Gyoza (potstickers)

These tasty little dumplings hail from China originally, but are (according to my sources) eaten in many parts of Asia. Well, I don't know why they wouldn't be, as they are A) eaten in lots of places that aren't Asia and B) delicious. 
That said - I've only had them twice before, both times with Chinese take-out when ordering it with friends. (On my own, I cannot resist the lure of egg rolls as my dim sum of choice.) I had never tried making them at home. 
For some reason, I felt certain that my attempt would be attended by failure - they would fall apart and stick madly to the pan - but I decided to give it a try anyway. A quick bike trip to the store for ingredients and a little research and I was ready to go.
Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, or the dumpling, I found this website: http://www.steamykitchen.com/5874-gyoza-recipe-japanese-pan-fried-dumplings.html which has lots of pretty pictures and very clear instructions (the recipe is at the bottom of the page).
I won't repeat everything that has already been said, but a few pointers that occurred to me while cooking:

• Don't get the wrappers too wet. Like pie crust or noodle dough, if the wrappers get very damp they'll start falling apart.
• It does help to have a slightly damp finger while folding the pleats.
• You really do have to mince the ingredients. Chunks will not be your friends.
• You also must squeeze the liquid out of the cabbage. You will be amazed at how much water you can squeeze out. Your gyoza should be chewy, not soggy.
• I don't think I overfilled them, but I only got 27 out of a recipe that claims to make 40.
• Don't try to catch up on Naruto: Shippuden (shut up, haters, nobody likes you) while mixing the filling; you will forget the chili paste. This is not the end of the world, as you can mix it in the dipping sauce for added spiciness, but if you happened to get distracted and forget a different ingredient - the meat, for example - that could be a problem. Although, there are worse things than cabbage dumplings.

Well, to my great astonishment (aside from forgetting the chili paste) these gyoza were pretty nearly a complete success! 

uncooked gyoza

They did stick just a little bit, but a spatula and a little finesse worked just fine to get them out of the pan intact. I do credit my experience with pie crust for the ease with which I pleated them - if you've never tried anything of the kind before, don't be surprised if they fall apart a bit. It just takes practice. 

I would say that, even with the dipping sauce, I would have preferred a little more flavor in the filling. (I know, I know, that chili paste would have helped. And I didn't use miso for the simple reason that I don't have any and my small neighborhood grocery store doesn't carry it. So, probably with chili paste and miso, the flavor would have been just fine.)

Obviously, you could tweak this recipe as you please, using ground chicken or turkey or probably even tofu for the filling, using more or different vegetables, and changing the seasonings to suit yourself.

S'ra - I apologize for making and eating gyoza without you!