#40 Frozen gyoza(dumpling)
Japanese frozen food makes your meal easier and cheaper.
Have you been tired of searching for new restaurants when you are travelling abroad for a holiday? It is not very good for your mind and wallet sometimes, but you may feel like starting to cook in your accommodation and feel at ease whenever you like to cook your dishes. For budget travellers, cooking yourself will come as your first option. Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Rewe, you’ll not forget the names of supermarkets if you have travelled on your shoestrings.
Eating out in Japan may appear cheap for overseas travellers due to low prices over the year and the recent weak Japanese Yen. There are a certain number of foreign visitors who wish to cook by themselves. Top priorities come with time-saving, price and taste. In this newsletter, I’ll write about “Japanese frozen food” particularly “frozen gyoza(dumpling)” as a king of Japanese frozen food.
Where to buy
It’s not difficult to find a shop selling frozen foods when walking in big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and other prefectural capitals. Generally, these shops are convenience stores which can be found on nearly every corner. Before entering the shop, please stop and think. Most of the items are sold at listed prices. You’d better go to the supermarkets if you want to save money. In general, you’ll be able to find a supermarket within several blocks in big cities. The supermarkets have more varieties with fewer prices. Eye-catching goods are even cheaper, and you’ll be able to save lots of money if you stay longer in the area. Supermarkets chains with a national presence are as follows:
If you don’t find these chains, there is no worry. There are always some supermarkets in every town.
What to buy
Now the next question is what to buy. The bigger shops you go to, the more complicated your shopping will be. Frozen food was used as side dishes for the lunch box many years ago. The breakthroughs in frozen food technologies changed our tables. There is a variety of food such as meat, seafood, vegetables, and even fruits. There are different kinds of croquettes, pizzas, noodles and delicacies, but the most recommended dish is the gyoza(dumpling).
My wife cooks the gyoza frequently, and I admire how she cooks. The most important, and difficult process in making the gyoza is baking. Recently "winged gyoza" has often been cited, and in the case of winged dumplings, the flour that melts from the dumplings during baking burns into a crispy, feather-like texture. It is a masterpiece in terms of both appearance and taste. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. If you cook from the beginning, it is difficult to finish like this. The intensity of the fire, the amount of water and the baking time, you must know the combination of these to make a success. Recently frozen gyoza solve all the problems. You have to prepare a package of frozen gyoza with a pan and a lid. You don’t even need cooking oil and water to bake. Everything is included in the package, and you just follow the instruction.
If you stay at decently facilitated accommodation, you save time and money. All you have to do is buy the frozen gyoza, and go back to your accommodation. You have to prepare the rice and bake the gyoza. This time I picked up the frozen gyoza from Ajinomoto and Co-op. Ajinomoto is a Japanese food company that has been producing "umami seasonings" for many years and also focuses on frozen foods, with frozen dumplings being a very popular mainstay product in its food group. Co-op is an organization that exists around the world, and in Japan, it operates supermarkets and develops original products that are easy for consumers, as a cooperative that carries out various projects aimed at improving living standards. In general, the Co-op has the better price, and their original products are reliable.
When you compare the gyoza between Ajinomoto and Co-op, The Co-op dumplings are 20% cheaper than those of Ajinomoto and had more meat. Ajinomoto ones seemed superior in terms of the feathered and the texture. You don't have a problem finding Ajinomoto’s gyoza because most supermarkets sell them. On the other hand, it would be a bit difficult to find Co-op in most areas. Ajinomoto’s gyoza normally costs 250 Yen for a package.
Cooking the frozen gyoza
The cooking method is so simple that it needs no explanation.
Remove the frozen dumplings from the bag before heating the pan and lay the dumplings down, flat side down.
Turn up the heat for the first time and cook covered over medium heat for 5 to 5½ minutes.
Then remove the lid and wait until the broth from the dumplings has been set to a golden colour.
Shake the dumplings to see if they move when the soup has set to a golden colour.
Finally, cover the pan with a plate the same size as the pan and turn it over.
The greatest thing about frozen dumplings is that nothing is needed without a frying pan and lid. Please don’t forget to prepare Chinese red chilli oil and ponzu (Japanese sauce made primarily of soy sauce and citrus juice) before you start cooking. The Japanese usually use soy sauce with the gyoza, but I like to use the ponzu since it is not too salty and goes along well with the gyoza.
There are a lot of side dishes at the supermarkets, but frozen gyoza is cheap, easy and filling choice for budget travellers. When you choose accommodation in Tokyo, a room with a kitchen can be one choice when you stay longer.
Cooking some of your food at your accommodation means that you have fewer choices to stay, and it is a little more time-consuming, but using a wide variety of frozen foods, such as gyoza, is an easy way to keep food costs down and an opportunity to experience what Japanese people eat daily.
I didn't know that cooking frozen gyoza was so simple. Next time my boss is away from home I'll try them.