Best Gluten-Free, Allergy Free Chinese “Water Dumplings”

YAyyyyy, it’s free from gluten/wheat, egg, peanuts, soy and shellfish! Sesame oil is optional and also contains coconut, but easy substitution suggestions are specified in the post. Note: This post contains affiliate links, so any purchases made on Amazon through the links will help support Yay, It’s Free From This!

There was a time before marriage and kids, when I was still living at home, my mom would often host Chinese hot pot dinners. My siblings and their spouses would come over and join us in cooking meats, seafood, tofu, noodles and veggies right at the table. We’d all get to add whatever we felt like into the community boiling pot, and then feast away. My mom later started to make homemade dumplings instead of store-bought ones to throw in the pot, and I would always eat more of these than I should. I remember she kept calling them “Sui Kow”, (sounds like suyee gao) and that’s when I learned what distinguished these from all the other dumplings.

Although hot pot nights are rare these days, when it does happen, my kids can never participate. I’ll pack and bring them their own food, but I’m never fully comfortable having them there around the food they’re so allergic to. And then I watch them look curiously at all the beautiful raw platters of food placed around the boiling pot of liquid and marvel at the fun of cooking at the table. But they can’t be a part of it. Yup, you guys….it sure hurts. So of course, I really wanted to try and make a free from version of dumplings in hopes of having our own allergy-free hot pot dinner at home. It took a couple of years of experimenting sporadically, but I finally have a recipe that is honestly as good as my mom’s Sui Kow dumplings. Except mine are gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free, made without shrimp, and no peanut oil needed here. My kids and anyone with these allergies or restrictions can have them. Come on, do a freakin’ happy dance with me! 🥳

So what are Sui Kow?

Sui Kow, which literally translate as “water dumplings” in Cantonese, are simply dumplings that are boiled. They are not the same as the popular xiaolongbao, Chinese soup dumplings, which are steamed instead and filled with just pork and some savory soup. I think they are most similar to wonton dumplings, because like wontons, Sui Kow are also traditionally filled with with both pork and shrimp and then boiled. Obviously, for this free from recipe, we are going to leave the shrimp out. Serve them straight out of the pot with a dipping sauce, I promise you won’t miss the shrimp at all. 😋

The Filling: Soy, Coconut and/or Sesame?

I like to use ground pork that has a good amount of fat which provides a great texture. If there isn’t enough fat, the filling will be pretty dry with a sandy texture. Soy sauce is a key ingredient for Chinese dumplings, but I learned that coconut aminos is a great substitute for both the filling and the dipping sauce. Although soy is the only major food allergen that Cee is somehow not allergic to, there are a lot of loved ones in our lives that are allergic to soy, so I definitely always have coconut aminos stocked in my pantry. If soy is not a problem, feel free to use soy sauce, but make sure it’s gluten-free. I love San-J Tamari reduced sodium gluten-free soy sauce. See the notes below if you can’t have both soy and coconut.

If you are allergic to sesame, I would just omit the sesame oil. For many years, when Cee was still pretty allergic to it, we had to leave it out of a lot of recipes and everything still tasted great. He can have sesame oil now, but still reacts to sesame seeds. It’s weird but hopefully that means he’s growing out it!

Throw all the filling ingredients together into a large bowl. I like to mix this with my hand, gently but thoroughly. Cover this with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the dumplings.

Make the Gluten-Free Dough

For this dough, a simple mix of rice and tapioca flour was the perfect combo. Be sure to use the Erawan brand tapioca and rice flour if possible. I tried the Bob Red Mill flours, which I always have in my pantry, but their rice flour just isn’t ground fine enough. And please be sure not to use glutinous rice flour.

Add the two flours to the bowl, xanthan gum, salt, and oil. Add the hot water last. Mix first with chopsticks or a fork, until the dough is shaggy looking and has cooled a bit. Then continue incorporating it together with your hands until you can knead it. Keep kneading until it balls up easily like play-doh. It should not be sticky.

Make the Dumplings

Take out your filling and set a cup of warm water on your work space. Split the dough into four pieces using a bench scraper and cover with a damp towel. Roll out one piece at a time and make it fairly thin. Sprinkle the surface and the top of the dough with a bit of the rice flour to make rolling easier. I use a cookie cutter to cut out circles, and immediately gather the excess dough around each circle. I put the extra dough under the damp towel to prevent it from drying out.

Scoop about half a teaspoon of filling into each circle. The dough has very little stretch and give, so it punctures easily. Be very gentle when filling and closing each dumpling. Dip your finger into some water and wet half of the upper circle’s edge. Bring the bottom half up carefully, like a taco, then press and seal the edges together. Use a bit of flour for pressing if necessary.

When it’s about time to eat, bring a large pot of water to a boil. I add about a teaspoon of kosher salt to the water and about a tablespoon of vegetable or avocado oil to prevent sticking. Add about 20 dumplings, and when it comes to boil again, reduce the heat to medium-high. Boil each batch for about 4-5 minutes.

Use a strainer (I love spider strainers for this) to scoop out the dumplings and place onto a shallow plate. Serve immediately with a dipping sauce and/or hot sauce.

My heart really sings when I watch both Em and Cee devour these until they’re overly stuffed. Like me, they also eat more than they should! With fall just around the corner, we will be having that hot pot night soon after all. 🥰