These from-scratch Vegetable Dumplings are out of this world delicious! The colorful vegan filling packs a flavor punch, while the homemade dough yields an amazing crispy and chewy texture when pan-fried. Using homemade dumpling wrappers makes a world of difference and I highly suggest that you try it at least once.
Prep Time1 hourhr25 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr40 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 32dumplings, serving 4 as a main course, or 6 to 8 as a snack or starter
4cupslightly packed coarsely chopped regular or baby spinach(5 ½ to 6 ounces)
2tablespoonstoasted sesame oil
1 ½tablespoonssoy sauce
¾teaspoonsugar
¼teaspoonkosher salt
¼teaspoonground black pepper
1tablespoonneutral flavored oil(such as vegetable or canola)
1tablespoonfinely minced fresh ginger
1 ½ouncesfinely chopped carrot(⅓ cup)
3 to 3 ½ouncespressed/baked tofu (half a 6 or 7-ounce package), finely chopped (⅔ cup to ¾ cup total)
2teaspoonscornstarch
½cupchopped Chinese chives or scallions(white and green parts)
Dough:
10ounces(285 grams / 2 cups) all-purpose flour
About ¾ cup just-boiled water(boil water, then let it sit for a minute off the heat before measuring)
Tangy Soy Dipping Sauce:
⅓cupsoy sauce
2 ½tablespoonsunseasoned rice, Chinkiang, or balsamic vinegar
⅛teaspoonsugar,(optional)
1tablespoonfinely shredded ginger or 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic,(optional)
Cooking:
Canola or peanut oilfor pan-frying
Instructions
Filling:
Soak the dried mushrooms in a bowl with room temperature water to cover for 8 hours to overnight (*see notes below*). Remove the mushrooms from their liquid. Reserve ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of the mushroom soaking liquid.
Squeeze the mushrooms to remove residual liquid, cut off the tough stems, and finely chop the caps, resulting in about ½ cup chopped mushroom.
Put the chopped spinach in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let spinach wilt for about 30 seconds, drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Squeeze spinach with your hands over the sink to remove excess moisture. You should have about ½ cup firmly packed spinach.
In a small bowl, make the flavoring sauce by combining ¼ cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, sesame oil, soy sauce sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to dissolve sugar and set aside. In another small bowl combine the cornstarch and the remaining 1 tablespoon reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the ginger and stir-fry for about 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the spinach, carrot, mushrooms, and pressed tofu. Stir to combine and then pour in the flavoring sauce. Cook for 2 minutes until the vegetables release their juices a bit, give the cornstarch mixture a final stir and add it to the filling. Stir to thicken, remove from the heat and add the Chinese chives or scallions.
Transfer to a bowl and cool completely before assembling dumplings. You will have about 2 cups filling. The filling can be prepared 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before assembling dumplings.
Dough:
Place a large mixing bowl over a damp paper towel on your work surface, to keep in place while mixing. Add the flour and make a well. Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour while you add the water in a steady stream. Mix together until you have a lot of lumpy bits, then knead the hot dough in the bowl until the dough comes together. Add water by the teaspoon if the dough does not come together.
Continue kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface or in the mixing bowl if it's large enough (only flour if necessary, and do so sparingly) for a couple more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger, but leave a light impression of your finger.
Place dough in a zip-top bag, seal tightly, pressing out excess air, and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes up to 2 hours. The dough will steam up the bag and soften. After resting, the dough can be used right away, or refrigerated overnight and returned to room temperature before using.
Dipping Sauce:
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking for a tart-savory balance. The sauce can be prepared several hours in advance up to this point. Right before serving, add the ginger or garlic if using.
Assembly:
Remove the dough from the bag, turning the bag inside out if the dough is sticky. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in quarters. Put ¾ back in the bag, squeezing out the air and sealing it closed to prevent drying.
Roll the dough into a 1-inch-thick log and cut into 8 pieces (cut in half, then cut each half in half, and so on to create pieces that are even in size. The tapered end pieces should be cut slightly larger). If your pieces are oval, stand them on one of the cut ends and gently squeeze with your fingers to make them round, like a scallop. Take each piece of dough and press each cut end in flour, lightly pressing the dough to about ¼ inch thick and set aside.
Next, flatten each dough disk into a thin circle, about ⅛ inch thick, either with a tortilla press (lined with plastic wrap), or with a heavy flat-bottomed object like a frying pan (also lined with plastic). Alternatively, use a dowel (which is a good lightweight rolling pin alternative for fast and flexible dumpling making) to lightly roll out each disc into an ⅛ inch thick circle.
To finish the wrappers, place wrappers one at a time on your work surface, and flour only if sticky. Imagine a quarter-size circle in the center of the dough. This is what the Chinese call the “belly” of the wrapper. You want to create a wrapper that is larger than its current size, but still retaining a thick “belly” in the center. This ensures an even distribution of dough when the dumpling is sealed. Use the rolling pin to apply pressure to the outer ½-to-¾-inch border of the wrapper. Roll the rolling pin in short downward strokes with one hand while the other hand turns the wrapper in the opposite direction. Aim for wrappers that are about 3 ¼ inches in diameter. When a batch of wrappers is formed, fill them before making wrappers out of the other portion of dough.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or dust generously with flour. To assemble a dumpling, scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper, pressing down gently to compact and keeping about ½ to ¾ inch of wrapper clear on all sides. Bring up the edges to seal into a half-moon shape or pleat the edges as desired.
Place finished dumplings on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and dough, spacing out dumplings about ½ inch apart. Keep the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel.
When all the dumplings are assembled, they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours and can be cooked straight from the refrigerator.
Cooking:
To pan-fry the dumplings, use a medium or large nonstick skillet with a lid. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 ½ tablespoons oil for a medium skillet and 2 tablespoons for a large one. Place the dumplings 1 at a time, sealed edges up, in a winding circle pattern. The dumplings can touch. Fry the dumplings for 1 to 2 minutes until they are golden or light brown on the bottom.
Holding the lid close to the skillet to lessen splatter, use a measuring cup to add water to a depth of roughly ¼ inch (about ⅓ cup water). The water will immediately sputter and boil vigorously. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil, lower the heat to medium, and let the water bubble away for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is mostly gone. When you hear sizzling noises, remove the lid as most of the water is now gone. Let the dumplings fry for another 1 or 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown and crisp. Turn off the heat and wait until the sizzling stops before using a spatula to transfer dumplings to a serving plate. Display them with their bottoms facing up so they remain crisp.
Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Notes
Although slow soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms overnight is ideal and will result in the best texture and flavor, if you haven't planned ahead you can cover with hot water instead of room temperature. Let them stand for 30 to 45 minutes to soften before proceeding.
Freeze the assembled uncooked dumplings on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and frozen for up to 1 month. To cook after freezing, partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that may have formed during freezing, before cooking.
Here are a couple easy ways to transform your simple white dumpling dough into colorful creations. For orange dough replace the just-boiled water with just-boiled 100% carrot juice. For bright gold dough add ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric into the flour before adding the water. The dough will develop its vibrant color as it sits. For green dough follow the instructions in this Fish Dumplings recipe. Or perhaps try red dough by replacing the just-boiled water with just-boiled 100% tomato juice.
To lighten my veggie potstickers and avoid too much oil splatter, I like to spray a bit of avocado oil into my nonstick pan instead of drizzling. This uses a bit less oil but still evenly distributes it in the pan, yielding beautiful golden dumpling bottoms with a fraction of the fat and mess.
If you prefer steamed veggie dumplings: place the dumplings into a bamboo steamer lined with a perforated parchment circle or cabbage leaves (to keep the dumplings from sticking to the steamer) steam over boiling water for for about 8 minutes, or until slightly puffed and somewhat translucent. Remove the trays and place each atop a serving plate.