Give me a quickie. Irritated from the 80 year old lady talking so loud at YMCA hot tub, I needed release. To be more exact, I need comfort food. Racing home, I grab my bag of Ajinomoto gyoza’s. Put a few, 12 to be exact, and wait 5 minutes for these miniature delights to cook. Hearing the sizzle only increases my hunger. Backpacking in Tokyo a few years ago, I learned more about gyoza. After an exhausting ten hour work day, the Japanese salary men/women dine out with co-workers as a social event. Really, to bad mouth there superiors or complain about the mundane life. One thing I can count on in Japan are eateries that master a specific dish. Tempura houses have mastered frying shrimp and vegetables to a science. Cripsy buy not greasy. As for gyoza houses, they are quick meals best served with a bowl of boiled edamame beans and a bottle of Japanese beer.

Cooking instructions:
To pan fry, add four oz. of water. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. The water will evaporate and a create a crispy bottom. The skin is chewy and the tender meat is seasoned well. These bites are minature in size and I can easily eat 15 in one sitting.

Sauce: Dip gyoza into Ponzu (Japanese citrus sauce) and a few sprinkles of lime to round out the dish. Chop some green onion for added crunch.

Food consultant.
Skip down the isle of your frozen food sections and there are hundreds of items to choose from. Frozen foods are great industry since spoilage is not high. Spoilage are food items that must be thrown away because they simply rot and become bad. As oppose to growing lettuce that spoils in a few days, manufacturing gyoza’s can last long. There are two keys to increasing your sales. One is distribution. Ling Ling’s potstickers has done a great job getting into Costco. Attend a frozen food trade show and find a broker that can present your product. Also, sampling increases the chance that a person will buy your product. It works. Go to Costco and you can see stations of food manufacturers giving out samples. I would target the college campuses. College students are stressed out with exams and time is a big constraint.