Gluten-Free Chinese Potstickers

This post is actually a follow-up to my post on make-ahead potstickers.  A few weeks ago, I carved out the time to make a batch, but I wanted to try making them gluten-free.  Several of my friends and family have cut gluten from their diets, and they swear that their digestive problems have disappeared as a result.  I’m not sure I’m ready to jump on the gluten-free bandwagon, but I’m more than happy to accommodate those who have.  So, I set out to make my family’s traditional potstickers, but without the traditional gluten.

Jump to recipe

Alright. So... you want to adapt a potsticker recipe to use gluten-free ingredients. How do you do that?

The first problem is the filling.  Potsticker filling requires flavoring in the form of soy sauce.  But what most people don’t know is that traditional soy sauce is made from fermenting soy beans… and wheat.

Yup.  Soy sauce has gluten.

That, however, is an easy switch.  A quick trip to the Asian market yielded me a bottle of tamari sauce, which is like soy sauce but without the wheat.  Gluten-free soy sauces are available now, too. 

So, that takes care of the filling.  Next: the dough.  It was in the process of making the potsticker dough that I came to a startling realization:

Y’all. 

Gluten-free flour…

is…

the devil.

I knew going into the potsticker-making process that rolling out the dough would be difficult.  Gluten is a pretty important component, after all—it’s the protein that binds the flour together.  Part of the process of making the regular dough pliable is allowing it thirty minutes to rest so that the gluten can relax.  I expected that, since gluten was missing from my flour mix, some other binding agent would be included to help compensate for that loss.  But it wasn’t enough.  And I did not expect working with this dough to be as difficult as it was.

Every time I tried to roll out the dough, a piece of it would tear, leaving a little hole from which the flavor and juices of the filling could escape.  So, I’d try to plug it up with another little piece of dough, wetted down and patched over the hole, which is exactly what I’d do for my regular, gluten-full-flour dough.  …and no luck; the attached piece would flake off, and I’d have a bigger hole than before.  (And I was left with a sudden, new appreciation for Christ’s words in Matthew 9.)

Then, when it came time to assemble the dumplings, the dough kept stiffening and cracking, again compromising the integrity of the dumplings.  It took over an hour to roll out the dough and assemble just under two dozen potstickers.  It was ridiculous, and not at all time-saving. 

Seriously, save yourself the headache (and backache!) and just buy gluten-free dumpling skins.

Anyways, that’s my update on homemade potstickers, this time as a gluten-free option.  The gluten-free potstickers still froze well, though they were more prone to cracking than the regular variety.  For more detailed instructions on the potsticker-making process, please refer back to my previous post. 

Gluten-Free Chinese Potstickers

Recipe

Materials needed:

• Large mixing bowl

• Sharp knives and cutting board

• Electric skillet (if cooking immediately)

• Sheet pan and parchment paper (if freezing for later)

Potsticker ingredients:

• ½ lb. ground meat of choice

• 4-6 green onion stalks

• 4-6 napa cabbage leaves

• 1-2 Tbsp tamari sauce or gluten-free soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1-2 tsp finely grated ginger

• ½ tsp black pepper

• Gluten-free dumpling wrappers

Assembly and cooking:

• Small bowl of water (for sealing the dumplings)

• Oil of choice (for cooking in the skillet)

• ½ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 

Directions:

• In the mixing bowl, add ½ lb. ground meat.  Finely chop the green onions and napa cabbage and add them to the meat.  Add 1-2 Tbsp tamari sauce, 1 Tbsp minced garlic, 2 tsp sugar, 1-2 tsp finely grated ginger, ½ tsp black pepper.  Mix well and set aside.

• Prepare the gluten-free dumpling wrappers (seriously—just save yourself the headache and buy these suckers from the store)

• Assemble the dumplings by placing a tablespoon of filling in the center of each skin, being careful not to drop any filling onto the edge (this will prevent the dumpling from sealing properly).  Line the edges of the skin with water, then crimp and seal them.

If preparing ahead of time:

• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  Place each dumpling on the pan, being careful not to overcrowd it.  The dumplings can be placed close together, but you don’t want them to freeze to each other.

• Once the pan is full, transfer to the freezer until the dumplings are frozen solid.

• Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store in the freezer until ready to cook.

If preparing immediately (or from frozen):

• Grease the skillet with oil of your choice.  Set the heat to medium-low.

• Arrange the dumplings on the skillet so there is adequate space between them (they should be less crowded than they were on the sheet pan).  Cover and sear the bottoms; lower the heat if they begin to burn.

• After about 5-10 minutes, add half a cup of low-sodium chicken broth.  Cover again and allow to steam for another 5-10 minutes.

• Once the broth has evaporated, check the dumplings to make sure they are cooked through (if cooking from frozen, this will take longer than if preparing immediately).  The bottoms should be browned, the tops wrinkly, and the meat inside fully cooked.

• Serve with tamari sauce.

Have you tried out this recipe?  How does the gluten-free version compare to the original, in your opinion?  Let me know in the comments!