Let’s make fresh and tender Gyoza Wrappers from scratch! All you need is salt, water, and flour. That’s it! Watch the video tutorial and enjoy the fun and rewarding process.
Gyoza wrappers are not one of those things that I usually make from scratch. While everything homemade is best in the ideal world, who has the time when you can easily buy them from grocery stores?
It wasn’t until when I took upon the challenge of making homemade gyoza wrappers that I realized it wasn’t as daunting and difficult as I’d thought. You’ll need only salt, water, and flour! The experience is so rewarding that I know you’re going to enjoy making your own gyoza wrappers too.
Differences between Japanese gyoza & Chinese potstickers
Japanese gyoza is very similar to Chinese potstickers. The main differences are in the size and thickness of the dumpling wrappers. Chinese potstickers’ skin is typically thicker and the dumplings themselves are larger than gyoza.
If you are able to buy gyoza wrappers locally and want to save time, you can hop straight over to my gyoza recipes:
Homemade gyoza wrappers can be time-consuming, but I find the process extremely fulfilling and calming. Save it for the weekend or on an unhurried evening when you can enjoy the experience. Or make it a fun activity to do with family or friends. Gyoza party, anyone?
The beauty of the homemade wrappers is they are tender and fresh tasting, making them so much pliable to fold your filling. Also, there are no preservatives you have to worry about.
It pleases me more than anything to see my family devouring the gyoza I made from scratch. It’s worth the time!
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Gyoza (Japanese Potsticker) Wrappers
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (or use 1 cup/120 g bread flour + 1 cup/120 g cake flour for every 2 cups; see the instructions below)
- ½ tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- ½ cup water (just-boiled hot water; different brands of flour absorb water differently, so use more hot water as needed; I used about 120-150 ml)
- potato starch or cornstarch (for rolling and dusting; you may substitute flour; if you plan to freeze the wrappers, please use potato starch or cornstarch as the wrappers tend to stick to each other if you use flour)
Instructions
Before You Start
- You must accurately measure the flour. Use a kitchen scale if you have one (I highly recommend getting one like this). If you use a measuring cup, please try this method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Put the measured flour into a medium bowl. You should have close to the standard 4.25 oz (120 g) of flour per US cup.
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Dough
- Sift the flour into a large bowl.
- Add the salt to the just-boiled hot water and stir until completely dissolved.
- Add the hot water to the flour little by little, stirring with a rubber spatula. Mix until the flour and water are combined completely. If the flour is still not incorporated, add more hot water, ½ Tbsp at a time, until you can form the mixture into a ball. You will eventually need to use your hands to do this.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, the texture of the dough will be much smoother. Use a dough scraper to cut the ball of dough in half (doesn't have to be an equal size).
- Shape each half into a long log about 1½ inches (3.8 cm) in diameter (it doesn't have to be perfect, especially if you use a cookie cutter later). Wrap each log with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
To Roll the Wrappers
- Unwrap the dough. Sprinkle a little potato starch on the work surface and cut each log crosswise into ¾ inch (2 cm) wide pieces. Since we’ll be using a cookie cutter, don’t worry if each piece of dough is a slightly different size.
- It's super important to cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel at all times to prevent it from drying.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball shape.
- Press the ball onto the work surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough, but DO NOT flatten the TOP and BOTTOM edges. This is the trick to making a nice round shape.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat rolling the dough. Try to roll out the dough into a thin circle. If the dough is hard to roll out or shrinks back, let it rest a bit to relax the gluten and try again.
- Cooker cutter (optional): If you want a perfectly round shape for your wrappers, cut your rolled dough circle with a 3-inch (8 cm) cookie cutter. If the dough rolls back, leave it for a few seconds, then try again to cut the dough. Remove the excess dough scraps and cover them with a damp towel. Later, combine all the scraps if they still squish together and haven’t dried out. Re-roll the scraps and repeat the process.
- Sprinkle each wrapper with potato starch and stack the wrappers. Make sure to cover them with a damp kitchen towel as you continue rolling the remaining dough. Once you've rolled out all the wrappers, wrap the stack of gyoza wrappers with plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate until you’re ready to use.
To Store the Wrappers
- You can keep the gyoza wrappers in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to a month. Prior to use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 60 minutes (depending on the amount and room temperature). Do not defrost in the microwave.
To Make the Gyoza
- For my Gyoza recipe, please click here.
- For my Vegetable Gyoza recipe (vegetarian/vegan), please click here.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on February 19, 2014. It’s been updated and republished in July 2020.
