Gyoza is a dumpling with minced pork, seafood, and vegetables. It originates from Chinese jiaozi, but it’s different now

In China, jiaozi (dumpling) has been eaten since the 6th century A.D. Jiaozi has a minced meat and vegetable filling, wrapped into a thin rolled piece of dough. It is commonly eaten, boiled and steamed there.

In Japan, jiaozi was bought from China by repatriates and veterans after the second world war. It is called “gyoza” from the Chinese name. It spread throughout Japan because it is tasty, easy to cook, and has variety of nutritional foods, such as pork, shrimp, Chinese cabbages, and wheat flour. Dough coating for gyoza is thinner than that of jiaozi, and it is then very crispy and has a good grilled flavor when baked. In Japan, it is commonly baked and served, and eaten as a side dish with cooked rice, while in China it is eaten as one dish without rice.

The gyoza in the photo above is called “sui gyoza.” This is boiled gyoza and eaten with soy sauce and vinegar, which is the most popular jiaozi style in China. The coating dough is thick, so that the texture is smoother than fried ones. Both gyoza go well with beer.