Smashed Gyoza

Method

1. 1Salt 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.
2. 2Mix 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.
3. 3Smash 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.
4. 4Flip 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.
5. 5Serve. 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.