Foraged Garlic Mustard Gyoza Recipe

 I am not lying when I say that my garlic mustard gyoza are better than any wonton/gyoza/potsticker I have had anywhere, ever! (But I might be a bit biased by creative pride)

Garlic Mustard is probably one of the easiest things to forage for, at least on the East Coast. It's pretty much everywhere, easy to identify, and has no toxic look-a-likes. It is an imported, invasive species, which is taking over and crowding out native species. You quite literally cannot over-harvest it.




2 Cups peeled & roughly chopped carrots (about 5 medium)
1 Cup lightly packed Garlic Mustard leaves
1 Cup roughly chopped red bell pepper
1 Cup roughly chopped white onion
1 Serrano chili pepper (seeds and veins removed), sliced
1" x 1" x 1" piece of ginger root, peeled & roughly chopped, plus an additional 1 1/2 tsp. ginger, zested
2 Tablespoons soy sauce, plus an additional 3 tablespoons
1 Teaspoon sesame oil
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
3 Large Ramp leaves, or 2 scallions, minced
Store bought wonton or gyoza wrappers
Egg white, lightly beaten
Oil for frying (optional)
Cabbage or lettuce for steaming (optional)

Gyoza:

1. Start 3 cups of water boiling
2. Peel and roughly chop 3 cups of carrots. Add to the boiling water.
3. When the carrots have boiled for about 3 minutes, add the bell pepper, onion, garlic mustard and serano chili. Boil for another 2 minutes, then drain all veggies.
4. Add cooked veggies and roughly chopped ginger to a food processor, and process until fully minced and blended. Pour into a bowl, and add 2 tbsp soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix lightly with a fork.
5. Measure out enough filling to fill, but not over-fill, your wraps. For the wonton wrappers shown here, I used 1 tsp. It is very easy to over-fill these. Smear a bit of egg white on the lip of the wrap and fold over.
6. Steam on a bed of cabbage or lettuce, or fry in veggie oil.
7. Left over filling can be frozen for latter use.

Dipping Sauce:

1. Mix remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp zested ginger, and minced ramp leaves (or scallions) in a small bowl, serve with gyoza.

Fills about 60 gyoza wraps