Flavor packed and out of this world delicious, these Vegan dumplings are one of my all time favorite meals! Combo these with some fresh steamed rice and my tasty dumpling sauce for ultimate satisfaction.
Vegan Dumplings that are Bright, Fresh, and BOLD!
One of the things I missed the most going vegan were dumplings. Vegan dumplings were hard to find, and many recipes I tried left me feeling a little disappointed. My first kitchen job was at a P.F. Chang’s, whipping up all sorts of dumplings all day long. (and eating them too!) So trust me when I say, I’ve got an experienced dumpling palette.
… and I promise, these potstickers will NOT disappoint!
These are seriously SO good! There are few recipes I am as proud of. The flavors are bright, fresh, and bold. The textures are a variety of crunches, crisps, and chews. All encased in a beautiful, pan fried, homemade dumpling wrap, topped with a flavor pow of dumpling sauce.
You can’t go wrong!
marinade is key to these vegan dumplings
Start by taking a block of tofu and pressing it. You want to get as much water as possible out of the tofu to leave room for it to soak up the marinade.
If you don’t have a tofu press, you can do this by wrapping the tofu in a towel and set a flat bottomed sauce pan on top of it. Fill that sauce pan with some cans or whatever heavy weights you’d like, and let it sit for atleast 30 minutes.
If you don’t want to mess with pressing tofu, I highly recommend buying a “high protein” tofu, or pre-pressed block. I find these at either specialty markets like Whole Foods, New Seasons, and most Asian markets. The high protein tofu also yields a meatier texture with more of a firm chew.
After your tofu is finished pressing, (or not), place it in a medium bowl and break it up with your fingers. You’ll want it to be broken into small crumbles. Once everything is broken up, use a piece of cheese cloth to wring out the remaining water from the tofu and place it in a gallon plastic bag.
Add all of the marinade ingredients to this baggie and let it sit and marinade while we work on the rest of the filling. Press out as much air as you can before sealing. Be sure it gets at least 30 minutes in this stuff, the marinade is everything.
Fresh produce is key
Now for the fun part! Wash and prep all of your veggies, grab a cutting board and a sharp chef knife. Everything in this recipe will need a small dice of no larger than 1/4″. This is a great opportunity to zone out while therapeutically chopping veggies and listening to some of your favorite music.
BUT… If lots of knife work doesn’t interest you, you are welcome to pull out your food processor and go to town. NOTE: the textures will be a bit more muddled, and be cautious of making veggie “paste”… We don’t want that.
If you want more information on how to cut the veggies up, drop a comment below or reach out to me personally and I’ll be happy to elaborate.
Grab a large sauce pan and heat it over medium-high.
Drain your tofu out of the marinade while you wait for the pan to get hot. RESERVE the marinade! This is our seasoning sauce for the veggies as well. Don’t forget!
When your ready to cook, add the tofu to the pan, using a tbsp of the marinade sauce from time to time to keep it from sticking. (Only when necessary) You want the tofu to reach a deep golden color and have a firm, chewy texture. This usually takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the tofu and the heat.
Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside. Add in 2-3 tbsp of oil and wait a few minutes for it get hot and shimmery.
Next, add the celery and onion to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes or until just translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking 2 minutes or until fragrant. Follow with the carrots, tofu, and toasted cashews. Cook for 3-5 more minutes and season with about 1/4 cup of the marinade or to your taste prefernce.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
shaping the vegan dumplings
You’re almost there! Time to shape the dumplings.
You can either use store bought wraps (make sure they are vegan and egg free), or my homemade dumpling wraps recipe.
Set aside a small cup of water and a small spoon for scooping. I add about 1 heaping tbsp to each wrap, lining it up across the middle like shown above.
Add water to the wrap as shown above, with a swipe to opposing sides of the top and bottom. Next, gather up the top and bottom half to meet in the middle over top of the filling mound. Pinch down along the sides to seal. Tuck the bottom in at the base of the wrapper on each side before pinching completely shut. This helps prop the dumpling up and keep the filling inside. Crimp along the pinched edges with your fingers to make a pretty edge, and Voila!
Your vegan dumplings are complete.
Set aside on a heavily floured surface to keep them from sticking and cover with a piece of plastic wrap loosely if you don’t want it developing a crust while you make a few more.
Pan fried or steamed? You decide
You can cook these dumplings either by steaming them (healthier, still good), or pan frying them (crispy, also good).
To steam, you can use a steamer or a basket hovering over boiling water in a covered pot. Let it steam for about 3 minutes if your dumplings are fresh, longer if they are from the fridge.
To pan fry, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan in a small skillet over medium-high. Wait until the oil is searing hot (3 minutes) before you add the dumplings. You want a loud hiss when you add the dumplings, otherwise you risk soggy, greasy dumplings. Once you’ve added them, turn the heat down to medium to keep them from burning, and keep it here until you’ve run out of oil and need to heat more.
Sear the bottoms and both sides to desired color. The darker, the crispier!
Serve with some fresh steamed rice and of course dumpling sauce. This recipe makes enough for 30 – 40 dumplings depending on how much filling you use.
These potstickers are great for easy meals in the future. They keep for about a week in the fridge, and several months in the freezer.
Let me know all of your dumpling thoughts
Please comment below to leave your feedback or any questions you may have for me. I’d love to hear what you think!
Delicious Vegan Dumplings
Ingredients
Marinated Tofu
- 16 oz extra firm tofu (high protein or pre-pressed)
- 3/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium is ok)
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/3 cup agave
Veggie Crunch Filling
- 3/4 cup cashews
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ginger (fresh, minced)
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 stalks celery
- 1/4 cup green onion
- 3/4 cup shiitake mushrooms
- 30-40 vegan dumpling wrappers (store bought or homemade)
Instructions
Toasted Cashews
- Preheat oven to 400°. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Finely chop the cashews and add to the sheet pan. Toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes to check on their progress. Pull the cashews out when they have developed a nice golden brown color.
- Pick up the edges of the parchment to pour cashews into a separate container to cool. Set aside for later.
Marinated Tofu
- Press tofu if using regular extra-firm tofu. Skip this step if you are using high protein or pre-pressed tofu as suggested.
- Place tofu in a medium bowl and crumble by hand. Add to a large piece of cheesecloth. Twist and squeeze to wring out any remaining liquid. Empty tofu into a gallon plastic bag. (any large air tight container will work)
- Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, agave, and toasted sesame oil to the bag. Remove as much air possible before sealing tightly. Mix by pressing the bag with your fingers and shuffling around. Set aside and let marinade while you prepare the filling. (at least 30 minutes)
Veggie Crunch Filling
- Finely mince the garlic and ginger. Cut the celery, onion, carrot, and mushroom into a small 1/4" dice. (or use food processor as mentioned in post) Set aside.
- Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat. While you wait, drain the tofu from the marinade, being sure to KEEP the marinade! We will use this marinade as seasoning for the vegetables as well.
- Add the tofu to the hot pan, adding a tbsp of marinade at a time to help prevent sticking as necessary. Cook until firm and chewy with a deep golden brown color, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add 2-3 tbsp of oil to the same pan and allow to heat for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and celery and cook 3-5 minutes, or until just translucent. Add garlic and ginger, cooking 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add carrots, tofu, and toasted cashews. Season with 1/4 cup of marinade, adding more or less to taste. Cook for until the marinade has reduced to a point that no liquid remains in the bottom of the pan. This is your filling. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Fill a small glass with water and set next to dumpling wrappers and the pot of filling on a floured surface. Add 1 heaping tbsp of filling to each wrap and press into a horizontal mound along the middle of the wrap. Wet the sides of the wrapper by dipping your finger into the water and tracing the edge of the wrapper along the top and bottom.
- Bring the top and bottom edges together over top of the filling mound, first sealing in the middle. Pinch down along the edges to seal completely, stopping just before the end to tuck the bottom edge in before pinching sides shut. Crimp along the pinched edges with your fingers or a fork for a pretty finished look. Set aside on a floured surface and cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap. Store at this point for future meals in the freezer or fridge. Keep in an air tight container.
- To pan fry: Grab a small-medium skillet and heat enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Allow oil 3 minutes to completely heat up over medium high heat. Add the dumplings to the pan, using tongs to turn the dumplings every 2 minutes. Cook until all 3 sides are seared, and the dumplings have reached a golden brown color. Remove from then pan and set on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Serve immediately with steamed rice and dumpling sauce.
- To steam: Use a steamer of choice OR heat a pan with boiling water and a steamer basket. Place dumplings in the steamer basket as soon as the water begins to boil and cover. Steam 3-5 minutes. Remove from steaming and serve immediately with steamed rice and dumpling sauce.
Notes
- Don’t feel limited to the shape I have chosen for these dumplings. You can wrap them however you’d like as long as the have a firm seal and the contents are well contained.
- Practice makes perfect! Experiment with different methods. Find what works for you, give yourself time, and don’t get frustrated. These will taste delicious regardless of how they look.
- High protein tofu is really the secret to a chewy, meaty texture like ground pork. I find mine at Whole Foods and highly recommend you give it a try.
- Check out my dumpling and wrapper recipes to experience these dumplings at their fullest potential.
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