Pan-fried Chicken Shiso Gyoza – a quick and easy version. Instead of folding pleats, just fold in half to speed up the process. Then pan-fry and steam till chicken is cooked through. Enjoy with ponzu and yuzu kosho dipping sauce!
What do you do with leftover wrappers when you make gyoza – Japanese pan-fried dumplings? I usually keep the leftover wrappers for a quick appetizer on another day. One of the recipes I like to make is this Chicken Shiso Gyoza with Yuzu Kosho and Ponzu Sauce (しそ入り鶏餃子). It’s probably one of the easiest chicken gyoza anyone can make on a lazy Friday afternoon!
Make Fold-in-Half Gyoza instead of Pleated Gyoza
When I make this chicken shiso gyoza with the leftover wrappers, I keep it really simple by folding the wrappers in half instead of pleating them like the classic gyoza. As for the fillings, I’d use whatever I have in the fridge. This quick version really speeds up the entire process of gyoza making, allowing me to make gyoza on the fly. Who wouldn’t like that?
I didn’t think I could make gyoza with so little effort until my friend introduced me to this recipe. I just love how easily adaptable it is. You can literally make endless variations of this gyoza recipe by using different cuts of meat, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, or vegetables.
If you’re afraid of making gyoza at home because you don’t know how to fold gyoza, this easy gyoza is a great one to start. All you need to do is to fold the gyoza wrapper in half. That’s it! No fancy folding technique involved.
3 Tricks to Cook Chicken Shiso Gyoza Fast
1. Use “Sogigiri” Japanese Cutting Technique
This Japanese cutting technique called Sogigiri (削ぎ切り) increases the surface space of the ingredient so it’ll cook faster. Whether you’re using chicken, mushrooms or tofu for the filling, you can slice them this way.
2. Cut Ingredients into Uniform Sizes
Keep this basic cooking tip in mind as it applies to all kinds of cooking. Cutting the ingredients into uniform sizes allows you to cook everything at the same rate and avoid overcooking or undercooking some pieces.
3. Do Not Overcrowd the Pan
To make the gyoza crispy, you need to make sure each piece of gyoza has a good contact with the heat. It’s important to keep some distance between each piece of gyoza so the surface has contact with the hot frying pan.
Once both sides of the gyoza are nicely brown and crispy, they are ready to be savored! These easy chicken gyoza are really good with ponzu and yuzu kosho dipping sauce, but feel free to serve them with any dipping sauce you like.
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Quick & easy chicken gyoza! Instead of folding pleats, just fold in half to speed up the process. Then pan-fry and steam till chicken is cooked through.
- 1 boneless skinless chicken thighs (4 oz, 113 g)
- 10 gyoza wrappers (for homemade, see Notes)
- 10 shiso leaves (ooba) (Perilla)
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil (roasted) (for frying)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil (roasted)
- ¼ tsp yuzu kosho
- 2 Tbsp ponzu
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Gather all the ingredients.
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Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. To cook the chicken faster and at an equal rate, make sure to cut into uniform sizes. I also use “Sogigiri” Japanese cutting technique (slice diagonally when cutting) to create a large surface of the chicken.
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Season the chicken with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. Transfer the chicken to a small bowl.
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Add 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp soy sauce to the chicken and mix well together.
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Place a shiso leaf on a gyoza wrapper, and put a few pieces of chicken on top.
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Fold in half and press gently.
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In a non-stick frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil over medium heat. Place the gyoza on the pan in a single layer without over-wrapping.
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Cover to cook until nicely browned. Then turn it over and cover to cook again.
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When the chicken is cooked through, uncover and cook 1-2 minutes till the gyoza become crispy. Put some ponzu in a small bowl and put a small amount of yuzu kosho on the edge of the bowl or on a plate. If you have extra gyoza wrappers, you can put cheese inside and cook the same way in the pan. Kids love them!
Gyoza Wrappers: For homemade recipe, click here.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Mmm. My favourite place in Launceston (Tasmania) is just called Bento, and it makes the most delicious gyoza. Their’s are steamed though – I guess you can do the same with these? My other favourite of theirs is harumaki.
I had lunch there today, and just writing this I’m craving more already …
I have regular gyoza recipe on my blog as well. This one is a quick gyoza recipe with a twist (we don’t have to make them look like a dumpling). You might like my regular gyoza recipe better. Ohhhh Harumaki is one of my favorite food too! I should share the recipe here one day. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Where can I find Shiso leaves from? Any Asian supermarket?
Japanese or Korean supermarkets sell it. But I don’t think Chinese market sells it (I go two different ones but they never carry it).
I know that they’re… technically… gyoza.
But they look to my western eyes like tiny Japanese Tacos. ^_^
Hi Robert! Haha, yeah the “shape” of it is definitely tacos.
Nami-san, where do get shiso leaves? I have never found any here in Phoenix, AZ.
Hi Shirley! Shiso is a common herb in Japanese cooking, so Japanese grocery stores always carry it. I know Korean uses perilla leaves, similar to shiso but texture and taste are slightly different. Maybe you can find in Korean grocery store like H-mart?
Thank you Nami. The Asian stores here don’t seem to carry them; their greens are mostly from other Asian countries. There is a Korean store I haven’t tried, so maybe they have the perilla leaves. There’s always a new market opening, so I’ll keep trying – I LOVE shiso!
Hi Shirley! Yeah, I’ve never seen shiso in Chinese grocery stores. 🙁 Hopefully, it’ll be a very common herb (along with Mitsuba!) in regular grocery stores in the future… I can keep dreaming. 😀
I’ve never found mitsuba, either, so I got some seeds and will try to grow it myself. Maybe I should do that with shiso, too!
Yeah that would be lovely, because shiso is one of the easiest herb to grow. Keep us posted! 🙂
Quick and easy dish: I just had to defrost some homemade gyoza stuffing and a package of wrappers, + wash and dry the shiso leaves and we had a delicious dinner in minutes!!! Arigatou gozaimasu for another great recipe!!!
Hi Rolanda! Wonderful! I also have several wrappers left that’s frozen and I am thinking of making this recipe soon too. 😀
Everytime when I’m here I find a “new” recipe I want to try!
I couldn’t find Shiso leaves anywhere here in North Wales’ supermarkets, not even in our Asian one but they don’t have the same fresh food every time. We are so rural … not this much international choice here.
As I have read that they are easy to grow I just thought I will give it a try and I ordered seeds. They arrived today and I will sow them on the weekend in hope that I’ll have Shiso leaves soon 🙂
I look forward to trying this recipe. I love Gyoza!
Thank you Nami 🙂
Hi Nicole! Thank you for visiting my site to explore recipes! Wow you got the seeds! Yes, I’ve heard from many JOC readers who grow their shiso that it’s easy to grow. I love shiso and want to use in many of my recipes but I know it’s not easy to find it unless you have a Japanese grocery store… I pay a premium price for shiso too, so one day I want to raise my own shiso (but I’m notoriously famous for killing plants I plant…). :/ Keep me posted! xo
I have been growing Shiso for years. Just a note, at the end of the season, your shiso will have flowers and seeds. I cook some of the seeds but make sure to leave some on the plant until the seeds drop (very small black seeds). I actually shake the plant after I pull it and I get new plants each spring. I get at least 20 each year.
Hi Suzy! I’m jealous of your shiso garden! I heard it’s easy to grow too. I’m not sure where I live is desirable for shiso (super windy, deer and wild animals come by, dry, cold), but maybe one day I may try. My backyard has only fake turf (always green!), cactus, and weeds! 😀
Nami,
Your website is to be commended. It is such a great collection of Japn recipes and info. which I enjoy. I just wanted to let you know that I grow Shiso in a pot every spring/summer. Since downsizing, we have been living in a highrise condo in Boston, and the shiso grows just fine indoors by my window. In winter I enjoy shiso miso which I make from my harvested leaves at the end of the season.
I followed your shiso gyoza recipe here but during this COVID isolation I couldn’t go shopping and so I used ground chicken which I found in my freezer. It was delicious but I did miss the shiso. I subbed in frozen carrots and peas, chopped them up to mix with the chicken along with a little garlic and onion seasonings. I hope once we are past this pandemic that I will once again go shopping and get all kinds of ingredients to follow your recipes correctly. I am also going to plant my shiso seeds soon (which I bought online) as it is now April. Stay safe.
Hi Yumi! Thank you so much for your kind words. Wow, you grow shiso indoor! Thanks for sharing the information. That might be my option since I’m not sure deer that comes to our backyard will eat them. Thanks for trying this recipe with adaptation. We have to be creative and eat well to stay healthy during this challenging time. I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy in Boston (We were there in October… love your city!).
The recipe is accurate and really easy but tastes amazing!
Hi Tina! Aww thanks so much for your kind feedback. 🙂