If there is one thing I miss more then any other Asian food… it would have to be dumplings. There was something about the succulent pork, delicious sour, sweet and salty dipping sauce, and the aroma of sesame oil that really enlivened the senses.
I have attempted to make dumplings a few times:
1. – With a gluten free pastry case, which was to fat, and turned into Asian calzone… scrumptious, but not what I was looking for.
2. Gluten free dumplings with rice paper roll outers. These were great. you just soak the rice paper until it softens, then scoop in the filling, and shallow fry in coconut and sesame oil mix on their side until they go crispy.
And now… the clear winner – dumpling balls – all the flavour without the extra carbs… I recently stepped on the scales and was horrified by the number staring back at me, so this is my attempt at evening things up and trying to cut calories and not flavour.
INGREDIENTS:
- 450g pork mince
- handful of chives
- 2 spring onions
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of crushed chilli
- Thumb sized piece of grated ginger
- 4 cloves of grated garlic
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the meat in a bowl and start to smash it around and beat it up a little (sorry not sure a better way of describing this), to activate the fat so they do not fall apart. I throw the meat down into the bowl until it starts to look smoother and hold together better.
Grate in the onion and garlic and ginger.
Finley Dice the chives, mushrooms, spring onions (and any cabbage or vegetables you may want to add). Make sure they are finally diced, you may want to use the food processor, you risk them falling apart if they are to chunky.
Season with salt and pepper
Add the remaining wet ingredients & chilli.
Mix with your hands until well combined
Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out the mixture and roll into balls with your hands (using a spoon will help ensure they are uniform in size). Place them on a tray until you are ready to cook. (I froze half this batch so I had some for later).
Heat coconut oil in a pan on a medium to high heat.
Sear each side of the meatballs.
Cook until browned on the outside and cooked through in the middle.
Serve it with anything
Serve with your favourite fresh or steamed vegetables and dipping sauce. (I combined fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, chilli oil, peanut oil, and lime juice to make mine).
Would also be great in a soup.
I also fed these to someone who was not gluten free – to which they made all sorts of food porn noises ;P so I know I must be on to something delicious.
I froze half of the batch so I think I will try dropping these into a broth to use in soup over winter, as as a dipping meatball for lunch or dinner. I will be making these again.
Do you miss dumplings? Have you tried to make your own? I would love to hear your gluten free dumpling stories. If you make this recipe be sure to drop me a line and let me know how they tasted.