STORE-BOUGHT ASIAN DUMPLINGS WITH GREENS AND CHILE BUTTER

 Gyoza, Asian Dumplings, Greens, and Chile Butter make for an easy and intriguing one-skillet dinner.

Garlicky Greek yogurt is topped with Trader Joe’s* Gyoza, a handful of spinach, toasted pine nuts, and finally, a chile-spiced drizzle of butter seasoned with mild chile pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin.  The result is an exotic yet incredibly simple dish. This simple recipe turns a weeknight dinner into a spectacular meal.  But it wasn’t until I went to write this up that I had any idea of just how exotic this dish is. *No Trader Joe’s near you? Get your Gyoza here: https://amzn.to/4b3dqnv

This was not our first attempt at making a meal from Trader Joe’s Gyoza.

I have seen plenty of recipes using store-bought ‘pasta’ in various ways. All hail tortellini in an incredible array of soups, ravioli in skillet ‘lasagnas’, toasted, fried, and, in one case, used to make nachos. And don’t think I haven’t used them.  We have a whole page of recipes using store-bought pasta and they’re all right here: https://chewingthefat.us.com/?s=Tortellini. But earlier attempts to use their Asian cousin, the Gyoza, have never made it onto these pages. Until now. There’s so much to recommend it: You can use whatever flavor you choose—vegetable, shrimp, or chicken which I used.

Are Gyoza Chinese or Japanese? Are they potstickers or are they dumplings?

The truth is they are all those things. In China, where they’re called “jiaozi” in Chinese, they’ve been cooking and eating dumplings since 3000 BC. The Japanese were introduced to gyoza in the early 1800s. But it wasn’t until after World War II that Japanese soldiers returning home from the war missed eating them and Gyoza took off.  And then there’s this: Dumpling fossils were found in the ruins of ancient Mesopotamia dating to 3000 BC. And today’s recipe owes more to Mesopotamia than to China…or for that matter, to Japan.

Today’s recipe came from Bon Appetit and Zaynab Issa who credits a Chef in Dubai as its inspiration.

Ms. Issa, an Associate Editor at Bon Appetit, writes “At Dubai’s Orfali Bros. restaurant, Syrian Chef and restauranteur Mohamad Orfali, reimagines Shish Barak a popular Levantine dish featuring beef dumplings in a spiced yogurt sauce, as wagyu dumpling served over seasoned yogurt and topped with a spicy, seasoned oil made from sujuk sausage.” The Chef must know what he’s doing. Orfali Brothers Bistro which Mohamad opened with his brothers Wassim and Omar in 2021, was named one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2023 https://www.theworlds50best.com/the-list/41-50/orfali-bros.html

Here’s today’s recipe with thanks to Zaynab Issa, Bon Appetit, and the Orfali Brothers.

Gyoza and Greens with Chile Butter

January 12, 2024

Servings: 2-4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 11 min

Difficulty: This is incredibly easy to cook.

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Garlicky Greek yogurt is topped with Trader Joe’s Gyoza, a handful of spinach, toasted pine nuts and finally a chile-spiced drizzle of butter seasoned with mild chile pepper, smoked paprika and cumin.

By: Monte Mathews

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
• 2 Tbsp. pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 24 store-bought shrimp, pork, chicken, or vegetable gyoza
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. Aleppo-style pepper
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 handsful of fresh Baby Spinach
• 2 Tbsp. torn mint leaves

Directions

• Step 1 Mix 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, 2 garlic cloves, finely grated, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Spread the mixture onto individual plates. Set aside.
• Step 2 Toast 2 Tbsp. pine nuts in a dry large skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Let cool.
• Step 3 Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in the same skillet. Working in 2 batches and adding the remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil between batches, cook 24 store-bought gyoza in a single layer, undisturbed, until golden underneath, about 2 minutes. Pour 3 Tbsp. water into the skillet, quickly cover, and cook until gyoza are cooked through and deep golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Transfer gyoza to the plates with the yogurt mixture.
• Step 4 Reduce heat to low and melt 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter in skillet. Cook 1 tsp. Aleppo-style pepper, ½ tsp. ground cumin, ¼ tsp. smoked paprika, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt, swirling pan, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour half of chile butter into a small bowl. Set aside.
• Step 5 Add 2 handsfuls of baby spinach, a pinch of salt, and 2 Tbsp. water to chile butter in pan
• Step 6 Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Spoon over gyoza.
• Step 7 Spoon reserved chile butter over gyoza. Top with pine nuts and 2 Tbsp. torn mint leaves.