Pierogi_Gyoza

The other day, at a local farmer’s market, I tried a Polish food called ‘Pierogi’. It was yummy but very pricey! The filling was a mixture of potato, bacon and cheese. I thought I could make it by myself.
I looked for the recipe to make the dough, that requires flour, salt, water and oil…, then I realised that the round cut-outs of the dough looked like Gyoza Wrappers. The ingredients are almost the same. Why can’t I use Gyoza Wrappers? So I tried to make ‘Pierogi’ Gyoza.
Well… it works!!! This is as yummy as the probably authentic ‘Pierogi’ that I tried at the market. I bet this is the easiest and quickest recipe to make ‘Pierogi’ lookalike!

Makes

40 to 50 pieces

Ingredients

40 to 50 Gyoza Wrappers
3 to 4 Potatoes *500 to 600g
125g Cheddar Cheese (Tasty Cheese) *grated, or cut into thin small pieces
1 Onion *finely chopped
1 clove Garlic *finely chopped
100g Bacon *cut into small pieces
8 to 10 Mushrooms *sliced
1 tablespoon Oil OR Butter
Salt & Pepper

Method
  1. Peel Potatoes and cut into small pieces. Cook in salted water until tender.
  2. While Potatoes are cooking, heat Oil (or Butter) in a frying pan over a medium heat, cook Onion, Garlic, Bacon and Mushrooms until cooked.
  3. Drain the Potatoes, place them back in the saucepan or pot, and mash them. Add Cheese and mix well, then add the Onion, Mushrooms and Bacon mixture and combine well. Season with Salt & Pepper to taste.
  4. The filling needs to cool down to handle, so set it aside. Prepare Gyoza Wrappers, a small bowl of Water and some plates.
  5. Wet the edges of a Gyoza Wrapper with water. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling mixture on the centre and fold in half to enclose the filling. Press edges together to seal. Using a fork, press edges making decorative marks if you like. Repeat the process.
  6. Cook ‘Pierogi’ Gyoza in boiling water with a little bit of Oil, or you can cook them just like cooking Gyoza, but I recommend to use a non-stick pan.
  7. If you boil, do not cook too many at once. After they rise up to the surface, transfer into a colander to drain excess water.