I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

September 11, 2012

Thai Pearl Dumplings






















I may have mentioned once or twice in the past, just how much I love Yum Cha/ Dim Sum/ Asian Dumplings.

The only problem of course, is finding ones that are InTolerant Friendly for InTolerants like me.

Apparently I'm not the only one out there who craves a good dumpling or two, as the most viewed post on my blog by far is the one on Gluten Free Chinese Dumplings.
http://intolerantchef.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/gluten-free-chinese-dumplings.html

This recipe used Glutinous Rice Flour (not related to gluten at all) and fresh Taro to make gorgeously slippery little dumplings or rice rolls that were truly just as nice as the ones I get at my favourite Dim Sum restaurant.

As it's obviously touched a culinary nerve or two, I thought I'd expand a bit on the Asian Dumpling theme a bit in the coming weeks, starting with today's offering of Thai Pearl Dumplings.

These have got to be the easiest dumpling skins around, just Pearl Tapioca Balls and water, that's it. How easy is that! An added bonus it that they are absolutely delicious, very chewy though, so be prepared for a multi textural experience with these little lovelies.






















Dumpling Skins


1 cup Tapioca Pearls
1/2 boiling Water
Pinch Salt



Cover the tapioca pearls with cold water then drain immediately



















Pop the pearls back in the bowl, add the salt and boiling water and stir well

Cover and put them aside while you make the filling




















Really, you could stuff the dumplings with whatever filling you like. I wanted to try and replicate one of BigJ's favourites from our local Thai restaurant, that's full of sweet caramelised peanuts mixed with minced pork. Sounds strange? Well, by the time you balanced out the sugar with fish sauce and lime juice, you get that whole Sweet/Sour/Salty balance that's essential in any Thai meal.
In this case the filling needs to be quite assertive as the dumpling skin is pretty tasteless on it's own, and needs that wow factor when bitten into




















Dumpling Filling

300gr ground Pork or Chicken
1/2  cup Crushed Peanuts- I dry roasted them in the fry pan for about 2 minutes first for a much stronger flavour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup (ish) Fish Sauce
1/4 cup (ish) Lime Juice
1 big Tablespoon crushed Ginger
1 big Tablespoon crushed Garlic
1 big teaspoon Lemon Grass Paste
Spring Onions finely chopped




Cook off the mince meat, ginger, garlic and lemon grass until sealed




















Add in the brown sugar, sauce and juice and keep stirring until it all caramelises and changes colour to a deeper brown colour. Keep an eye on it though as it could catch quickly. If you're having a hard time, add in a touch more sugar and a splash or two of water as needed




















Taste the mix, and adjust the balance of flavours by adding more fish sauce/juice/sugar until it's juuuust right. Take off the heat.
Toss through the peanuts and spring onions, then set aside to cool




















Now the fun part!

First things first, take off any rings- your hands will get all gunky and you'll be grateful you heeded my warning





Gather the tapioca into a ball and knead it until it comes together






















Roll it into a sausage shape, then cut into twelve equal pieces- I started with 24, but changed my mind :)





















Wet your hands in a bowl of cold water, then flatten the balls in the palm of your hand while making a kind of little cup to hold the filling





















Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of the cup





















Scrunch your hand around the filling





















Pinch the edges together, smoothing it down with with a wet finger to encase the filling totally and making a nice round ball





















This makes about 12 golf ball sized dumplings You could make them smaller, but it would certainly be harder to pat the dough out thin enough





















Pop the little dumplings into a steamer for about 20 minutes, or until all the dough goes from white to totally translucent I sprayed the bottom of the racks with a little oil as these dumplings are very,very sticky when they're hot

























They look like jelly fish on the outside, don't they?
Now I tried one of these while they were still hot, and while the flavours were nice the texture could be challenging to some people. The dough was sticky, stretchy and very gloopy- hard to chew and swallow actually. There's a reason these are traditionally served just warm or at room temperature :)






















The dough goes more opaque as it cools down

The usual way of serving these dumplings is to pop some herbs like mint or coriander and chilli onto a lettuce leaf





















Wrap up into a cute little parcel, and serve with some sauce to dunk them in. This was a much nicer way of eating them, the lettuce gave a nice crunch as well as giving your teeth something to grip onto!






















Nice sweet filling, a soft crunch of the nuts, chewy soft dumping then the crisp lettuce leaf all added up to a lovely lunch indeed. My family loved them, but I don't think I'd serve them to quite young children as you really do need to chew these well :)

























So My Dear Readers, what's your favourite type of dumpling, and where do you go to get it?























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29 comments:

  1. Now if I could have these for dinner tonight I would be a very happy woman. They look fantastic. Love yumcha, the msg headache afterwards not so much, but it doesn't happen every time... bit like a lucky bag :-)

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    1. MSG is no fun Brydie! How do you go with naturally high in this like Parmesan and mushrooms, do they affect you too?

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  2. I had no idea that you could get that lovely translucent skin that way. I made one with rice flour once nad it was a disaster. Thanks for this Rebecca! :D

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    1. They really do look like translucent jelly fish when they're hot Lorraine, almost creepy :)

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  3. They look fantastic! Do you think you could make the skin a little thinner as it looks a little thick. I will be trying these myself, thanks.

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    1. I hope you like them Simcha. To make them skin thinner just pat it out thinner- easy peasy :)

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  4. I had no idea you could make dumplings out of tapioca. Your GF recipes are amazing and you really do let us all know we can live a GF life and not miss out. I love the look of these. They look gorgeous and delicious and clearly these are good to eat if your arms are in plaster? xx

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    1. Thanks so much Charlie! Gluten free is certainly NOT flavour free is it? :) No plaster, thank goodness, but hard plastic half casts for support :( Getting there slowly though :)

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  5. These looks great! who knew you could make such delicious looking dumplings out of tapioca? thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thanks Christine, It's certainly a versatile ingredient isn't it?

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  6. Fantastic, Becca! I'd happily order these at any yum cha meal! You are so clever with these gf conversions! xx

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    1. What a compliment indeed Celia! There's no way I want to miss out on all those goodies out there, so I do whatever I have to do :)

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  7. You are such a clever-clogs - fancy thinking of using tapioca pearls, but I guess it's a case of "needs-must" really, isn't it.

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    1. EXACTLY Amanda! Why should us InTolerants miss out? Let's Change the World, One Gluten at a Time!

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  8. Beyond impressed - as always ;) I favour steamed dumplings. Sometimes veg, often pork. Honestly I've not had a great variety of dumplings. I think I'd LOVE these. Need to expand my dumpling horizons ;)
    Heidi xo

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    1. Indeed you do Heidi! There are so many yummies out there waiting for you to discover them :)

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  9. I am SUCH a dumpling fan. I totally empathise, missing out on dim sum has been one of the few things I really miss. Cannot wait to try these - what a clever idea!

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    1. I hate missing out, lets create our own gluten free reality! :)

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  10. Looks involved but soooo worth it!! I love how you guide us step by step!!

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  11. Dear InTolerantChef,

    Your creation of the Thai dumpling looks awesome. I love the texture of the translucent skin with all the savoury goodness in there and I know I would need a good chilli dip recipe to match this one.

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    1. Thanks Chopinand. Chilli is just what these need indeed! I add it to everything :) Yummo!

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  12. I used to love gyoza from Izakaya Yatai here in town... I haven't had any dumplings since the coeliac diagnosis, so I really appreciate these recipes of yours XO

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    1. I hope these fix your cravings Janet! A good dumpling is worth waiting for indeed :)

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  13. Wow. I didn't know the tapioca would do that!. Thanks for showing me. I'm gonna keep your brilliant recipe for my friend who is also intolerant and will need some nice snacks for her birthday . I like them all , but frankly Im a pig and not intolerant at all

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    1. Nothing to be ashamed of there Tania! I hope your friend love them, what a good friend you are indeed :)

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  14. Totally like jelly fish :) they're great! I have some leftover tapioca at home. I need to try this!

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