If you are in Fukushima City (i.e., the capital of Fukushima Prefecture), you must try a few things. It is famous for sauce katsu, for example, and when peach season comes around, you can get everything in peach flavour (even pizza)! However, the thing most Japanese people will say when you mention food and Fukushima in the same sentence is their speciality gyoza – enban gyoza.

What are Enban Gyoza?

Before we get into Enban Gyoza, you might not be familiar with regular gyoza, also sometimes called “potstickers” in English (I’m not sure where that name came from). Gyoza is the Japanese name for a derivation of Chinese dumplings where a filling (usually ground meat and often a combination of onions, cabbage, ginger and/or garlic) is wrapped in a thin, skin-like dough. From here, they are either boiled, lightly fried in a pan with no oil on one or two sides (depending on the regional variant) or fried in a pan with oil. You can find gyoza all over Japan – it is one of the most consumed foods.

Enban gyoza (円盤餃子) – meaning “disk dumplings” – is unique to the Fukushima City. When you order gyoza, you get a row of 6, usually as a side to another dish or part of a set with rice, miso soup and pickled vegetables. In contrast, Enban gyoza usually come in groups of 30 or more gyoza and are the main meal (often only eaten by themselves). Compared to regular gyoza, they usually have more cabbage and onion than ground meat, so they are not as heavy.

Normal gyoza and enban gyoza are both eaten with the same sauce – a combination of vinegar and soya sauce – you can add lemon/yuzu to make it a ponzu sauce, which is also common. Additionally, many places have both sesame powder and chilli powder, which can be added to enhance the flavour according to your preferences. The gyoza are then dipped in this sauce.

Where to eat Enban gyoza

Fukushima City has more than 30 places to eat Enban gyoza, and there is even a gyoza festival in the autumn! I was able to try gyoza at two places in Fukushima City.

Ramen Ishikari

The first was Ishikari Ramen. I had not meant to have them here first but the place I wanted to go (see the next place) was closed on this day, so I went to Ramen Ishikari, where I had a tiny portion of Enban gyoza – only 10. It was possible to go up to 50, though, and they were willing to cook as many as you wanted – but the pan would only hold 50, so you would get multiple plates. I had so few because I also had one of Fukushima’s other signature dishes – Ishikari ramen.

This was my first introduction to Enban gyoza. Having lived there for two years, I am more used to the ones in Fukuoka, which are left in the pan for a longer period (i.e., making them more crispy) and often flipped onto a second side (gyoza are roughly triangular-shaped) to make them even crispier. Even so, these gyoza had a very nice flavour.

I was told that one of the features of Enban gyoza is that the oil is drained three times during the frying process. However, I found these still to have a good amount of oil on them – not enough to be slimy, but enough to make a mess if you aren’t careful!

Along with the ramen, they were very satisfying and I was very interested in having more!

Ramen Ishikari is located near the central station in Fukushima’s Omachi district, so it is easy to get there on foot.

Manpuku

Manpuku – written as 満腹, meaning “full stomach” – is said to be the place where Enban gyoza originated. Run by a little old married couple, they must serve thousands of gyoza every day. They are a speciality gyoza place. While they do have a few other dishes, the main thing they make is gyoza. There is one size for everyone – 30 gyoza. And here is the evidence:

The rest of the menu (75%) are different kinds of soft and alcoholic drinks.

With lines stretching out the door and so many other places serving Enban gyoza—even becoming one of the city’s most popular foods—it is easy to see why it is such a popular place. It is a small place in a back alley off a small side street, but you would never know it on certain days. It might be “tucked out of the way” geographically, but it is definitely not an unknown place.

If you decide to go there, go early. They are open from 16:30 to 21:30 Monday, Thursday and Friday. At the weekends they are usually open from 11:30 to 5 p.m. However, they state, “until 9:30, or we run out of gyoza”, which is not uncommon. On the day I went, I ensured I had not eaten anything since breakfast and arrived at 5. Fortunately, I had beaten the crowds – most of whom I assume were still at work, but I got the last available seat.

Even if you have to wait, the wait times are not usually very long because gyoza can be eaten quickly, so the counter seats (especially for individuals and duos) typically come and go quickly (which is standard in Japan). There are a couple of Western-style tables and low tables on tatami mats; these are kept for reservations and groups.

In terms of the filling, the gyoza contained more cabbage and onions than ground meat, but as someone who does not eat much meat, I did not mind at all. This made them less filling, making it easier to eat so many.

I really enjoyed the gyoza here—so much so that I took a friend and went back the next day! Since I had eaten normally throughout the day, though, we shared a single plate for my second visit.

Overall: 10/10 would definitely recommend a visit!

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