Tofu and Vegetable Wontons (Vegan)
Protein-packed and umami filled wontons from a mix of tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables.
Recipe author: globalclaire.com
Servings: 30 to 40 wontons
Ingredients
- 1 package dumpling wrappers (homemade or store-bought, about 30-40)
- 7 oz firm tofu (about 1/2 block, pressed)
- 3 garlic cloves (pressed/finely minced)
- 350 grams napa cabbage (about 1/4 of a large napa cabbage)
- 1 large carrot with skin peeled off
- 1 large shallot
- 4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated)
- 2 tsp mushroom seasoning (divided into 1 tsp + 1 tsp)
- 3 tsp soy sauce (divided into 2 tsp + 1 tsp)
- 1.5 tsp sesame oil (divided into 1 tsp + 0.5 tsp)
Soup for serving wontons optional
Instructions
Making the filling
- Add just boiled kettle water to your shiitake mushrooms and let soak for at least 30 minutes. You can also soak the night before.
- Press your tofu by laying between 2 plates with something slightly heavy on the top plate.
- Add your napa cabbage to a bowl and sprinkle some salt. Let sit for at least 20 minutes for the water to come out of the cabbage.
- Roughly chop your garlic, carrot, napa cabbage, shallot, and shiitake mushrooms. We’ll be cooking the ingredients then putting them in a food processor, so you don’t need to chop finely.
- After 20 minutes, squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage.
- In a pan at medium heat, add about 2 tsp of cooking oil and add your carrots. Sprinkle a bit of salt. Let cook for a few minutes.
- When the carrots and shallots are starting to brown, add your garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the shiitake mushrooms and drained cabbage and stir for 2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the first batch of seasonings - 1 tsp mushroom seasoning, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp of sesame oil to the pan. Stir through and let cook for 2 minutes to allow the vegetables to absorb the seasonings.
- Turn off the heat and set aside to let cool before adding to your food processor.
- Drain the excess water from your pressed tofu. To remove even more water - dry the tofu with a towel.
- Add the vegetables to the food processor along with your pressed tofu.
- Process until the mixture is crumbly, but not a paste.
- Remove about ¼ of the mixture and into either a spice grinder or blender. Blend until a paste is formed, but not enough that it turns into a puree.
- Add the paste back to the other mixture along with the rest of the seasonings (1 tsp mushroom seasoning, 1 tsp soy sauce, and ½ tsp sesame oil), and mix. Taste, and add more seasonings as needed. If the filling still looks a bit crumbly, blend a bit more filling and mix back in.
- Mix the blended filling together with the base filling. Taste, and add more seasonings as needed. If the filling still looks a bit crumbly, blend a bit more filling and mix back in.
Wrapping the wontons
- Fill a small bowl with water. We’ll use this to bind the wrappers so the folds hold.
- Add about 1 tbsp of filling to a wrapper.
- Add water to the outer circumference of the wrapper.
- Fold in half, squeezing out any air bubbles.
- Add some water to one end of the wrapper.
- Connect the ends of the wrappers together.
Cooking
- Bring water (or soup, if using) to a boil in a pot.
- Add your dumplings to the pot. Immediately stir so the wontons don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the water is back to boiling, turn down the heat slightly so the water is not boiling too hard (this will avoid the wontons breaking).
- If fresh - boil for about 4-5 minutes, until the wonton skins are translucent and the wontons are floating on the surface. From frozen - about 7 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wontons from the pot to your plate. Do not pour the wonton + water into a colander to drain as they are fragile.
Notes
These wontons can be frozen. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a silicone liner) and dust with cornstarch. Then, add your wrapped wontons and put the baking tray in a freezer. Cover the tray with a dry kitchen towel. Let freeze for a few hours until the dumplings are mostly frozen. After this, you can transfer to the container/bag you are going to store them in the freezer with.