Incredibly quick and easy Udon Gyoza made with udon, grounds, tofu and flavoured with garlic, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce. These chewy, flavourful udon dumplings are the perfect dumplings to satisfy cravings!

When my sisters and I visited my grandpa, for a late night ‘snack’ he would always make something with leftovers. Ingredients he always had on hand: rice, tofu, somen, soba and udon. He was a rice and noodle man and always came up with something delicious with these basic ingredients.

One of my favourite things he would make for us was somen or udon gyoza (depending on which he had leftovers from). I’m team udon, so always preferred the udon gyoza because it was extra thick and chewy.

What is Udon Gyoza?

Udon gyoza is like Japanese Pan Fried Dumplings… but the quick, easy and lazy version. Take dumpling filling, mash it all together with thick and chewy udon noodles and then cook them like patties. Basically, the udon act as the dumpling skin because of the chewy texture. If you loved my quick and easy rice paper dumplings and homemade vegan gyoza, these Udon Dumplings are for you.

Ingredients (+Substituions) for Udon Gyoza

All you need is 8 ingredients to make Udon Gyoza:

Udon Noodles: I highly recommend using fresh or frozen udon noodles for this recipe.
Ground Beef: Use any grounds of your choice! I’ve used Meatless farms (in the photos), Lifelife and Beyond Meat grounds with success.
Garlic & ginger: classic must flavours for gyoza.
Tofu: Makes these soft and also helps bind! I also use nagaimo (which I actually prefer but have not been able to find it recently).
Potato Starch: Absorbs excess moisture and helps bind.
Soy Sauce: for flavour.
Sesame Oil: for flavour.

These dumplings are pretty flavourful on their own but for dipping, we love ponzu or rice vinegar, soy sauce + a little chili oil!

How to Make Udon Gyoza

Did I mention how quick and easy these udon dumplings come together?

Prepare Udon: If udon noodles are frozen, place in a bowl covered and microwave for 3 minutes at 600 W or until no longer frozen. Alternatively, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Drain with and rinse with cold water. Roughly chop udon noodles to about 1 inch pieces.
Mix all ingredients together: Into a mixing bowl, combine the grounds, udon noodles, garlic, ginger, tofu, vegetables, potato starch, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined. It should feel and look like dumpling filling. Divide into 10-12 pieces, about 50g each. Roll into balls and slightly flatten with the palm of your hands. Place on a cooking tray and repeat until all the filling is prepared.
Cook: Heat a pan over medium to medium high and add 1 tbsp of oil. Line the udon gyoza in the pan and cook each side until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side). Slice one in half to ensure it is fully cooked through. If still raw, reduce heat to medium low/medium add 2 tbsp of water and cover. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Looking for a crispier version?

I took my rice paper dumpling recipe as an idea and stuck on rice paper on both sides. This way, it creates a crispy texture!

More delicious Udon recipes to try:

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

If you recreate this Udon Gyoza recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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