It’s rare that I’ll put more than 30 minutes of actual laboring into cooking a meal. But some things are worth the effort. As a kid, my favorite food to order from a Chinese restaurant was always their dumplings; I love the soft, doughy exterior with the savory filling dipped in a sweet sauce. I never even thought to make these gluten-free until I saw them on another blog and wanted to give them a shot. Unfortunately, that recipe didn’t work out for me at all. A few kitchen sidesteps and 2 hours later I had 30 cooked dumplings and 1 burnt pan(but that’s a story for another day).

I’m not going to pretend these are a nice simple recipe for a weeknight; they aren’t. But what they are is incredibly impressive to make and very flavorful. Make a batch over the weekend and you can enjoy them through the week.

Gluten-Free Chinese Dumplings

Ingredients(Makes 30-36 dumplings):

• 4 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour(such as Bob’s Red Mill)
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 4 eggs, divided
• 1lb ground pork or chicken
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil

To make the dough, mix together the flour, water, and 3 eggs. Work the mixture until it forms a tough dough and roll it into a ball.

To make the filling, mix together 1 egg, the meat, ginger, onion, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Knead the mixture together until the ingredients are emulsified.

Roll the dough into balls and pound them into disks about 1/4-inch thick and 2 1/2 inches wide. Be sure not to pound them too thin or else they’ll tear.

Scoop a tablespoon of filling onto each disk biased onto one side.

With dry fingers, lift up the other side and bring it over to make a pouch. Pinch down to seal the edges. If any part shows sign of tearing, take a little extra dough and make it into a patch, pressing down lightly on the thinning area.

To steam these, boil a pot of water with a fitted steamer on top. Add as many dumplings will fit without layering them on top of one another. Steam for 10-15 minutes until the outside starts turning a deep yellow and the filling is cooked through.

To pan-fry these, heat a large skillet with a few tablespoons of oil in the pan. Once hot, add the dumplings and cook 5-7 minutes on each side until the breading is crunchy and cooked.

Gluten-Free Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil(preferably toasted)
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion

To make the dipping sauce, mix the sesame oil and soy sauce well. Add the chopped onion on top as garnish right before serving. Be sure to mix the sauce again any time you serve it as the oil will separate.

These were a pain to make. But it all became worth it with the first bite of doughy, savory goodness. I think I preferred the pan-fried ones both on flavor and ease of cooking. The sauce is a perfect balance of brininess and depth to match the filling. These are undeniably not take-out food.