FOOD LAB--GF POT STICKERS, CATCH-UP

I've been making these for a while, but hadn't made either a Food Lab post or a link here to the recipe that inspired me, so I'm catching up now.

I fell in love with the convenient, inexpensive (pork) pot stickers from Trader Joe's last year, and wanted to be able to make a GF version so that I wouldn't be risking eventual indigestion on a regular basis.  (Sooner or later, if I consume "normal" amounts of wheat, I get stomachaches.  Pasta accelerates this, but more than trace amounts of dough or bread do the same thing more gradually.)

Fortunately for me, Trader Joe's also regularly sells ground pork  8)

The first recipe I found was on a website called BrokeAss Gourmet.

 http://brokeassgourmet.com/articles/gluten-free-potstickers

There are ingredients I don't use in their recipe (corn starch and vinegar), and it's possible to substitute finely chopped kale or even Brussels sprouts for the Napa cabbage.   Because I don't always have either the time or the energy to both produce the filling and manufacture the dumplings at the same time, I have experimented with frying up the filling ingredients ahead of time (and even freezing them) and found the results equally good.   Meat, cruciferous goodness, onion, sesame oil, tamari, ginger, what's not to like?  (Don't answer that.   I have friends with allergies to soy and / or cabbage and all its relatives)

Gluten Free Proto-Potstickers

1 lb.  ground pork (the packaged version from TJ's is an 80/20 lean /fat mix)

2 cups finely chopped or shredded Napa cabbage OR kale OR Brussels sprouts

1 bunch green onions, chopped

4 tsp.minced ginger (I'm working my way through a proportionately large bottle of ginger paste)

6 cloves garlic, minced (can also be shredded on a box grater)

6 T. soy sauce or tamari (check labels, as many soy sauces contain wheat)

4 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. black pepper

Rice paper wrappers / pasta (large rounds)

1-2 T. Whichever kind of oil you prefer to use for frying

The original recipe calls for salting and letting the cabbage sit for a while, then wringing moisture out of it.   I omitted this step because I didn't see it when I first read the recipe.   Since I often pre-cook the filling, I continue to omit this step.

I mix everything but the wrappers together in a large bowl and cook it, semi-crumbled, over medium heat.  I cover the pan for a few minutes until the cabbagey goodness has cooked down to its final size. Since it's a filling, the meat needs to be cooked but doesn't need to be browned, and this also gives me a chance to cook down some of the moisture which would otherwise make the dumplings leak.   The original recipe called for corn starch in the filling as (I imagine) a sponge for that moisture.   You can use a potato masher to break up larger chunks of the cooked filling if needed (thank you Rachael Ray for the tip).   When the moisture in the pan looks like more / mostly oil / fat and not much water / juice, it's ready to come off the heat.   If you're freezing the filling for later, spoon the cooled filling into your storage container / bag of choice with all the pan liquid--it keeps the meat moist.   You need to thaw the filling before making the dumplings so that you can scoop it into the wrappers.

MAKING THE DUMPLINGS:

If you've never worked with rice paper wrappers before, they come out of the package dry and stiff, and you run them (ONE AT A TIME--don't ask me how I know that) under water until the whole thing has had contact with the water.   The original recipe talks about doubling them and cutting out circles by tracing a small bowl, which will make them look like traditional pot stickers.   I am somewhat lazier.   I fold each wrapper in half right after wetting them, and let them soften like that.  Then I spoon the filling (no more than two tablespoons) onto half of that half-circle, then fold in half again for a rather larger, but very efficient, 90-degree quarter-circle shape.  You will need a plate or other surface to put the wrapper down while it softens, and then again after you fill the dumpling and press the edges together.   Fry the pot stickers on one side until a little brown / crispy-chewy, then turn over, add water, and steam for a few minutes.  The original recipe I linked above has good instructions about the fry-then-steam process, with photographs.

Serve with condiments as desired.