Cook For Your Man, Homemade Gyoza Recipe from Candice Kumai Pretty Delicious

Cooking for your man is just one of the many ways you can show him how much you love him, how much you appreciate him, and, therefore, how essential the relationship is in the hierarchy of your life.

Cooking Gyozas at Home

From the preparation to the plating, I love to cook. Aside from the health benefits of knowing what goes into my meal, and of course the economic perks, it's important for me to show my hubby that I value him and that I'm putting in the time to make his dinner or breakfast special. This is just one of the many baby steps that keep a marriage sizzling and fresh.
 
How many of you cooked for your significant other when you were in the early stages of your relationship? Have you stopped doing it over the months, years? You need to carve out the time to work your magic with the mixer, go wild with the wok or simply scramble and sizzle in the pan.
 
I'll be honest, during my first trimester, I couldn't stand most smells; my wonderful husband, along with the help of our moms, maned the kitchen. In my second trimester, we evacuated our home due to Sandy and couldn't return until late December. Now, back in my own kitchen and approaching seven months, I'm thrilled to put on the apron. I don't cook every night. I'm slower, when I do, and I need to be seated when doing the initial cutting/mixing/peeling etc. Nevertheless, I'm putting in the effort. In the same way I'm not surrendering my sexiness while pregnant, I'm not surrendering my spatial. Case in point, this week's gyoza. If you follow me on Instagram you've seen the images. Here's the recipe, courtesy of . It's easy, healthy and husband-approved.  Oh, and in case you're wondering, I've been know to cook in my sexy skivvies! Food+lingerie=marriage magic.

 

Mom's Homemade Gyoza Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai

Chef Candice Kumai Makes her Mom's Homemade Gyoza

Dipping Sauce:

~ 1/4 Cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

~ 1/4 cup rice vinegar

~ scallions sliced on the diagonal

Gyoza:

~ 1 lb 96% Lean Ground Beef

~ 5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 5min, drained & chopped

~ 5 scallions, finely chopped

~ 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

~ 3 large green cabbage leaves, finely chopped

~ 4 garlic cloves, minced

~ 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

~ 2 Tb Dark Sesame Oil

~ 1 tsp sugar

~ 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger

~ Flour for dusting surface

~ 30 Round Wonton Skins - about 1/2 the package

~ 6 tsp Veg oil

Chef Candice Kumai's Homemade Gyoza from Pretty Delicious

To make the sauce: Whisk the soy sauce and vinegar together in a small dish. Add the scallions and set aside.

To make the gyoza: Mix the ground beef, mushrooms, scallions, onion, cabbage, and garlic together in a large bowl.  Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and sugar together in a small bowl. Add the soy sauce mixture to the beef mixture and stir together until combined.

Sprinkle a work surface with some flour. Place a small bowl of warm water next to your work area. Place a wonton wrapper on the floured area and place 2 teaspoons of the beef mixture in the center. (Depending on your wontons, you may only get in 1 teaspoon. No worries, I figured out what to do with the excess meat mix.**) Dip a finger in the warm water and moisten the edges of the wrapper, then fold the wrapper over the filling as if you were making a turnover. Press the edges together. Use your index finger and thumb to pinch the edges so they have a cute ruffled look like the edge of a pie crust. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of veg oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add about 10 gyoza to the pan and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1-2 min. When peaking under the gyoza to check for browning, be gentle! They are very fragile. Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook without turning until the wrappers are translucent, about 2 min. Uncover and cook until the water has evaporated and the filling is cooked through, about 2-3 min longer.

 

Remove the pan from the heat. Pour any liquid remaining in the pan into a bowl. Place a large plate over the skillet, the plate should be larger than the skillet, and flip the pan over. The gyoza should effortlessly fall from pan to plate revealing their gorgeous, golden brown skins. Gyoza taste best when hot, so serve immediately with the dipping sauce as you cook up the next batch. Cook 2 more batches, adding a tiny bit more oil as needed and 1/4 cup water for each batch. Wipe out the skillet between batches if necessary.


Celeb Chef Candice Kumai's debut book Pretty Delicious

**Drizzle sesame oil into wok and pre-heat at medium/high for 1 minute. Throw excess meat/veggie mix into the wok and cook for about 2-3minutes. Throw in rice or noodles, as well as some of the dipping sauce from gyoza. Cook for another minute. Meal number 2 ready for the rest of the week.
ALSO, if you make a ton of gyoza you can freeze it. I usually make about 50 from the above recipe because my wontons are clearly smaller than what Candice buys.

Watch Candice make her gyozas.