Ding! Round 3 of the gluten-free pot sticker experiment. The second dough made of millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch was pretty darn good. The wrappers were easy to roll out, manipulate, and sturdy. They cooked up to a good chew without being overly rustic. But I was curious about tinkering with the dough. My goal this time was to achieve a little tenderness along with that chew.
After a bit of research, I decided to try Laura Russell’s approach in The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen cookbook. What appealed to me was that she used tapioca starch, Mochiko sweet rice flour, millet flour, and xantham gum. If you’ve made any of the sticky rice dumplings from Asian Dumplings (e.g., onde onde from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore; banh it from Vietnam) you know that dough made from sweet (sticky) rice flour has an alluring natural sweetness and elasticity. So I gave it whirl.
This is the gluten-free basic dumpling dough that I devised based on Russell’s formula:
3 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
3 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) millet flour*
4 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) Mochiko Blue Star Brand glutinous (sweet) rice flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum*
3/4 cup just-boiled water plus 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
* See the Gluten-Free Pot Stickers: Trial 2 for information on these ingredients
The weight of the dry ingredients was more than my usual 10 ounces so it necessitated a little extra water. All I did was combine the starch , flours, and xantham gum in a bowl. Then I worked in the just-boiled water to create a crumbly moist mixture. Then I switched to mixing and kneading with my hand to work in the extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water. The result was this soft, smooth dough:
After a rest in the plastic bag, this millet-and-rice dough was much softer than the millet-and-sorghum dough. Russell suggests flouring the dough pieces with lots of extra Mochiko sweet rice flour, which I found was more or less true. I had used a little less water than Russell so I didn’t need as much flour for dusting. Nevertheless, you see how much I used on the cutting board: (the filling is the pork and napa cabbage filling on page 31)
In terms of ease of rolling out wrappers, it was easy like dough 2. However, this gluten-free dumpling dough tended to stick a little more than the second one; there were more frequent dustings in between rolls with the dowel rolling pin.
On the other hand, the rice flour dough gave a little more to stretch and hug the filling. My guess is that it’s due to the use of sweet rice flour, which naturally sags a bit when used to make dough.
Because the millet-and-rice-flour dough was softer, I could not form as neat looking pleats as with the millet-and-sorghum flour. The dumpling below reminded me of Lisa Simpson's hair. Water was needed to wet the half of the edge and create a solid seal just like before. (See the post on dough #2 for other tips on working with gluten-free dumpling dough.)
How about the texture and flavor?
This dough was just as tasty, if not slightly tastier than the second one. The rice flour indeed gave the dough a chewy-tender quality that was not rustic in any way. The resulting pot stickers were more refined tasting than the ones made from the second dough. However, dough # 2 had its earthy al dente charm and it was easier to work; there was less sticking.
My husband and I did a side-by-side comparison of gluten-free pot stickers and our preference – by a fine margin — was for dumpling dough #3!
Which gluten-free dumpling dough is for you?
Let your taste preferences dictate your decision:
- Combining millet, sorghum, and starches makes for dough that’s easy to work. The result is somewhat hearty in a nice way, like a good wheat bread.
- Combining millet, sweet rice flour, and starch creates tender-chewy dough that requires a little finesse. The result is refined, akin to a chewy white bread.
Also consider your pantry. What do you have on hand? For example, if you have an Asian pantry, chances are that you already have the Mochiko Blue Star Brand sweet rice flour and tapioca starch. All that you’d have to buy is the millet flour and xantham gum. If that is not your situation, you can do either one.
When all was said and done, I had a lot of dough and filling left. I tried different shapes, cooking techniques, and froze a bunch. I wanted to see how the gluten-free dumpling dough performed under different situations. Stay tuned for that final post in this series (saga).
Related posts:
- Gluten-free Asian Dumpling Dough: How to make the most of it
- Gluten-Free Pot Stickers: Recipe Trial 2 (with tips on working with GF dumpling dough)
- Gluten-free Pot Stickers: Recipe Trial 1 (on Asiandumplingtips.com)
- Guide to Building an Asian Dumpling Pantry
- Tolerance Test: Are Gluten-Free Asian Ingredients for You?
If you have the enhanced e-version of Asian Dumplings, these technique videos are included. Other wise, see the printed book for details and/or watch my videos below:
- How to roll out Asian dumpling wrappers
- Basic Asian dumpling shapes: Half Moon, Pea Pod and Big Hug
- Advanced dumpling shapes: Pleated Crescent
Finally, some potstickers I can eat to my heart’s content! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe…Am trying very hard to stick to my gluten free diet and really appreciate you making this easier for me. Can’t wait to try it out 🙂
So happy to be of assistance, Charsiew! 🙂
this looks yummy! i’ve been looking for a recipe for a long time!
but, in the recipe there’s a typo, should it be 3 3/8 oz rice flour or 4 3/8 oz rice flour?
thanks!
I am so excited to try this out! Thanks for sharing it.
Hmm my mouth is watering by seeing it.Its very delicious.Its inner filling looks testy and this one if the best dish for every occasion.
Pickle: The sweet rice flour actually weighs more than the other flours. The 4 3/8 ounces is my weight measurement — even though the volume ratio is 1:1:1.
Thanks for verifying.
Looks delicious!
http://yummies4dummies.blogspot.com/
I am wondering if that specific brand of sweet rice flour is important to the recipe? I can’t find the brand mentioned, but Bob’s Red Mill has a sweet rice flour. I wonder if that could be substituted?
Overnight, my wonderful craigslist-parts franken-bike, entertainment/exercise whip became my primary mode of transportation. Welcome to the world of bike commuting. This required a quick and cheap functional adaptations.
Would this recipe work for gluten-free bao as well?
Been pretty blur since being told i need to go gluten free, however what you’ve made up above has my taste buds going! Will definitely be having a bash and making some they look delicious!
Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.
ime and tide wait for no man.
come on!!!!
The dumplings looks really good. The best part is that the recipe is a healthy one.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift. We decide what is important and what is trivial in life.
HI Andrea, is there a substitute for xantham gum as I cannot have corn and I have read that xantham gum is derived from corn. 🙁 I am very excited to have found your blog too. I love dumplings and have grown up with them. I am now gluten free, dairy free, yeast free etc etc and oh…how i miss dumplings!!
Thank you so very very much for figuring out these recipes! I’m ‘grounded’ for another week or so (let’s just say 2011 was a year I’m thrilled is over, and I never again want to be stuck on bed rest again!) because I overdid getting my home ready for New Year’s company – but come the weekend, my husband and I are planning to spend the day puttering together in the kitchen trying both recipes. Whichever wins in our taste tests will be repeated on Sunday for a bit freezer assembly line. While I’ll concede I’m healthier since being diagnosed with celiac and going GF – 3 years without a single edible dumpling is almost more than I can bear and stick to the diet. I think with your recipes, I have a shot at an old favorite! Thanks so much – and so it’s said, I can’t WAIT until your tofu book comes out! I’ve had it tucked onto my Amazon wishlist for months now.
Andrea, I am absolutely thrilled about the possibility of making a dumpling for my gluten-free dairy-free husband. I’m even more excited about making a bona fide potsticker for him! 🙂 However, my husband is also allergic to millet. Would sorghum or amaranth flour work as a good substitute for the millet in this sweet rice-tapioca-millet flour blend?
Appreciate all the details, tips, pictures. I have made Laura’s Potstickers and had amazing success. I made the asian dumplings, and they were not edible. Tried it twice, still no success. I am apprecaite of your details, it will help me try again. thank you to Laura as well for her efforts in helping me learn gluten free cooking. My boys will be grateful.
Interesting post and thanks for sharing. Some things in here I have not thought about before.Thanks for making such a cool post which is really very well written. Will be referring a lot of friends about this. Keep blogging.
This looks absolutely perfect. All these tinny details are made with lot of background knowledge. I like it a lot. This was a useful post and I think it is rather easy to see from the other comments as well that this post is well written and useful.
Love the design of the pot stickers. I just wonder why are they called that way.
I tried this recipe the other day, and it was fabulous! The only thing was I had to add a couple extra tablespoons of cold water than was called for, but that was easy. I made them for a dinner party – even the gluten-eaters said they were amazing!
I also wanted to extend my great thanks, to you, for developing this recipe. I have gone without pot stickers for 10 year (a full decade!), and missed them terribly! I now plan to make them again this week 🙂 Thank you for bringing them back into my life!
is the recipe for the meat filling posted? looks delicious. do these freeze well?
The gluten-free dumplings come in vegetable, chicken, pork and shrimp, and each are accompanied by a yummy gluten-free dipping sauce. And no MSG.Vanessa Phillips, the founder of Feel Good Foods, has celiac disease. Her husband and partner, Tryg Siverson, is a chef. So you can see why they were able to make a great product!
Please try and make a noodle tutorial if you have time – that would be great!
OMG! What a great recipe! I tried this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! I made a few changes to the recipe: used quinoa flour instead of the sorghum (didn’t have any), added a pinch of salt to the dough and finally, I used a tortilla press to roll out the dough. This is a definite keeper! Thanks Andrea.
My goodness, Tori, 10 years? Welcome back to the land of pot stickers. Glad I was of help.
Hi Kelly, the fillings are in my Asian Dumplings cookbook; your local library or bookstore may have it; online vendors definitely do. You could improvise a filling. Here’s a post to help you along: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2010/05/asian-dumpling-fillings-how-to-create-your-own.html
Thanks for the suggestion, Genny! I’ll put it on the request list.
Kim, quinoa flour for sorghum is a great substitution tip. Thanks for sharing your experience and using the recipe.
I’ve now made these several times over, they have become a family favourite! thank you very much 🙂
Andrea, my daughter and husband were so happy when I found your recipe and made dumplings for them. I’ve made your dough #2 and dough #3 several times in double batches so I can freeze the dumplings. Sometimes my dough gets a little “grainy” in texture and I wonder if it has to do with the temperature of the water? Maybe my water was a little too hot?
Hmm… grainy may be because the water may not be hot enough. If it’s too hot, the dough would be gummy. When you cook the dumplings and it’s exposed to more moisture, the graininess should disappear.
These taste bloody gorgeous!! I love the taste of them