Ponzu Hot Pot with Gyoza 水餃子

If you've ever made gyoza and had leftovers, and wondered how you're ever going to eat all of these gyoza you've made, then here's one great way to have them -- in a deliciously soul-warming hot pot dish.

I keep falling back to this dish because you just can't go wrong with it. Here are the basics, for a quick meal you want to throw together for yourself:

• 5-6 gyozas 餃子
• 1-2 leaves of napa cabbage, roughly chopped 白菜
• 1 1/2 cups hot water 湯
• a pinch of dashi だし
• Less than 1/4 cup ponzu sauce ポン酢
• Optional: enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, scallions, broccoli, tofu, etc., etc.! エノキ、椎茸、にんじん、ねぎ、ブロッコリー、豆腐、等々

If you missed my recipe for gyoza, it is right here: pan fried gyoza. 

Start by boiling 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot. I like to use my stoneware for one (pictured above) so that I don't have to wash extra dishes! Throw in the dashi (fish stock concentrate). Once it comes to a boil, I add the gyozas and napa cabbage to it. If there's anything else I have around, mushrooms, veggies, whatever, I'll also drop that in. Tofu is a great addition, as is chicken, pork, meatballs or fatty fish like salmon. It's such a flexible dish, that it's perfect for getting rid of anything withering in the fridge. 

When my napa cabbage has softened and the gyoza has heated up, really just a few minutes on the stove and not much more, then it's done! 

To finish the dish, I add some ponzu sauce, a few tablespoons, to the boiling soup. This ponzu sauce... can be gotten nearly anywhere that sells Asian cuisine food / condiments. I suppose it's also called "citrus seasoned soy sauce." Originally I think it was made from a combination of soy sauce and a citrus fruit called yuzu but these days the commercially made stuff probably doesn't even have yuzu (it's pricier than lemon). So I add the ponzu to taste. If I add too much, it'll be too salty - easily fixable by diluting with hot water. 

On a cold winter's day, what better than to have a bowl of this deliciousness! To serve for a party of more than one, just make the hot pot in a big pot, leaving out the ponzu until the end, and serve the whole hot pot at the table family-style, with ponzu for everyone to add to their own bowl, to taste.

出来上がり！