Forum

Hi Gang,

I recently made these (with store bought wrappers): Pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings

Half way through the filling and pinching, I was thinking "I'm never doing this again." But then I cooked some, they turned out great! Some of the best potstickers I've ever had. Suddenly the work was all worth it. My folding and pinching technique needs work, but in the end, I did get about 6 dozen for a little more than 3 hours work. So I am going to do it again.

There is one particular friend I would like to make them for, who has dietary restrictions. These are not actual allergies, but sensitivities resulting in significant gastrointestinal distress. She can't hand handle most animal protein. She can handle modest quantities of game meat like venison (she thinks it's probably the leanless that makes this possible) and seafood. Coupled with this is she has a sensitivity to garlic and the entire onion family. This is NOT an aversion to spice. She can handle a significant level of heat, as I've witnesed when we have gone out for Korean food.

If anyone has recommendations for vegetable or seafood potstickers, and foregoing garlic and onions, I would appreciate it. I'm most interested in recipes folks have actually made and can reccomend. Though I am also interested in suggestions for maintaining flavor and volume while eliminating garlic and onions.

These are the appropriate recipes I've found in my library:

Scallop potstickers

Shiitake mushroom & tofu potstickers

Thanks!

As far as pot stickers, gyoza and mandu, raviolis, varinikis, pelmenis and such, you can add whatever you want into fillings.  I have even seen gyozas with only one largeish shrimp and nothing else.  I think its the wrappers, cooking method and accompanying sauces or other added things which makes them all delicious. 

If making pleats seem hard, you can just make one pleat in the middle and that does pull the sides so they lay with pleat up.   I have been making gyozas for a long time and now I can make pleats (one side only like the traditional method) very quickly,  but until I was able to do that with ease, I pleated both sides and I see that method done at homes or in photos posted by home cooks. 

Recently, we were making gyozas at our out of state family's home.  Four of us were making gyozas together which consisted of one vegetarian version.  The youngest nephew was making with one pleat, my SIL with two pleat method, and my father's wife who is from Xian and me making the traditional way.  She was just as quick.  But, what she can do so well is making the wrappers easily and quickly. I can't do that yet.  She is a wizard with flour, water and little oil.  

For garlic and onion replacement consider asafoetida/asafetida powder. It is used in Indian cooking to impart depth and umami, and by Jains and Brahmins who are prohibited from eating onions and garlic. A little goes a long way and should be (gently) fried in hot oil before adding to your other ingredients. It's pungent and stinky ("foetid") before cooking and needs to be stored carefully to avoid permeating your home. 😉 It has its own health benefits, a resinous gum that comes from the root of a specific type of fennel, which is in the celery family. Your friend is blessed to have such a thoughtful and generous friend. She might be sensitive to fodmaps if onions and garlic bother her and might also be able to eat chives, garlic chives and the green part of scallions, as they are much lower in fodmaps than the bulbous onion part.