Homemade dumplings are the physical embodiment of the love Asian moms have for their
kids, says Michelle Tam, recipe developer behind the wildly-popular Nom Nom Paleo blog, meal-planning app and cookbooks. The Palo Alto blogger and mother uses a combination of cassava flour and arrowroot powder to make these gluten-free potstickers for her family during Chinese New Year, when dumplings are traditionally eaten to symbolize wealth in the new year.
Paleo Potstickers
Makes 48
FILLING:
3 large dried shiitake mushrooms
1 small (1-pound) head Napa cabbage
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
1 pound ground pork
¼ cup chicken broth
½ cup minced scallions
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon coconut aminos (a sauce similar to soy sauce)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
WRAPPERS:
3 cups cassava flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2¼ cups boiling water
FOR COOKING:
¼ cup avocado oil for pan-frying, divided
2 cups boiling water for pan-steaming, divided
DIRECTIONS
Start by making the filling: In a bowl, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator until they’re completely rehydrated.
While the mushrooms are soaking, finely chop the Napa cabbage.
In a large bowl, combine the finely chopped cabbage and 2 teaspoons kosher salt; toss well. Transfer the salted cabbage to a fine mesh strainer or colander and set it over a bowl. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
When you’re ready to make the filling, grab the soaked shiitake mushrooms and squeeze out the excess liquid. Remove and discard the tough stems and finely dice the caps.
Transfer the salted cabbage to a large piece of cheesecloth or clean dish towel. Gather up the edges and squeeze and twist the cabbage bundle to wring out as much liquid as possible. You should end up with about 1 cup of cabbage.
In a large bowl, add the ground pork and chicken broth. Use your hands to mix them, until the liquid is incorporated into the meat. Toss in the drained cabbage, mushrooms, minced scallions, minced garlic, ground ginger, white pepper and remaining teaspoon of salt. Add the coconut aminos and sesame oil. Use your hands to knead the filling until everything is well-mixed and starts to feel tacky and sticky.
To check the seasoning, fry up a tiny patty of the meat mixture in a pan and taste it. Add more salt if needed. If you’re not cooking right away, you can store the filling in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.
To make the dough for the wrappers: In a large bowl, combine the cassava flour, arrowroot and salt. Pour in about 2 cups of boiling water and stir it in. Once the water cools down enough to touch, use your hands to knead the dough. Continue adding boiling water a little at a time and knead it until you form a springy, not-sticky dough.
If it seems extra dry, add a touch more water, but watch out: You don’t want a wet, soft dough, or you’ll have trouble working with it. If it gets too wet, knead in a bit more cassava flour. When in doubt, err on the side of being a little stickier than drier.
Divide the dough ball into thirds, and then divide each smaller ball in half to produce 6 dough balls. Next, divide each of the 6 dough balls in half, then in half again and again until you have 48 equal-sized balls. Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out.
Now, it’s time to gather your friends and family to help assemble the wrappers and
pot stickers!
Assign someone to portion out the fillings: Scoop out a scant tablespoon of filling and place the oval-shaped filling on a plate. Repeat until you have 48 equal oval-shaped portions.
Next, let’s form the wrappers. Grab a tortilla press, some parchment, a rimmed baking sheet, a damp kitchen towel and a small bowl of water. Take one of the dough balls and dab it with a little water if it feels dry. Then, use your hands to roll it into a round ball. Place the dough ball on the tortilla press between pieces of parchment paper and smush flat. The resulting wrapper should be very thin, about 3½-inches in diameter.
Put the pre-scooped filling into the middle of the wrapper. Make sure your fingers are clean or it’ll be hard to fold properly! Fold the sides of the wrapper around the filling like a taco.
Use your thumb to keep the filling in place while using your other hand to carefully pleat and crimp one side of the pot sticker, as you press together the wrapper edges to seal the filling inside. Continue pleating only one side of the wrapper and sealing the top of the pot sticker until you reach the other side. Use your fingers to securely seal the top of the pot sticker, dabbing on a little water if the edges feel dry. The finished pot sticker should have a flat bottom and form a crescent with the pleats on the outside.
Place the pot stickers on a parchment-lined. rimmed baking sheet and cover them with a damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out. Continue making and stuffing wrappers until you have 48 dumplings.
At this point, you can either freeze the uncooked pot stickers (in a single layer in a food-safe freezer bag) for up to 2 months or cook them right away. You can fry them directly from the freezer when you’re ready to eat.
Heat a 10-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of avocado oil. Place as many pot stickers into the pan as will fit in a single layer. Fry the dumplings until the bottoms are golden-brown, about 2 minutes.
Carefully pour in ½ cup boiling water and quickly cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to medium and steam-fry the dumplings for 5 minutes (7 minutes if cooking from frozen).
When the timer goes off, remove the lid. Continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes to cook off any remaining liquid and to re-crisp the bottom of the pot stickers.
Transfer the cooked pot stickers to a plate and repeat the process until you’re done. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
— Michelle Tam and Henry Fong, “Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go!” (Andrews McMeel, $35)
