Tofu & Vegetable Pan-Fried Dumplings (Vegan)
Crispy bottom, protein-packed and umami filled vegan dumplings made from a mix of tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms.
Recipe author: globalclaire.com
Servings: 30 to 40 dumplings
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)
- Dipping sauce, such as soy sauce 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.
- Add your shallots to the pan and let cook for another 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 dumplings
- 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.
- (Simplest) Fold in half, squeezing out any air bubbles.
- (Fancy) Fold in half. Start on one side and make pleats on one half of the wrapper, adhering the pleats to the other side. Continue pleating all the way across.
Cooking
- Cover with a lid and turn the heat on to medium.
- Add your dumplings. If using frozen, no need to thaw - add them right from the freezer. Do not separate any dumplings that were stuck together if frozen.
- Add ¼ cup of water.
- Cover with a lid and turn the heat on to medium.
- Let the dumplings steam for about 5-7 minutes. You want to make sure there is enough water still at the 3-4 minute mark - the water is crucial to ensure the dumplings steam (which cooks the raw flour in the wrappers), if not, add 1-2 tbsp more. You will know the dumpling wrapper is cooked when the wrapper is translucent.
- Remove the lid. If your dumplings were stuck together from being frozen, separate them now.
- Continue cooking for another 2-5 minutes to allow any remaining water to evaporate and the dumplings to brown on the bottom.
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 dumplings 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.