Daring chinese Dumplings

I was extremely happy when I checked the hosting list and found out Jen from use real butter would be hosting this month. Jen is one of those bloggers I am in awe of, not only is her food to die for but her photograph skills are fantastic and her positive attitude has seen her through some very rough times but she still manages to post inspiring posts we can all learn something from.

I was even happier when I found out she had picked Chinese dumpings or pot stickers as the challenge recipe as I have been considering doing them since I saw a post she did about them ages ago but had never got round to it.. I have made a fantastic soup she posted several time though.

She even found a gluten free version for us though it used wheat starch in it which some were not convinced about. It always seems strange to me to use something that is that close to gluten as it was once part of the same grain but several companies making gluten free items over here use it so I am willing to believe it is gluten free. That said i don't have any and I DO have far too many other flours, so I have tried a different mix of flours to make my wrappers.

Filling Ingredients

I ended up making wrappers with a mix of tapioca and corn starches with brown rice flour. This is the recipe Jen suggested and in the main I followed it but I used 1/2 a cup each of Tapioca starch, cornflour(corn starch) and brown rice flour. The wrappers behaved fairly well and I really like the idea of putting between two bits of baking parchment and pressing flat with a pan it is SO much easier than rolling. They did taste a little stodgy when steamed but not unreasonably so and certainly I liked them well enough to think about trying again with a different flour combination probably a bit less tapioca (the original recipe was only 1/4 cup of that) and possibly more bulker type flour. I used a very English combination of bacon, onions and eggs for the filling but it still went very well with Jen's dipping sauce..

I also did some pot-sticker versions with strawberry inside for which the dough worked much better and I could certainly serve them again without getting complaints!.

To see other versions visit the Daring Kitchen.

recipes

Wrapper Dough (based on this recipe)

1/2 cup each of cornflour(corn starch for americans), tapioca starch and brown rice flour.
1/2 tsp salt
cup of boiling water
1 tsp oil

Mix the flours and salt together in a bowl and then add the oil and boiling water, stir together with a wooden spoon or other none heat retaining utensil (guess how I know that metal is a bad idea!). Once the dough has come together turn out onto a floured surface and kneed till it is smooth, soft but not sticky. I needed to add a bit more cornflour to stop it being sticky and I kept the knife and my fingers coated in corn flour while working with the dough.

Divide into 3, roll into 8 inch rolls and then cut into 6. You can keep them covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out if you like.

Take a large piece of baking parchment or greaseproof paper, fold over and put one of the pieces between the sheets not too close to the fold. Press down on this with a pan.. you should get one circular wrapper.. You are aiming for 4 inches plus but be careful as to thin and you can't seal them without it breaking.
Then you need to spoon some filling into the middle, keep it small. Then fold over the rest to make a package. You are best off refering to other other recipe for this or indeed other Daring cook blogs as I didn't take any photos of this part and was very rough and ready in how I did it.

Once you have parcels either arrange on some cabbage or lettuce in a steamer and steam for about 6-7 mins or heat some oil in a pan, arrange them in a single layer in the pan, cook on each side till a bit brown (about 3 mins) then add 1/2 cup of water and cover, cook for 3 more mins on low then take off the lid and cook till the water is gone and the wrappers are browned.

Jen's dipping sauce:

2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

I added the garlic and ginger from the optional bits and really liked it though I think I was a little heavy handed on the sesame for some of those in my house, next time I will make sure it is a drop or two!