Dim Sum - Shumai with Umami Dipping Sauce (gluten-free/lectin-free)

In honor of the Chinese New Year I have made this traditional Dim Sum – Shumai dish in a gluten-free, lectin-free way.

Shumai is a traditional steamed chinese pork dumpling dipped in Umami sauce served in dim sum. Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch.

How did I achieve wheat-free dumplings?

It’s pretty simple. I have used small cabbage leaves previously cooked in water. The leaves are easy to fill with pork filling and then steamed as the regular dumplings. They resemble regular shumai dumplings in shape and flavor without the nasty carbs.

How to easily separate the cabbage leaves:

First remove the cabbage core. Place the cabbage in a pot with boiling water just enough to cover the entire cabbage. Turn the heat down to low boil. Remove the leaves as they separate. Set aside on a paper towel to dry and cool. Select small cabbage leaves for shumai dumplings.

Ingredients to make Shumai Dumplings and Umami Dipping Sauce:

Ground pork – choose humanely raised pork that is preferable 80% lean and 20% fat, if you don’t eat pork, you can use ground chicken or turkey.

Small size cabbage – the smaller the better because we’ll use only the inner part of cabbage.

Grated ginger – It will give the meat a tiny bit of spicy flavor.

Egg white – For binding properties. Choose pasture raised or omega-3 egg.

Toasted sesame oil – Sesame oil is a typical ingredient in Chinese meals. It has an authentic flavor, and is rich in healthy fats.

Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos are used in place of a more traditional soy sauce.

Scallions – Another typical widely used ingredient in Chinese cuisine.

Carrots – They are used for a color and crunch.

Spices – sea salt, white pepper, ground ginger spice

Balsamic vinegar – It will be used for the dipping sauce together with coconut aminos, and sesame oil.

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Dim Sum – Shumai with Umami Dipping Sauce (gluten-free/lectin-free)

Ingredients

For approximately 8 shumai dumplings:

1 lb ground pork, 80% lean; 20% fat
1 small size cabbage. The smaller the better because we’ll use only the inner part of cabbage

Pork seasonings:

1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
1 egg white
1 ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp coconut aminos
2 stalks of scallions, thinly sliced
6 tbsp finely chopped carrots
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp white pepper

Umami Dumpling Dipping sauce:

2 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger spice

Directions

Remove the cabbage core. Place the cabbage in a pot with boiling water just enough to cover the entire cabbage. Turn the heat down to low boil. Remove the leaves as they separate. Set aside on a paper towel to dry and cool.
Combine the ground pork with “pork seasonings”. Mix well. Line a bamboo steamer with a thin layer of parchment paper. Alt. use a steaming rack.
Select a small cabbage leaf. Form a small cup shape with a leaf in your hand and spoon about 1 Tbsp of meat filling into the leaf wrapper. Gently squeeze the cabbage leaves and the meat filling to make sure they cohere nicely.
Place them in the steamer. Put one next to each other so they won’t fall apart in the steamer. Steam over medium heat for about 25-30 mins until fully cooked. The water should be more than simmering but not quite boiling. Enjoy with umami dipping sauce!

I only use the inner part of cabbage leaves (smaller size leaves) as wrappers because I prefer smaller size dim sum.
Don’t have a bamboo steamer rack at home? You can place the dumplings directly on a stainless steel steamer basket.

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