The Raw Reality

• Don't cook the ground pork before you tuck it inside the dough wrappers for gyoza. Instead, mix the raw pork with other filling ingredients, including shredded cabbage, grated carrots, minced peppers, finely chopped garlic and garlic chives, and shredded ginger. Condiments such as soy sauce and sesame oil add both add flavor and binding power. Eggs and either cornstarch or potato starch can also be used as binders in gyoza filling.

The Fill and Fold

• Stuffing and sealing gyoza properly are key factors in ensuring that the raw pork cooks within its edible wrapper. The tight seal causes the internal steam you need for thorough cooking. After placing a small spoonful of the pork filling at the center of the wrapper, dip a finger into water to wet the lower rim of the circular wrapper. Some cooks use potato starch to ensure a tighter seal. After you fold the wrapper into a half-moon shape, crimp the edges to help them stick tightly together.

The Sear and Steam

• Searing and steaming gyoza cook the raw pork filling on the inside of the dough wrapper, while ensuring the exterior attains its characteristic crispy bottom and tender top. Begin by setting the stuffed gyoza in a hot pan in which sesame oil is already sizzling. Add about 20 gyoza to the pan as quickly as possible and sear the bottoms for 10 seconds. Then add a small amount of water, cover the pot, and steam the gyoza for 7 to 10 minutes.

The Stuffing Subs

• You can replace or augment the pork with ground turkey or chicken when making Japanese pot stickers. Alternatively, use minced shrimp or drained, crumbled tofu. Like pork, don't brown these proteins before you cook the gyoza. To make vegetarian gyoza with ingredients other than tofu, use hearty vegetables, such as shiitake mushrooms and leeks, again, without precooking any of the filling ingredients.