Food & Drink | Food Sustainability in Japan

Muscle Gyoza Veggie: Meat-free doesn’t mean missing out on flavor — or protein

by Patrick St. Michel

Contributing Writer

Embracing plant-based foods doesn’t mean sacrificing the protein benefits associated with meat.

Muscle Gyoza Veggie is the latest dumpling installment in the protein-packed Muscle Gyoza frozen food line. This offering swaps out traditional carnivorous fillings for a protein-packed, soybean-based meat replacement. Each pack of 40 dumplings (¥1,980, available via online retailers such as Amazon and Rakuten) also boasts a 34 percent drop in calories.

Muscle Gyoza Veggie tastes pretty much like “regular” gyōza, save for the texture of the filling — the soy meat is noticeably softer than traditional stuffings. But dip the dumpling in a little sauce and you’ll be surprised at how well it passes the familiarity test. Turns out reducing your carbon footprint isn’t the only perk to going sustainable — it’s got great taste, too.

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