, check the dough. If the dough looks dry, add the last 2 Tbsp of hot water as necessary, so that the dough just comes together to form a ball. Let the dough mix for a total of 5-7 minutes on low until the dough is soft and supple and doesn’t stick to your finger when you touch the surface. Place the finished dough into a large zip top bag to rest for at least a half hour and up to 1 day before using. If you plan on using the dough the next day, place it in the fridge after placing into the zip top bag.

2.)  Make the Filling. Place the chopped chives in a large mixing bowl. Mix the michu, mirin, soy, sugar, pepper, chile oil, sesame oil, and miso concentrate in a small bowl. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil on high heat in a large saucepan until the oil just starts to ripple. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the tofu, then cook for another 2 minutes. Now add the saifun and cook for another minute before adding the miso liquid mixture. Cook for another 2 minutes, then take off the heat and place the mixture on top of the chopped chives in the mixing bowl. Mix everything together evenly.

3.)  Wrap the Dumplings. Divide the dough into 32 equal pieces. The easiest way to do this is to roll the dough into a log, then cut it in half. Cut each half into half again to make a total of 4 large dough balls. Roll each dough ball into a log, then cut each log into 8 equal pieces. Each dough piece will be roughly the size of a cherry tomato, and will make 1 dumpling. Use an Asian rolling-pin to roll each ball into a 4″ circle/slight oval with a slightly puffy center. With an oval piece of dough laid flat in one of your hands, fill the center with 1 Tbsp of the filling, then use your other hand to seal the wrapper into half-moon dumpling. At this point, you can add pleats to your dumplings, or simply prop them up on a sheet pan lightly scattered with bench flour. If you are looking for ways to improve on dumpling making, please check out my Tips for Making Asian Dumplings!

4.)  Cook the Dumplings. Heat 2 Tbsp of peanut or canola oil in a large skillet. Distribute the oil evenly in the pan. When the oil starts to shimmer, carefully place the gyoza in the pan. It does not matter if they touch or not. After you’ve placed all the gyoza in the pan (a large skillet should fit about 16 dumplings), let them cook for 30 seconds, then pour 3/4 cup of cold water into the pan. Immediately cover the pan with the lid, and continue to cook the gyoza on high heat for about 8 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown and easily pull away from the skillet.

5.)  Make the Ponzu Sauce. Mix all the Ponzu Sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. If you like, scatter some togarashi, furikake, or bonito flakes on top of  the gyoza or in the Ponzu Sauce itself just before serving.