Just Fry Frozen Gyoza and Soak Them in Sauce: Ryuji's "Zuke" Gyoza Bento

This is apparently Ryuji's first bento book. Ryuji has long said there is no need to go all out on a lunch bento, and no need to worry about how it looks. A bento prepared in the morning or the night before and eaten at lunch takes effort, so don't overdo it. Forget about colorful presentation; just put the main dish on rice and make it tasty. Any nutrition lacking at lunch can be made up at dinner. That is Ryuji's argument.

The gyoza bento is that philosophy put into recipe form. Ryuji says it is the kind of bento that makes you wonder, "Is a bento like this even allowed?" but "I'm allowing it," and explains that it is different from a bento where gyoza are simply placed on rice.

The gyoza are Ajinomoto frozen gyoza. Ryuji recommends the regular type, but says the ginger flavor or another company's gyoza are fine too. Still, Ryuji personally thinks Ajinomoto's gyoza are the best.

Rice is 200 g per person. For the shoot, two packs of microwavable rice were used for two servings, but Ryuji recommended that viewers freeze rice they cook themselves instead, since it's cheaper.

The sauce, per serving, is 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 shakes of Ajinomoto (MSG), and about 3 pumps of chili oil. As for the MSG, Ryuji says adding umami makes the gyoza taste better, so please include it. Near the end, Ryuji repeated that "the 2 shakes of Ajinomoto are the key."

A bag of frozen gyoza contains 12, so 6 per person makes a bento. Ajinomoto frozen gyoza don't need oil. Arrange them in a frying pan, cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Ryuji says you can also prepare them the night before.

Many people probably think gyoza skins have to be crispy, but since they'll be soaked this time, there's no need to make them crispy, Ryuji says. During the shoot the sauce was made in a separate container, but if that's a hassle, you can pour the sauce straight into the frying pan after turning off the heat and soak the gyoza there, which cuts down on dishes. However, adding it while the pan is hot causes violent sizzling, so let the pan cool a little first.

When soaking, dip the browned side in the sauce too. The reasoning is that the skins will get soft anyway once they're in a bento, so it tastes better if they're softened by the sauce. The sauce is quite strong, so a few minutes of soaking is enough.

Meanwhile, pack rice into a storage container and line up the soaked gyoza on top. The gyoza are slippery, so be careful. The sauce left in the pan is also full of flavor, so drizzle it over the rice. If you like, you can pour on all of it. This lets the sauce soak into the rice, Ryuji explains.

Ryuji adds that this bento gets better the longer it sits, because the skins soften and meld with the rice. Ryuji recommended this way of eating not only for bento but also for when you're eating gyoza with rice at home.

Ryuji says this way of eating soaked gyoza came from Ken Watabe of the comedy duo Unjash. According to Ryuji, Watabe once said, "At Gyoza no Ohsho, I soak the last two gyoza in the dipping sauce before eating them." Ryuji tried it, found it genuinely delicious, and recalls feeling that Watabe really is a gourmet. This recipe takes that idea and soaks all the gyoza from the start to make a bento. Ryuji also said, "When I made it, I thought I was a genius, but maybe the genius is Watabe-san."

The second is an arranged version that's a bit more lavish. Gyoza and kimchi go very well together, so kimchi is added. For Ryuji, kimchi counts as "the vegetable slot." Garlic chives work too if you have them, and using frozen spinach adds vegetables and color.

To make it, just add a little sesame oil to a frying pan (you can skip it) and lightly stir-fry the kimchi and spinach. Too much kimchi makes it salty, so use about 60–70 g. Kimchi alone would be too salty, so add about 50–60 g of frozen spinach as well. Frozen spinach also saves you the trouble of blanching. The red and green make it look nice too. This way you get a fair amount of vegetables, plus a little meat from the gyoza, Ryuji explained.

Cooking kimchi mellows its flavor, so kimchi that has gotten a bit old and sour becomes easier to eat, Ryuji says. Also, you can fry the gyoza in another pan while stir-frying the kimchi, which is handy when you're busy. The stir-fried kimchi and spinach go directly on the rice. Ryuji said spinach alone is fine too, or you can stir-fry other vegetables and put them on, calling this "a life hack."

Ryuji says there's no need to change the amount of sauce even with the kimchi added. However, Ryuji added that since kimchi is salty, for this version it's best to hold back a little of the sauce.

Pour the sauce over the fried gyoza in the pan used to stir-fry the kimchi. This transfers the kimchi umami left in the pan into the sauce. Flip the gyoza to coat them all over in sauce, and arrange them on the rice topped with kimchi and spinach. Drizzle on a little of the reserved sauce too. Looking at the glossy gyoza, Ryuji said, "You won't be able to eat regular gyoza anymore," and called it "less a bento for living and more a bento that thrills adults and kids alike."

Ryuji thinks this arranged version looks lazy but is "actually pretty solid." It also saves money. Frozen gyoza are much cheaper than buying a convenience store bento, and they sometimes go on sale.

Ryuji also stressed how well the ingredients keep. Both the gyoza and spinach can be stocked in the freezer, and kimchi lasts a long time too. Because you can make it with what you have at home, you don't end up throwing ingredients away. Kimchi that has turned sour as its best-before date approaches can be enjoyed this way too. Ryuji said these are the kinds of things Ryuji thinks about every day.

Otsuka-san, the book's editor, joined for the tasting. Otsuka-san, who came from Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture, has worked with Ryuji for eight years but is appearing in a video for the first time.

The two have previously worked together on books such as Supreme Recipes and Devil's Recipes. According to Otsuka-san, with this new book the series has sold over 800,000 copies in total. A typical recipe book is considered a hit at 20,000 copies, and that has been true for a long time. Against that, Supreme Recipes has sold 340,000 copies and Devil's Recipes 230,000. The first print run of this bento book is 36,000 copies, and Ryuji was surprised to hear this figure for the first time on the day of the shoot.

After eating the basic version, Ryuji said once again, "It really is the best recipe," and that zuke is perfect for bento. After eating the arranged version, Otsuka-san said the sauce has soaked in and it's delicious the moment it enters your mouth. On the combination of kimchi and spinach, Otsuka-san said the spinach softens the kimchi's spiciness a little, making for an exquisite balance.

Here Ryuji also shared a past failure. Ryuji once put gyoza left over from the night before into a bento, and they turned dry and crumbly, so Ryuji had stopped doing it since. With zuke, the moisture keeps the skins soft, so they don't dry out. Ryuji says the reaction was, "So that's how you do it." Otsuka-san called it "an invention." Ryuji said you can adjust it to your taste: more spinach if you want more vegetables, or the basic version if you want to enjoy the gyoza.

Finally, Otsuka-san talked about the book's aim. The idea came from the "This Is All You Need Bento" that Ryuji had previously introduced in a video. It was just rice topped with nori and a fried egg, and the video received many comments saying "this saved me." Otsuka-san says the goal was to bring that feeling to more people.

Otsuka-san positions this book as a recipe book that lowers the bar for making bento. It saves money and provides plenty of protein. What Otsuka-san likes most is that it follows through on Ryuji's argument that "you can eat your vegetables at dinner." The end of the book includes a recipe for a vegetable-packed hot pot, so you can get your vegetables from that at night. It's a book you can actually use in daily life for both lunch and dinner, Otsuka-san explained.

Asked about goals, Otsuka-san said the first target is 100,000 copies. Otsuka-san's publishing company has seven employees including the president, and Otsuka-san said things would be dire if this book doesn't sell. Ryuji also noted that while a typical recipe book is a hit at 20,000 copies, this one has a first print run of 36,000, showing how much effort is being put into it, and the video ends there.