[Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipe: Gyoza from the iDOLM@STER SideM

8:00 AM December 18, 2017

Welcome one and all to another edition of Anime Recipes! If you are new, Anime Recipes is a series where we break down delicious dish after dish that anime shows us with for your enjoyment! The best part, too, is that none of this is terribly too complicated meaning that if you put a little effort into it, you eat just like your favorite anime characters do! Each season of broadcasting, that’s spring, summer, fall, and winter, usually has 60+ shows airing at once, so it is very easy to find food anywhere you look! Today, we explore another country’s food made in Japan.

Gyouza from iDOLM@STER SideM

The iDOLM@STER franchise has evolved with SideM. They have learned that female otaku have more money to splash around generally, so they know that if they make something decent, then they are going to be able to get a good return on their investments. Thus, SideM was born. Following men who have all quit their careers to become shining stars on the stage known as idols, they try their best to captivate viewers with their song, dance, and personalities. However, what caught our attention this time was not their song nor dance, but rather, the FOOD. Gyouza appeared and honestly we could not believe that we did not talk about this iconic dish sooner.

Gyouza uses the same kanji in for the Chinese word it comes from, which is why sometimes you will see the name for Gyouza written in katakana frequently because it is a loanword and not native to Japanese. Anyway, after WWII, Japanese soldiers returned home from Manchuria and brought with them this dish. What happened next was a gyouza boom that still exists to this day. In fact, it consistently is one of the most popular foods among Japanese people to this day. There are whole restaurants where it is nothing but gyouza on the menu. A major standout characteristic of Japanese gyouza, as opposed to Jiaozi, is that the Japanese variant uses large amounts of garlic. There are so many variants but today we will explore one of the most common variants: pan-fried gyouza.

What You Will Need:

gyouza wrappers.

1 package

bok choy

2 leaves

mushrooms

white onion minced

Chinese chives. If none are available, normal welsh chives work fine.

3 stalks

Soy Sauce

1 tsp

garlic

1 full clove

miso

1 tbsp

minced ginger

2 tbsp

sesame oil

2 tsp

Salt & pepper to season

flour. Potato starch is the best.

2 tbsp

Optional Notes:

Ground chicken or pork. It is entirely up to you. Cheese is also a fun variant.

How to Cook It:

1
Cut the following ingredients, put them in a bowl, and mix: Bok Choy, Mushrooms, Onion, Chinese scallions.
2
Into the bowl, add in the meat and mix well.
3
Now, add in all of the other ingredients and, you guessed it, mix well.
4
Next, place a gyouza wrapper on a flat surface and spoon the bowl mixture into it.
5
Wet a finger and run it across one half of the gyouza.
6
Fold it in half and press down on the edge.
7
Heat up a frying pan and pour some oil into it.
8
Line the frying pan with the gyouza and cook them until the underside is golden brown.
9
Now, flood the frying pan with a little bit of water and cover with a lid.
10
Once the oil and water have evaporated, they are done!
11
Eat until you cannot move.

(Note: This is raw meat. While the wrappers are fine, the meat is raw and can make you ill. If you follow this recipe to the T, then there will be no issues with the undercooked meat. You still do want to be very careful about everything and wash everything with soap and water. )

Yum!

Final Thought

Gyouza is a classic Asian dish where, chances are, wherever you go, a country in Asia will have a form of it. It is a classic, it is a staple, and it is delicious. If you want to try putting something new into it, cheese or more garlic is a fantastic place to start. Are you enjoying iDOLM@STER SideM? Did you catch this classic? If so, let us know! Also, be sure to let us know in the comments below and if you are interested in seeing a dish from an anime series broken down. For now, we will try to get into the show as well as not be distracted by food that looks amazing. Until next time!

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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