GF Pork Stuffed Rolls!

These are a fun alternative to make when you don't want the mess of frying egg rolls.  They use the same filling, including the rice vermicelli noodles, but then you make a nice soft dough to wrap around the filling. If you're not up for making the rolls, you can always serve the pork filling and noodles as it's own dish. Enjoy!  

Pork stuffed bun, sliced open. Yum! 

Cooling pork stuffed rolls! 

Gluten Free Pork Stuffed Rolls!

Makes ~12-18 stuffed buns, depending on size you make them

Pork & Veggie Filling:

In a large frying pan over medium heat cook: 

1 lb ground pork
3 carrots, grated
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (omit or add just a dash if you're using a GF soy sauce that isn't Bragg's Soy Seasoning)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper

Once the pork is about halfway cooked, add and continue cooking until pork is fully cooked: 

1 bell pepper, finely diced

When the pork is fully cooked, add and cook 1-2 minutes: 

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

6-7 garlic cloves, minced OR 1 heaping Tbsp minced cloves (they sell jars in the vegetable areas at most large supermarkets)

2 Tbsp freeze dried red onion, optional

Add and cook 1-2 minutes: 

4 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Soy Seasoning OR Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

1-2 tsp agave

Pork and vegetable filling, ready to cool a bit.

Remove from the heat and let cool while you prepare the noodles and dough. 

Rice Noodles:

Fill a large pot halfway full with water and 1 Tbsp salt.  Bring to a full, rolling boil.  Add to the pot:

Half or whole package of very thin rice noodles (I like the Maifun rice sticks for this recipe - the amount you cook depends on if you'd like any leftover noodles to eat with cooked pork filling if you get tired of making and wrapping egg rolls)  

Turn off the heat and leave noodles to rest in the pot for 10 minutes.  They are then ready to use!  You can just use them straight from the pot.  Drain and remove a portion of noodles into a small bowl for convenience when you're going to use them.    

Dough:

Here, you'll be making a tangzhong-style dough by first cooking part of the liquid and flour on the stovetop.  It helps the texture of your final dough. 

In a small/medium pot, stir over medium-low heat until lines appear in dough as you pull your spoon back and forth:

1/3 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1 cup water OR liquid part of canned coconut milk

Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the dry ingredients.  

In a mixer, combine: 

1 1/4 cup tapioca starch

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

5 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp quick (rapid-rise) yeast

Add and mix in, letting it beat at medium speed for 3-4 minutes: 

1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (thick part of canned coconut milk)

1/2 cup tangzhong stovetop mixture from above

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 egg

Use wet hands (just dip in a little bowl of water) anytime you need to handle the dough.  You can also use a small-medium sized cookie scoop to get evenly sized rolls. 

Assembling your rolls:

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line baking pan with parchment paper. 

Take a small piece of dough.  Roll it out between plastic wrap.  Fill with a bit of pork filling and top with some rice noodles. Use the plastic wrap to help you wrap the dough up and over the filling, pinching together at the top.  Use wet hands to carefully place your roll on the prepared parchment-lined pan.   Repeat with the remaining dough.  

Dough filled with pork & noodles

Pinched together around the filling.

Placed on the pan to rise, then be brushed with an egg wash. These are 1/4 sized baking sheets, so half the size of a normal cookie sheet. 

Let the buns rise in a warm location for ~30 minutes, until nicely puffed up.  I find if I put another pan upside-down on top of the pans, it helps them rise faster.  

Beat in a small bowl 1 egg + 1 tsp water.  Brush the tops of your puffed buns after they've risen.  If desired, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking.  I'd recommend sprinkling the sesame seeds, then adding the egg wash. It helps hold the seeds on top. 

Risen and ready to bake!

Bake your pork stuffed buns at 375 F for 25-30 minutes, until nice and golden brown.  The filling has been pre-cooked, which is helpful, so you just want your bread dough to be thoroughly cooked.   Let rest a few minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool.    These are delicious served with a simple dipping sauce, like a sweet chili sauce or the one below. 

Dipping Sauce:

Mix together the following:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1-2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce

Fresh from the oven! 

Cooling after baking. Yum! 

Gluten-Free Pork Stuffed Rolls/Buns Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Vietnamese-style Fried Spring Rolls - gluten-free with homemade dipping sauce

Fried spring rolls always seem like something to dream of eating, unless you can find ones made with rice wrappers and fried in a designated gluten-free fryer. I've only ever found them at a couple of Vietnamese restaurants and they are delicious!  However, sometimes I want to be able to make and eat them at home.   After many attempts, I finally figured out the trick!  They need to be wrapped tightly, but most importantly, they need to have time sitting and drying in the refrigerator.  Any damp spots on the outer edges of your rice wrapper will be weak and liable to break while frying.  This recipe takes some preparation, but mostly you need to make the filling and roll up your spring rolls well in advance, so they'll have time to dry thoroughly before you fry them up! Enjoy!!!!

Freshly wrapped spring rolls, ready for drying and then frying! 

Yes, these tasted like restaurant-style friend spring rolls! Yum! 

Fried Spring Rolls
Makes ~24 fried spring rolls (yes, you can halve the recipe!)

This recipe requires time for preparation, cooling, and drying.  Make sure you prepare the meat/vegetable filling early so it can cool.  Once you fill/wrap your spring rolls, you'll want them to dry in the the refrigerator ~2 hours before frying to alleviate stickiness upon cooking. 

Filling:
In a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, heat:
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or oil of your choice)

Add and cook 2-3 minutes:
2-3 leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed thoroughly
2 bunches green onions (~12 stalks), thinly sliced
salt & pepper (just enough to sprinkle/grind over the top)

Add, stirring until pork is cooked thoroughly (a few minutes):
3/4 lb ground pork

Add and cook 1 minute:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
6-7 cloves garlic, minced

Add and cook 1 minute, then remove from heat:
2-3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1 tsp agave or 1 tsp sugar

Put pork/vegetable mixture into refrigerator and allow to cool at least 1 hour.

Freshly made filling. 

Fill a large pot 1/4 - 1/2 with water and bring to a boil.
Boil 1/3 pkg of rice vermicelli noodles + 2 tsp salt for 5 minutes.  Drain and place noodles in a bowl.

Have a tea kettle of hot/boiling water readily available for preparing spring rolls.

Fill a plate with boiling water.  Quickly dip spring roll wrapper (rice wrapper) in hot/boiling water.   Place wrapper on a fresh plate, and quickly fill with a small handful of noodles and small spoonful of pork/vegetable filling.  Wrap the spring roll by tightly wrapping one half, folding in both sides, then fully rolling (like a burrito or egg roll).

A dollop of rice noodles and filling in the center of a dampened rice wrapper. 

Roll up one side, then tuck in the two outer edges.  Then you can roll it up the rest of the way.  

Place your freshly wrapped spring roll on a plastic-wrap lined pan or cutting board (one that will fit into the refrigerator).   Repeat with as many spring rolls as you like, changing out the water regularly so you are using very hot water.  You have filling to make ~25-30 - *the extra filling is great mixed with the noodles, or served atop noodles if you don't want to make a huge number of spring rolls.

Let spring rolls dry in the refrigerator 1 hour.  Flip them all over, and let them continue to dry on the other side for 1 hour (or longer).  *This is a key part of making these fried spring rolls.  If you don't let them dry, they'll break/burst during frying.

Spring rolls, partway through drying, being rolled over. 

Heat frying oil in deep-fryer to ~350-360 F.   Carefully place a spring roll into the oil.  Let it cook briefly, before rolling it over, to allow that side to cook briefly.  This will help remove the stickiness from the outer sides of the rice wrapper.  Carefully repeat, until you have 3 rolls cooking.   If the rolls touch before they have a chance to cook a little, they can stick together.  Not the end of the world, since they're still edible, but you don't end up with nice individual spring rolls.

Cook each roll approximately 3 minutes, until just browning.  The edges will be nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towel-lined pan or plate.

Serve hot, alongside dipping sauce of your choice, or the mix together the following dipping sauce:

Delicious fried spring roll dipping sauce: 

Mix together the following:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1-2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce

Enjoy!!!