Spicy Gyoza Soup

I made the soup base of this 15-minute spicy gyoza soup using my favourite pantry sauces. I love to collect sauces, particularly Japanese ones, so I try to incorporate them in my everyday cooking. This spicy gyoza soup goes well with my favourite Japanese multi-grain rice, or with udon added to it.

See Also:

• 20-Minute Japanese Ramen Recipe
• One-Pan Gyoza & Eggs Recipe
• Easy Soups Recipes

Despite the red hue, this soup is spiced but not spicy (as in spicy ‘hot’, if you know what I mean). Therefore, the soup is great for those who do not take the heat well. I needed to add chilli powder as a finishing touch to make the soup hot and spicy.

SAUCES USED IN THIS RECIPE

Note: You don’t use buy all these sauces to make this recipe, ingredient substitution is mentioned.

I am addicted to buying Japanese sauces, maybe due to the fact that I shop at Donki & Daiso frequently. I was hesitant to post this recipe at first, because I personally do not like any recipe which requires many sauces. However I decided to post it after all, because I cooked & ate this so many times, and it is so fast & delicious! Who knows, you may already have some of the ingredients in your pantry. Check out the ingredient substitution if you don’t have the sauces.

Sauces (As pictured above):

• A – Ramen Soup Pork (or Chicken) Paitan. I bought this as a soup base for my quick ramen recipe, but since I had not made ramen for some time, I ended up using it whenever I need to make an instant soup. It gives a slight creamier and milkier texture to the soup. I find that using the paitan on its own is too bland, so I always mix it with other sauces to create a better taste.
• B – Garlic Paste. This is my happy short-cut to skip chopping or mincing the garlic. I bought the tube paste from Donki SG. You can easily substitute with freshly minced garlic or dry garlic powder.
• C – Chilli Doubanjang. I bought this from Daiso SG. I used it in my Japanese mapo tofu and spicy bean sprouts salad recipe. You can use Chinese ladoubanjang (chilli soybean paste), or just omit it.
• D – Dashi Powder. I got this from Donki SG. If you do Japanese cooking, you probably already have dashi powder in the pantry. You can skip this and just add a pinch of salt, to taste.
• E – Japanese Chilli Powder. This is my newest discovery from Daiso SG. It is very hot :O and I love it for that! You can substitute this with any chilli powder such as cayenne, or add use cut chillis, to create the heat.

F. Crunchy Garlic in Chilli Oil. This is a popular condiment in Japan. It adds colour and mild heat, along with small pieces of fried garlic. I tried two brands, my favourite being S&B because there are more garlic pieces in there, and some mild heat. The bottle on the left is not hot at all, so it’s might be preferred by those who don’t take spicy foods.

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

Add ingredients (A)-(D) and water in a soup pot. Stir to mix well and bring to a boil.

Add fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms (I used frozen sliced mushrooms for convenience). Boil to cook for about 2 minutes.

Add frozen supermarket gyoza (no need to thaw) and cook according to timing indicated on packaging.

When the gyoza is done, add cut garlic chives and let it cook for a few seconds.

Finally, season the soup to taste with chilli powder for extra heat if needed. I am using Japanese chilli powder (pictured above), which you can substitute with cayenne or paprika powder, or cut chillis.

The spicy gyoza soup is done! I recommend to serve it right away, otherwise the gyoza will soak up the soup and expand. Not a pretty sight and also not much soup left when that happens. If you are not eating it right away, cook the gyoza separately from the soup base. Add the gyoza to the soup only when ready to serve.

Dish out the soup and garnish with sliced scallions. This spicy soup goes very well with Japanese multi-grain rice!