Can I make gyoza with raw meat?
I know it's traditional to make gyoza filling with raw vegetables, but is it also made with raw meat, or should it be cooked first? With other types of dumplings I usually cook the meat before adding it to the dough. This time I'm not sure.. will there be any risk of salmonella or other bacterias if I make the filling with raw meat?
Edit: Just for reference, I'm planning on using chicken instead of pork.
Best Answer
Of course you can make gyoza with raw meat—that would be the traditional method. You can find countless recipes, including raw meat ones, simply by googling "gyoza recipe".
While perhaps less common, you can also google "chicken gyoza recipe" to find many options using chicken such as this one, although there are some false hits mixed in that are not chicken based.
Gyoza (which are the Japanese version of pot stickers) are normally not much larger than bite sized. This small size will help ensure that they are cooked through during the hybrid frying/steaming method that gives them their crispy bottoms, which is normally similar to:
- Fry the dumplings, flat side down, until the bottoms begin to be brown.
- Add water to the pan, and cover, creating a makeshift steaming environment to cook the dumpling through.
- Allow the water to evaporate and the bottoms to re-crisp.
While it is is fairly difficult to take the internal temperature of a single dumpling (you probably can if you have a very high quality instant-read thermometer with a short probe distance, like a Thermapen), you can still judge their doneness indirectly by squeezing. They will be quite firm.
The small size (even very big Chinese style pot stickers tend not to be more than an inch/couple cm wide, although they may be longer) helps make sure they can cook through very quickly; steaming is also a very effective method at transferring heat into the target food.
So yes, making gyoza with raw meat, done with some care, is safe.
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When making dumplings do you cook the meat before?
The short answer is no. Per multiple participants in the Reddit convo, the meat in the dumpling should always be "raw" prior to cooking and one person explained, "the amount of meat in there is so small that a light steam or pan fry will cook them perfectly." Another Redditor relayed, "...Is frozen dumpling meat raw?
No, our Dumplings are not pre-cooked and the filling is frozen raw. Boil, Steam or Pan-Fry from frozen according to our Cooking Instructions until tender and cooked. The filling should be piping hot.Can you eat gyoza raw?
After it has been cooked it is best to eat it straightaway while it's still hot, though some people like a cooler, or even cold, gyoza, however you don't just eat it as it is. If you are eating in a restaurant then they will provide a dipping sauce, and if you buy it in a supermarket it will normally come with a sauce.Do you cook gyoza filling first?
Add a good splash of water to the pan and cover with a steaming lid or a large sheet of foil with a few holes poked in the top. Cook over a medium heat for 3-5 mins until the water has evaporated and the gyoza filling is cooked through. Set aside while you cook the rest.How To Make Gyoza (Japanese Potstickers) (Recipe) 餃子の作り方 (レシピ)
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