Start by making the filling. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl with water for at least 30 minutes or until completely softened. You can also soak the mushrooms for up to 8 hours in the fridge.

While the mushrooms are soaking, finely chop the Napa cabbage. (Yes, you can pulse it in a food processor if you don’t mind dirtying an appliance.) Combine the finely chopped cabbage and 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt in a large bowl and toss well. (Only use half the amount of salt if using Morton’s kosher salt or a fine grain salt). Transfer the salted cabbage to a fine mesh strainer or colander and set it over a bowl. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to 8 hours.

When you’re ready to make the filling, grab the soaked shiitake mushrooms and squeeze out the excess liquid. Remove and discard the tough stems and finely dice the caps.

Dump the salted cabbage onto a large piece of cheese cloth or clean dish towel. Gather up the edges and squeeze and twist the cabbage bundle to wring out as much liquid as possible. You should end up with about 1 cup of cabbage. 

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix the ground pork with the chicken broth until the liquid is incorporated into the meat. 

Combine the pork/broth with the drained cabbage, mushrooms, scallions, minced garlic, ground ginger, ground white pepper, the remaining teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, coconut aminos, and sesame oil.  Use your hands to knead the filling until everything is well-mixed and the mixture starts to feel tacky and sticky.

To check the seasoning, fry up a tiny patty of the meat mixture in a pan and taste it. Add more salt if needed. At this point, you can store the filling in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.

When you’re ready to make the wrapper dough, measure out the cassava flour, arrowroot powder, and Diamond Crystal kosher salt and place them all in a large mixing bowl. Pour in about 2 cups of boiling water and stir it in. Once the water cools down enough to touch, use your hands to knead the dough. 

Continue adding a little boiling water at a time and knead it until you form a springy, not-sticky dough. If it seems extra dry, add a touch more water, but watch out—you don’t want a wet, soft dough, or you’ll have trouble working with it. If it gets too wet, knead in a bit more cassava flour.

Divide the dough in thirds, and then divide each piece in half to get 6 dough balls. Next, divide each of the 6 dough balls in half, then in half two more times. If you followed my instructions correctly, you should end up with 48 equal-sized portions. (Split the dough ball into 3 balls → 6 balls → 12 balls → 24 balls → 48 balls)

Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out.

Now, it’s time to grab your friends and family to help assemble the wrappers and pot stickers! Assign someone to portion out the fillings—this step may seem unnecessary, but it’ll ensure that you have exactly enough filling for the wrappers. Scoop out a scant tablespoon of filling and place the oval-shaped filling on a plate. Repeat until you have 48 equal oval-shaped Paleo Pot Sticker fillings.

Next, let’s make the wrappers! Grab a tortilla press, some parchment paper, a rimmed baking sheet, a damp kitchen towel, and a small bowl of water. Take one of the dough balls and dab it with a little water if it feels dry. Then, use your hands to roll it into a round ball.

Place the dough ball on the tortilla press in between pieces of parchment paper, and smush it flat. The wrapper should be very thin and about 3½-inches in diameter.

Put the pre-scooped filling into the middle of the wrapper. Make sure your fingers are clean or it’ll be hard to fold properly. Fold up the sides of the wrapper around the filling like a taco. Use your thumb to keep the filling in place and use your other hand to crimp one side of the pot sticker as you seal the top. Continue pleating only one side of the wrapper and sealing the top of the pot sticker until you reach the other side. Use your fingers to securely seal the top of the pot sticker, dabbing on a little water if the edges feel dry. The finished pot sticker should have a flat bottom and form a crescent with the pleats on the outside.

Place the pot stickers on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and cover them with a damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out. Continue making wrappers and wrapping pot stickers until you are finished. You should end up with 48 Paleo Pot Stickers!

At this point, you can either freeze the pot stickers or fry them up. I freeze mine in a food-safe freezer bag, making sure they’re in a single layer. You can keep the dumplings in the freezer for up to 2 months, and then fry them directly from the freezer when you’re ready to eat.

Now it’s time to fry up the pot stickers! Heat a 10-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in a tablespoon of avocado oil or your favorite high temperature cooking fat. Place as many pot stickers into the pan that’ll fit in a single layer.

Fry the pot stickers until the bottoms are golden-brown, about 2 minutes.

Carefully pour in a ½ cup of boiling water, and cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the heat down to medium and steam-fry the Paleo Pot Stickers for 5 minutes (7 minutes if cooking from frozen).

When the timer goes off, remove the lid and continue cooking a minute or two to evaporate any remaining liquid and to re-crisp the bottom of the pot stickers.

Carefully transfer the finished pot stickers to a platter and repeat the process until you’re finished. Tell your family to eat the pot stickers as soon as they’re done because they taste best hot!

Time to make the dipping sauce! Simply mix together rice vinegar, coconut aminos, and toasted sesame oil in a measuring cup. Want it spicy? Stir in some Paleo Sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes.