Smashed Chicken Gyoza with Kimchi & Rice
Smashed Chicken Gyoza is a new take on an old favourite. These rich umami flavoured Asian-style dumplings are so easy to make – and feature a delicious extra crispiness and crunch!
What are Gyoza?
Gyoza are Japanese dumplings, typically made with seasoned pork and cabbage, wrapped in a thin wrapper. They can be boiled, pan-fried, deep fried or steamed – not unlike Chinese pot stickers or Jiaozi and Korean Mandu. While their exact origins are unknown, Jiaozi originated in China and then spread throughout Asia, becoming a firm favourite, known as gyoza in Japan.
Gyoza are as versatile as they are popular and are eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late night snack from any number of street food stalls and high-end restaurants throughout East Asia.
Smashed Chicken Gyoza – The Best of Both Worlds
It can take a bit of time and a lot of effort to make traditional Gyoza or dumplings, deftly folding small half-moon shaped dumplings with pleats. But once in a while an idea comes along that breaks with tradition, to create a dish that incorporates old-school flavours and elements with a contemporary application. And these smashed chicken gyoza are exactly that – the best of both worlds!
And if you’re looking for more Asian inspiration, I recommend these Gochujang Wings with Kimchi Ranch and this Miso Glaze Spiced Thai Coconut Salmon recipe.
Asian-Style Tacos
Instead of folding dumplings, with these smashed chicken gyoza we’re taking what would be the filling, pressing it onto the dumpling wrappers and frying it filling side down, before flipping and frying the wrapper side until golden and crisp.
It takes a fraction of the time it takes to make more traditional pot sticker type dumplings and they’re just as yummy. And it’s also a lot more fun to spend the time socialising with your guests as you all assemble your smashed gyoza!
Serve the smashed gyoza on a platter with dipping sauce, rice, and kimchi and have guests assemble their own, like mini tacos, folded around sticky jasmine rice and kimchi.
Simply Smashing Chicken Gyozo Dipping Sauce
Gyoza just aren’t gyoza without a great dipping sauce. In Japan, the dipping sauces for Gyoza typically tend to be regional, so you’ll find the classic mix of soy sauce and vinegar in Tokyo, whereas in Kobe the dipping sauce mix favours red miso – sometimes made spicy by adding Rayu, which is a Japanese chilli oil.
In my version, I’ve included an absolute favourite of mine – Lao Gan Ma, which is a chilli oil sauce originating in China made from chillies, fermented soybeans, garlic, and onions. In a pinch, you can substitute Lao Gan Ma with Sriracha sauce or any chilli oil you favour.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. So simple to make and utterly delicious.
Now that’s a win!
Are You a Fan of These Smashed Chicken Gyoza?
If you tried these smashed chicken gyoza – please tell me about it! Leave me a comment, give this recipe a rating, and remember to tag your photo #theculinarycartel on Instagram so we can see what you come up with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other filling could I use?
Instead of minced chicken, you could try a mix of minced pork, finely chopped Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushrooms, or a mix of pork and shrimp meat. Shrimp and leeks are another popular combination. Basically you should easily be able to sub the chicken filling used here for your favourite gyoza filling. Just watch out for vegetarian alternatives as they will not behave the same way as meat when smashed. If going this route use your favourite vegan minced meat alternative instead of the chicken to mimic the texture and crisp.
How do I eat smashed chicken gyoza?
You can eat them ‘open-faced’ by simply dipping them into the dipping sauce, or you can fold them like tacos into a lettuce cup, and top with rice and kimchi.
Can I use chicken breast?
Chicken breast can have a tendency to become dry when cooking at high temperatures as we are doing here. Thigh meat and turkey mince is more forgiving, and the higher fat content lends itself well to browsing up nice and crispy.
Smashed Chicken Gyoza with Kimchi & Rice
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 20-24 gyoza
Description
Smashed Chicken Gyoza is a new take on an old favourite. These rich umami flavoured Asian-style dumplings are so easy to make – and feature a delicious extra crispiness and crunch!
Ingredients
For the Smashed Gyoza
- 400g finely minced chicken thighs or turkey mince
- 20–30 Round Gyoza wrappers (I used Imperial Dragon Gyoza wrappers)
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 4 spring onions
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 7g finely chopped fresh coriander
Dipping sauce
- 60ml (1/4 cup) soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp water
For Serving
- Baby gem lettuce leaves
- Kimchi or pickles
- Sushi rice or sticky jasmine rice
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the minced chicken mix. *You can get your chicken already minced from the grocery store, but if you have the time, hand mincing by finely chopping boneless, skinless thighs gives a fantastic texture to the final product.
- Add the minced chicken, sesame oil, grated garlic, soy sauce, grated ginger and chopped coriander to a bowl.
- Thinly slice the spring onions, adding the white pieces to the chicken mixture and setting aside the thinly sliced green tops for later.
- Mix the chicken mince and all the ingredients together until well combined, then set aside.
- Prepare the dipping sauce by combining the soy sauce, sesame oil, Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp, honey, rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp water. Finely dice a tablespoon of the green spring onion tops, (save the rest for garnishing the smashed gyoza) and add this to the dipping sauce. Mix to combine.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot add a drizzle of cooking oil, then place a small ball of your chicken mixture into the centre of a gyoza wrapper.
- Place the wrapper into the pan, chicken side down, and use a wide, flat bottomed glass to smash the wrapper and ball of chicken meat into the hot pan, flattening it, and spreading the chicken mince to the edges of the gyoza skin.
- Repeat this step with as many gyoza as you can fit in the frying pan, smashing each one as you go. Add a dash of water to the pan and cover to lightly steam the gyoza skins.
- Once the chicken mince is golden and crisp, flip the gyoza to crisp the wrapper on the other side. Then remove from the pan and keep warm while you fry up the rest of the smashed gyoza.
- Add a little more oil as you work through the batches, as this really helps with the crisping.
- Once ready to serve, plate up the smashed gyoza and serve as is alongside your dipping sauce. Alternatively I really enjoy these placed into a gem lettuce leaf, and topped with a little sushi rice, and kimchi. The crisp lettuce, rice and tangy kimchi add great contrasting textures and flavours to the meal.
Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Asian inspired
2 Responses
My whole family loved these! I had ground pork on hand so I used that instead. Will certainly make again
Hi Julie! So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. Love the ground pork alternative! 😍