Smashed Gyoza
A viral riff on pan-fried gyoza that skips the folding entirely. A ball of seasoned pork filling drops into a hot oiled pan, a gyoza wrapper is pressed over the top, and the whole thing is smashed flat with the bottom of a glass. Result: maximum pan contact, a shatteringly crisp wrapper, and a golden-crusted pork patty — all in one piece. No pleating, no steaming step, no technique barrier. Eat open-faced with soy-vinegar dipping sauce, or fold like a taco.
Ingredients
- 300 gground pork
- 100 gnapa or green cabbage
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tspfresh ginger
- 2 tbspsoy sauce
- 1 tbsptoasted sesame oil
- 1 tspcornstarch
- 2 scallions
- 20 round gyoza wrappers
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tbsprice vinegar
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1 tbspchilli crisp or chilli oil
- 1 tspsugar
Method
- Salt the cabbage and make the dipping sauce. Toss the finely chopped cabbage with a pinch of salt. Leave 10 minutes, then squeeze out every drop of moisture with your hands — wet cabbage makes the filling slack and difficult to smash. Meanwhile, mix all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix the filling. Combine the ground pork, drained cabbage, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, and most of the spring onions. Mix vigorously with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture becomes slightly sticky and cohesive. Roll into 20 balls of about 1 tablespoon each.
- Smash and fry — first side. Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches of 5 to 6: place a pork ball in the pan, immediately press a gyoza wrapper firmly over the top, then smash flat with the bottom of a small glass to about 4 to 5 mm thick. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the underside is deeply golden.
- Flip and crisp. Remove the lid and flip each gyoza — wrapper-side down, pork-side up. Cook uncovered for 1 to 2 minutes until the wrapper is golden and lightly blistered at the edges. Transfer to a plate wrapper-side up. Repeat with remaining batches, adding more oil as needed.
- Serve. Arrange the gyoza wrapper-side up. Scatter the reserved spring onions. Serve the dipping sauce alongside. Eat open-faced dipping the pork base into the sauce, or fold in half like a taco and eat in one bite.
FAQ
Yes — any pork dumpling filling works. Gyoza meat from Asian supermarkets can be formed into balls and used directly. If it is pre-seasoned, cook a small piece first to taste before adding more soy sauce.
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Comments (2)
I was skeptical about smashed gyoza when I first saw them online — it looked like a lazy shortcut. Then I made them and the crunch was better than traditional pleated dumplings. The trick is pressing them really flat with a heavy spatula immediately after placing them in the hot pan. More surface area touching the pan means more crispy bits. The dipping sauce of soy, rice vinegar, and chili oil is mandatory.
These are insane. I saw them on TikTok and was skeptical but they actually crisp up way better than regular dumplings. No folding, no pleating, just smash and fry. My kids ate like 20 of them. Only tip — use a heavy spatula to really press them flat.