WILD GARLIC AND KING OYSTER MUSHROOM GYOZA

Wild garlic season is in full swing so I really wanted to hero this seasonal ingredient. Its garlicky- chive - onion flavour compliments Asian flavours so well so thought it would be fantastic in a gyoza. I used a mixture of king oyster and shiitake mushrooms. The king oyster gives the meaty texture and the shiitake elevates the flavour. These Wild Garlic and King Oyster Mushroom gyozas are incredibly flavoursome, juicy and completely vegan. 

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WILD GARLIC AND KING OYSTER MUSHROOM GYOZA

MAKES: 30 //PREP TIME//1 HR  //COOK TIME // 8 MINS // DIFFICULTY //TRICKY /  VEGAN

INGREDIENTS

• 75g wild garlic, extra to garnish, roughly chopped

• 250g king oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped

• 30g dried Shiitake mushrooms

• 60g Chinese cabbage, shredded

• 15g chives, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp white miso

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• 2 tsp soy sauce

• 3 tbsp sesame oil, extra to garnish

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 30g gyoza wrappers, defrosted

• 2 tbsp cornflour

• Chilli crunch, to garnish

• Sesame seeds, to garnish

• Salt, to season

METHOD

1. Firstly, add the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and pour enough boiling hot water over them. Cover with a plate and allow them to hydrate for 15 minutes. Stain the mushrooms over a bowl and pat dry them. Save the mushroom stock for another recipe. Set aside.

2. In a food processor, add the mushrooms, wild garlic, cabbage, chives, ginger, garlic, miso, soy, sesame oil and caster sugar and blitz into a smooth mixture.

3. Prepare a large tray by sprinkling over the cornflour.

4. Place a gyoza skin in the palm of your hand and wet the edge with some water using the tip of your finger. Add about 1 heaped tsp of the mixture into the centre of the skin and fold over one side so the edges meet. Starting from the centre, pinch and fold the side closest to you outwards, 3 times, using your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this from the centre again but in the opposite direction. The gyoza should look like a fan. Pinch the edges to make sure it's completely closed and place on the prepared tray. Repeat this until all the gyoza wrappers and filling is used. Cover with a clean teatowel as you go along to prevent the gyozas drying out. 

5. Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil to a frying pan and bring it to a medium-high heat. In batches, cook your gyozas in a neat row. Fry the gyozas for 1-2 minutes until the base is golden brown before pouring in around 120ml of water. Cover with a lid for 5 minutes.

6. Once steamed, remove the lid. Majority of the water should have evaporated. Fry for another 2 minutes to make sure the filling and dough is thoroughly cooked. If you are cooking the rest, set aside and cover the gyozas to keep warm.

7. To serve, drizzle the gyozas with sesame oil, chilli crunch, sesame seeds and finely sliced wild garlic stems. Enjoy. 

N.B to freeze, place the gyozas in the freezer on a tray sprinkled with cornflour. Once frozen, decant into ziplock bags. Can be frozen for up to one month. These can be cooked straight from frozen so need to defrost. Add another 2-3 minutes to cooking time if cooking from frozen.