Who made the tastiest gyoza in 2021? We decide on our favourite pot stickers

Check out our definitive guide to the best gyoza 2021 had to offer — just make sure you’re not hungry first!

2021 was certainly an eventful year. With the coronavirus vaccine rolling out at the beginning of the year and the Tokyo Olympics finally taking place during the summer, life in Japan has been slowly regaining some semblance of normality.

However, with states of emergency popping up throughout the year, we weren’t out of the woods just yet, and as a result the SoraNews24 team found themselves ordering in a lot of food to make at home. And while we sampled a wide variety of the best Tokyo has to offer, there was one dish in particular that our team seemed to order more than others: Gyoza, or pot stickers.

While we’ve certainly eaten some…interesting meals in the past, we take our gyoza seriously, so we didn’t just settle for any old gyoza. We sampled delicious gyoza from all over the country, and after careful consideration have chosen our top five most delicious gyoza of 2021. There were a lot to choose from, so making this list was no easy task, but without further ado, here are (in no particular order) our top five most delicious make-it-yourself gyoza of 2021!

1. TonTon gyoza — Yokohama Prefecture

Yokohama prefecture’s TonTon gyoza was recommended to us by a number of our readers, and after we tried them for ourselves we understood why. The vegetable filling was delicious, and the gyoza skin was nice and thick, with a great texture.

The thing that surprised our team the most, however, was the overflowing juice that burst forth from the gyoza, like a waterfall of succulent joy. Many of our readers insisted we wouldn’t be able to find better gyoza than this, and we can absolutely see why. The only downside to TonTon gyoza is the garlic comes through a little strong, which might be off-putting to some.

2. Gyoza no Mawatari gyoza — Miyazaki Prefecture

Miyazaki is known as the home of gyoza, so we were excited to try some from Gyoza no Mawatari, a restaurant famous amongst those in the know.

Gyoza no Mawatari is unusual as they make their gyoza using lard. This in turn gives the gyoza skin a chewy texture, like you’re eating thinly baked mochi. This is a gyoza for everyone, regardless of age or gender.

3. Kita no Takumi (Artisans of the North) — Hokkaido Prefecture

The northern prefecture of Hokkaido is a place known for its good food, but luckily we didn’t even need to order these gyoza — we found them in a supermarket near SoraNews24 HQ.

This gyoza is so delicious that it can be eaten by itself, without any dipping sauce, as even the thick gyoza skin is packed with flavour. The Hokkaido pork and vegetable filling is tasty, and is accompanied by a strong ginger flavour.

4. Osaka Osho’s gyoza — Osaka Prefecture

When it comes to no-frills, delicious gyoza, there’s no better place than Osaka Ohsho, the Chinese restaurant chain loved by gyoza aficionados throughout Japan. The skin on their gyoza is crispy and chewy at the same time, but the real joy comes after you bite down into the filling, as your mouth immediately goes into fierce battle with the strong ginger flavour. The ginger is quickly accompanied by the cabbage and other ingredients, and in the end your mouth admits defeat and lets the gyoza overtake the senses in a delicious ginger tidal wave.

5. Gyoza no Miwa — Hiroshima Prefecture

The last gyoza on our list is Gyoza no Miwa from Hiroshima. The stand out point of these gyoza is that there is nothing remarkable about them. They aren’t cooked in any special way, they don’t have any special ingredients in them — they’re just simple, delicious gyoza. The texture of the filling mixed with the taste of the chives makes you crave a bowl of rice to go with your gyoza, and we lost count of how many times we declared “so good…” as we devoured them.

So there you have it, our top five most delicious make-at-home gyoza for 2021. No matter what comes our way next year, we fully expect to continue eating a lot of gyoza during 2022 as well.

We hope this ranking proves our deep love and passion for gyoza, and we won’t be overlooked for ‘Best Gyozanist‘ like we were this year.

Related: TonTon gyoza, Gyoza no Mawatari, Kita no Takumi, Osaka Osho, Gyoza no Miwa
Photos ©SoraNews24
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