I recently had a very pleasant vacation, a staycation, really, with most of my time spent close to home. Relaxing and spending time with friends and family was at the top of my agenda, and that included many delicious meals.
Some were more traditional, such as having roast turkey for Christmas dinner, and steak and lobster New Year’s Eve. Other meals simmered to life after I spent time in my cookbook library, flipping through numerous titles for ideas on what to cook on yet another day off.
One day, that always-enjoyable pastime saw me digging into some of my Japanese/Asian cookbooks. I had not prepared that style of food for a while and was looking for snacky dishes that could be shared. I came across two classic ones I just had to make — yakitori and gyoza. I knew from past experience they would be delicious, and today I’m sharing my recipes for them.
Yakitori is a small skewer of chicken popular in Japan and served in countless Japanese restaurants.
In her book At the Japanese Table, author Lesley Downer writes that tender thigh meat is the best part to use for yakitori. She adds that the breast is rarely used, but other interesting parts of the bird, such as the liver, heart and gizzard, are.
I used thigh meat, which I cubed and marinated in a sake/soy sauce mixture before skewering with green onion and grilling. You can make the skewers ahead of time and refrigerate them until ready to cook and serve.
According to Andrea Nguyen’s awesome book Asian Dumplings, gyoza were popularized in Japan after the Second World War. That occurred when Japanese soldiers returned home from China and brought with them a newfound affection for a Chinese dumpling called jiaozi.
Nguyen says gyoza is the Japanese pronunciation of jiaozi, which, when fried, are also known as pot-stickers. They get that handle because of the way they loosely cling to the bottom of the pan when cooked.
Gyoza can be filled in various ways. In mine, I decided to use a highly seasoned pork and shrimp mixture. They are delicious, especially when dunked into their sweet, salty and tangy dip.
Pork and Shrimp Gyoza
Gyoza is a Japanese-style dumpling great for snacking on. The fresh, round, three-inch wide dumpling wrappers used in this recipe are sold in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Asian food stores, such as those in Victoria’s Chinatown.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About seven minutes, per batch
Makes: 30 gyoza
For the dip
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp honey, or to taste
1 green onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Asian-style hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha, or to taste
For the gyoza
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 lb cooked salad shrimp, patted dry and coarsely chopped
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp Asian-style hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha
30 fresh, round dumpling wrappers (see Note)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
Make dip by combining its ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Combine gyoza ingredients, except dumpling wrappers and oil, in a medium bowl. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place a few dumpling wrappers on a work surface. Brush the edges of each wrapper lightly with cold water. Place 2 tsp of filling in the centre of each wrapper. Fold dumpling wrapper over the filling and crimp the edges together to seal. Set the gyoza on the prepared baking sheet, ensuring that they do not touch or they will stick together. Repeat these steps with remaining filling and wrappers.
Preheat oven to 200 F. Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large, heavy, nonstick or cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add 15 gyoza and cook until golden on the bottom, about 90 seconds.
Do not turn the gyoza. Keeping your face away from the pan to avoid splatters, carefully pour in 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook for four minutes, gently swirling the pan from time to time.
Remove the lid and continue cooking until the liquid has almost completely evaporated and gyoza are cooked through, about one minute. Arrange on a heatproof platter and keep warm in the oven. Cook the next batch of gyoza as you did the first. Serve the gyoza with the dip.
Note: The dumpling wrappers you have left over after making the gyoza can be frozen, to thaw and use at another time.
Eric’s options: If you are a keener, you could double the recipe for the gyoza and freeze the dumplings you won’t cook straight away. To do so, once filled, set them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, not touching, and then freeze until solid.
Transfer to a freezer bag and keep frozen until you have craving for gyoza again. When you do, cook the gyoza from frozen. They will turn quite soggy and be hard to cook if you let them thaw.
Use medium heat and cook a few minutes more. The cooler temperature and longer cooking time will allow the frozen gyoza to thaw and cook through without them burning before they are ready.
Chicken Yakitori
These succulent, sweet, salty and sake-laced skewers of chicken can be served as an appetizer or snack. You could also make a meal of them by serving them with steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables. This recipe could be doubled or expanded further if you are feeding a large crowd.
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus marinating time
Cooking time: seven to eight minutes
Makes: two to four servings (two to four skewers each)
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup mirin (see Note 1)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
500 grams boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 32 roughly equally cubes
• vegetable oil for the grill
32 (two-inch long) pieces green onion, lower white and pale green part only (see Note 2)
Make yakitori sauce/marinade by placing the first six ingredients in a small pot. Set over medium to medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, and simmer until mixture is reduced by one-third. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Pour 1/4 cup of the yakitori sauce into a small bowl. Cover and set aside until needed. Pour the rest of the sauce into a medium bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover, refrigerate and marinate chicken for four hours.
While the chicken marinates, to prevent them from scorching on the grill, soak 8 (6-inch) wooden skewers in cold water until needed (see Note 3).
When marinated, set four pieces of chicken and four pieces of green onion on each skewer. Discard marinade. Preheat your indoor grill or barbecue to medium-high. In the microwave, or in a small pot, warm the reserved yakitori sauce in the small bowl to just below a simmer.
When hot, lightly oil the bars of the grill. Grill the chicken 90 seconds, and then turn over and cook 90 seconds more. Turn the chicken over again and baste with some of the warm yakitori sauce. Cook yakitori, turning occasionally, about four or five more minutes, or until cooked through. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with remaining warm yakitori sauce and serve.
Note 1: Mirin, a sweet, sake-based condiment, is sold at Japanese food stores and in the Asian foods aisle of most supermarkets.
Note 2: You’ll need two bunches of green onions to get the pieces required for this recipe. Save the top of the green onion for other uses, such as salads, topping baked potatoes, or mixing into egg dishes.
Note 3: If you can’t find six-inch skewers, simply cut longer ones in half. If you have that size of metal skewers at home, you could, of course, use them here.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
