Gyoza: The Ultimate Dumpling Cookbook. Paradise Yamamoto

      Foreword

      Every cuisine has a dumpling to showcase. Morsels of mostly savory ingredients

       are stuffed into pockets of pliable dough, then pinched, pleated or folded into

       bite-sized surprise packages. Eastern European kreplach, Turkish manti, Chinese

       jiaozi, and Japanese gyoza share delicious DNA.

      Now the improbably named Paradise Yamamoto has added even more variety to this widely loved but com-

      monplace treat. This industrial designer, musician and certified Santa Claus has beaten as eclectic a path to the

       dumpling as his name suggests, and is today surely the most creative wrapper of uniquely filled gyoza south of the

       North Pole. We met at a café in Tokyo and I asked how he got his name. Wearing his signature knitted beanie, he

       told me he wants to feel and spread happiness every day.

      I have been eating and making gyoza since I first came to Japan forty-five years ago as a young bride. Through

       decades of practice I became proficient in pleating the delicious pork and cabbage crescent. But Yamamoto-san’s

       kaleidoscope of possibilities inspired me—and many of his Japanese readers—to break the bonds of convention. The

      array of mouth-watering dumpling photos you see

       on this book’s cover prompted one Japanese friend to

       exclaim “yatte mitai” (I want to try making this)!

      Yamamoto-san insists that we not use pre-

      ground pork. “Chop your own,” he admonished me.

       I did, and was astonished by the difference it made

       in the perfectly seasoned pork and mushroom

       gyoza I laid before grateful diners. A game of rock,

       paper, scissors determined who got the last dump-

      ling! He also counsels us not to use the standard

       trinity of soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil for dip-

      ping. A sprinkling of salt allows the flavors to shine

       through. Revelatory!

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      He is as thoughtful about his implements as

       his ingredients. His pan of choice is “the cheap-

      est frying pan I can find,” because the thin layer

       of metal does a great job browning and crisping.

       He buys as many as he can when he sees them

       on sale, and may splurge by adding a glass lid

       that, while still inexpensive, may cost more

       than the pan.

      In this book he uses store-bought wrappers

       so readers can concentrate on the fillings. And,

       oh, what fillings! You will be enchanted by his

       formulas for mixing meat and vegetables, by his combinations like broccoli and eggs that appeal to kids’ palates,

       and by an Italian-inspired carbonara dumpling with bacon, egg whites and Parmesan cheese that

       prompted a restaurateur of a hip Brooklyn eatery to declare, “These would be huge on a

       New York brunch menu.”

       This book challenges, delights, and inspires. Yamamoto-san told me

       that serving people what you have made by your own hand provides

       love and sustenance, and is an act of intimacy. But don’t forget the

       whimsy as well—whether producing savory courses or sweet

       dessert dumplings, you can practice your culinary origami

       as you twist, crimp and fold the skins around the fillings to

       form penguins, sailor hats, and Santa’s toy sacks. Talk about

       spreading happiness—Ho! Ho! Ho!

      —Debra Samuels

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