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1
Combine the flour and boiling water in a bowl. Mix immediately with a wooden spoon, then knead by hand on an unfloured surface for 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it yields under a thumb press without snapping back.
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2
Toss the shredded cabbage with a pinch of salt, leave 10 minutes, then wring in a clean cloth until no further moisture can be extracted. The cabbage must feel dry and compacted in the fist — any residual liquid will later soften the skin from the inside before the base has time to crisp.
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3
Place the ground pork in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sake, and sesame oil. Mix vigorously with the hand in one direction until the mass becomes cohesive and slightly sticky. Fold in the squeezed cabbage. Refrigerate the filling until completely cold before use. The filling must be cold to the touch at the centre.
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4
Divide the rested dough into four pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder and cut into 8 equal rounds. Flatten each round and roll individually to a disc of 1–1.5 mm thickness and approximately 8–9 cm in diameter. Hold each skin to the light: it should be thin enough to be faintly translucent at its centre.
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5
This is where the dish lives or dies. Place one teaspoon of cold filling at the centre of each skin — do not overfill, as excess causes tearing during pleating. Brush a thin line of water along one edge of the skin only. Fold the skin over the filling, bringing the dry edge to meet the wet edge. Working from the centre outward, form 6–8 tight pleats (hida) along the wet edge, pressing each fold firmly against the unpleated back edge to seal. The finished gyoza must hold its shape without any gap; a compromised seal allows filling to leak during cooking.
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6
Heat a wide, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and add the neutral oil. Arrange the gyoza flat-side down in a single layer without crowding. Cook undisturbed until the bases are golden and the pan emits a steady sizzle. Do not move the gyoza: the base should be visibly browned at the edges when the pan is tilted.
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7
Pour the potato starch–water solution around the gyoza (not over them). Immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over medium heat for 5–6 minutes; do not lift the lid during this phase. The steam environment cooks the filling and the upper skin simultaneously. The hissing will intensify then subside — wait until the sound drops to a quiet sputtering before proceeding.
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8
Remove the lid. Allow the remaining liquid to evaporate fully and the starch web (hane) to set and colour around the gyoza. The wings are ready when they have turned golden and release cleanly from the pan with a spatula. Invert the entire cluster onto a plate in one motion so the crisp web faces upward.
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9
Mix the rice vinegar and rayu in a small bowl. Serve alongside immediately. The dipping sauce should taste sharp and gently hot — adjust rayu to preference.