A Two Part Marathon Gyoza Cooking Session - Day Two

Songs:  White Winds - Side B

Artist:  Andreas Vollenweider

(Second article of two)

After having gone home to sleep...

I returned to my mother's home so we could finish off our 

Gyoza making marathon.

What we had done was to simply cover the stainless steel container 

filled with the Gyoza filling, and place it into the fridge.

We simply remixed it before use.

You may see the amount used...

the usage of the water bowl...

and the technique used to seal the dumplings.

One thing you do not wish to do is to allow the dumplings 

to touch each other after you form them.

I did not find out our mistake until I had to take the dumplings off the plates

and put them in the pan.

Any excess water weakens the dough structure...

and besides having them stick together...

the walls will weaken...

leading to content spillage.

The last of the dumplings were formed...

and I could then start cooking them.

Notice, once again...

the water level.

About half the height of the Gyoza is just about right.

As soon as the dumplings are laid in the pan...

pour in the water.

In approximately 15 minutes...

they will be ready.

DO NOT attempt to brown the dumplings...

and then add the water.

The resulting thermal shock could warp the pan.

The Gyoza are steam fried...NO OIL is used.

What they look like after the water is gone...

and the Gyoza dumplings are ready to remove from the pan.

Again...

you do not flip them in the pan.

Simply lay them in...

add water.

When the water has all steamed out from the fully covered pan...

the gyoza are ready

(that is why solid glass lids are the best).

Besides having to buy more Gyoza wrappers...

I had to buy more freezer containers and storage bags.

After cooking them...

we allowed them to cool on the counter...

and then filled the freezer storage containers with the dumplings.

We saved the last batches to have for supper.

Simply drizzle on the sauce...

and dig into a very satisfying meal of...

Gyoza

Rice

Reno Red Hots

and O'douls non-alcoholic beer...served ice cold!

Although my mother also had a side salad...

I consider my Reno Red Hots as the vegetable of the day  :)

During supper...

we had finished off our first batch of Reno Red Hots...

so, afterwards, I simply sliced up more turnips...

added two more tablespoons of ground Korean red chili peppers...

and put the container into the fridge for our future meals.

My mother and I work together on all meals.

I do the actual cooking...

and my mother does all of the prep work.

Afterwards (directly afterwards)...

I wash the dishes and put them into the drying rack (dishwasher :)...

and my mother puts away left overs...

and cleans the counters and the stove.

A clean kitchen is a must...

and everything must be done immediately after eating.

One should never feel comfortable until all of the work is done.

There should never be any dirty dishes or other used implements

left in the sink to do later.

One should never feel comfortable until everything is clean.

All pans should be cleaned, dried with a towel...

and put back into their places.

The last step is the cleaning of the counter.

These were the towels used during this night.

My mother simply launders them...

and folds and replaces them.

You should always have plenty of kitchen cleaning towels...

and they should have their own place.

Notice the type of sponge we use.

It is a nylon mesh over a foam base cleaning/scrubbing sponge.

These clean very well...
even pots and pans...
and they rinse clean easily.

Never use the standard sponges.

Their large pores are difficult to fully clean...
and they harbor bacteria as a result.

They also do not clean nearly so effectively.


With my mother and I working together...
the clean up only takes 5 - 10 minutes.

Even as a youth...
I was shocked at young women feeling comfortable having a dirty kitchen...
especially having dirty dishes in the sink.

It is a bacterial breeding ground.


Actually...
one side job I had as a university student was a quality control
part time professional eater  :)

Restaurants would contract with a quality control company...
and the company would sub-contract to me.

They would send me assignments to fulfill in my area...
usually four to five times a week...
and I would go in and check on the cleanliness of the restaurant...
and on the taste and quality of the food.

I would then fill out a report and send it in.

I not only got to eat for free...
but a transportation fee was paid...
and I got a little extra on top of it.

Can you imagine?

Getting paid to eat!

What a deal for a cash poor university student :)


--------------------


Did my mother formerly teach me how to cook?


No


Although everyone learns most lessons in life just by observing...
I also actually took a cooking class in high school.

What?


Now...
I didn't take it for the reasons that you may be thinking.

Yes...
the class was filled with beautiful young ladies...
and I was one of the only males in the class...
but, no...
that wasn't the reason.


Yes...
I had to fill an elective...
and it was an easy class...
but, no...
that wasn't the reason.


The answer?

I love to eat.


After our first few weeks of class...
not only did the teacher cook food for the class...
 each student had to cook a meal for the whole class.

I got to eat delicious food at school in addition to having lunch :)

I was a skinny...
and always hungry, youth.

I still love to eat.


What did I make for this particular class?


Gyoza


However...
I had also made the wrappers from scratch.

I prepared and cooked the meal in front of the class
as I explained the process...
and we all ate them at the end.

Most people had never heard of Gyoza in the early 70s.

I had introduced them to one of my favorite meals.

My mother often made Gyoza at home...
and she also made the wrappers from scratch.


----------

Another important note:

Never give your dog anything which contains garlic or onions in appreciable amounts...
they are toxic to cats and dogs
(as is chocolate).

----------


Anyways...
by cooking in quantity ahead of time...
and freezing the meals...
more time may be had to enjoy many of the simple pleasures in life.

It is economical, and efficient.


In the next article...
I will go over my mother's initial house hunting efforts
from when she first arrived here in Reno, a few months ago.

A Two Part Marathon Gyoza Cooking Session - Day One

Songs:  Side A of White Winds

Artist:  Andreas Vollenweider

I took my mother shopping for the ingredients for Gyoza

(Known in America as 'Potstickers').

However...

I wanted to make hundreds so my mother could freeze them 

and eat them over the next few months.

If you have only had Gyoza in restaurants...

I'll bet you have never eaten excellent Gyoza.

I shall give you the recipe to make 5 lbs of Pork Gyoza

(just the weight of the meat alone).

As Ground pork is typically sold in one pound packages...

the recipe will be easy to adjust.

My wife modified this recipe from an Internet recipe

My mother had always used beef before.

The ingredients:

Sake

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Salt and Pepper

Won Ton Wraps

(or Gyoza Wraps)

5 lbs of Ground Pork

Mustard

Ground Garlic Paste

Ground Ginger Paste

One head of Cabbage

3 Medium White Onions

2 bunches of Green Onions

I estimated that we had made about 400 individual Gyoza

over our 12 hours of total prep and cooking time

(over two days).

I had to go shopping for more wraps on the second day of cooking.

We ended up using 8 packages of wraps.

My mother did all the vegetable prep...

we both made the dumplings...

and I did all of the cooking.

You will need an extra large mixing bowl.

You will be dicing all of the vegetables.

Then add all of the meat.

You will be adding 10 tablespoons of each:

Soy Sauce

Sake

Sesame Oil

Add salt and pepper

Just a light dusting of each on the surface will do.

As the soy sauce is already salty...

you may omit salt completely...

and even the pepper is not necessary.

Add a 3" ribbon of each:

Garlic

Ginger

Mix together well

You will then start filling the won Ton wrappers...

 sealing the edges with water...

and folding them over.

After we had made these Gyoza...
I started cooking them while my mother continued filling them.

At first...
I was using two covered pans...
but the left lid had a hole built in...
and this let the steam escape...
and led to burned Gyoza.

After I got burned Gyoza from this pan...
I switched to using just the large pan
(the glass cover is solid across the surface).

I will go into the cooking method used...
and the cooking time, later in the article.

The 'Reno Red Hots' were ready.

My mother loved them...
as did I.

By the end of the second day...
I had to make more 'Reno Red Hots'...
as we had eaten all of this batch.

After the first batch done...
my mother and I ate while the next batch was cooking.

The Gyoza sauce is made in many different ways...
however...
this is my favored sauce:

Mustard

Soy Sauce

We then started eating.

I do not use any oil.

I steam fry them.

After you put in the layer of Gyoza...
add water to about half the depth of the Gyoza.

The heat should be on medium high.

Cover the pan...
and let the water boil.

When the water is gone (approx. 15 minutes)...
the Gyoza are ready.

Do not lift the lid during cooking...
do not turn over the dumplings.

The dumplings are cooked by the steam...
and are only slightly browned on the bottom.

I placed a meal's worth in a pyrex container and placed it in the fridge.

The rest of the Gyoza we would not eat on this night...
I placed into gallon sized freezer bags.

Our last batch for the night.

Our first session lasted approximately 6 hours.

On the morrow...
we cooked another 6 hours.

My mother's comforter robe.

Buying warm clothing instead of heating the house above 68 degrees

is far more healthful for people in Winter.

Why?

In Winter...

the cold air is already dry...

as cold air cannot hold the amount of moisture warm air can.

Now...

if you use a heater (without a humidifier)...

the already arid air is warmed...

and as warmer air may hold more moisture...

it then rapidly absorbs moisture from the mucus membranes...

from our noses and sinuses especially.

Our nose's chief defense from the viruses already present in them...

is the moisture barrier in the mucus membranes.

When these dry out...

viruses more easily penetrate them...

and we become infected.

I departed my mother's home in the wee hours of the morning.

I would be back to finish our cooking session later on this day.