Vegan Potstickers or Dumplings

Jeeca

5 from 8 votes

Potstickers are basically dumplings that are pan fried to create a crispy crust. I then poured some water to cook them in steam, to create a crisp yet chewy exterior for that really satisfying bite. They're filled with a mix of tofu and vegetables then enjoyed with some homemade dipping sauce.

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Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Dough Resting Time 1

Total Time 2 30

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Chinese

Servings dumplings

Calories 53 kcal

Equipment

A rolling pin

Ingredients

Dough

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (310g)
¾ cup + 1 tbsp warm water
¾ tsp salt

For Dumpling Wrappers

Corn starch to prevent from sticking

Filling

400 g block extra firm tofu
150 g fresh mushrooms I used oyster mushrooms, dried or canned would work too
1 medium carrot (100g)
1/2 small head of cabbage
25 g chinese chives or spring onion chopped (makes 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp chinese 5 spice powder optional
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

For cooking

1 cup water divided into ¼ cup water for each batch*
4 tbsp neutral oil divided into 1 tbsp for each batch*

Dipping sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
½ tbsp coconut sugar or other sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness
1 tsp chili garlic sauce, homemade recipe here, adjust according to desired spice
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Preparing Dough for Wrappers

You can watch the video below for a complete step-by-step.
Add in 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix well. Create a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the warm water
Use a spatula or chopsticks to mix the flour and water. Once the dough starts to come together, you can use your hands to mix the bits of dough. Knead together for several minutes until the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands.
Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a bowl. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Preparing the Filling

Drain excess liquid from the tofu. Mash with a form and then transfer to a cheese cloth or any cloth. Squeeze out liquid.
If using dry mushrooms, rehydrate the dried mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for at least 15 minutes.
Finely shred or process the carrots. Repeat this for the cabbage, mushrooms, and onions, and garlic.
Heat a pan. Add in 1 ½ tbsp canola or other neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the garlic and onions. Add in the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms.
Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the carrots are tender. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste. Add in the tofu and mix well. Turn off heat.
Add in cornstarch and mix until well combined. Season with some sesame oil and and chinese 5 spice, if using.
Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool while you work on the wrappers.
Divide the filling into 35-36 portions. I do so by getting a large tablespoon and scooping a generous amount, and then rolling and compressing it to create an oval or round ball of filling.

Dividing the Dough

Flour your surface. Remove the dough from the bowl. Punch your thumb into the center to create a hole. Slowly pinch and form the sides to create a larger hole before slowly pulling apart the sides to create a large ring (see video)
Sprinkle the dough with some flour. Using a knife, slice the ring of dough into 14 to 15-gram pieces, making around 35-36 pieces.
Place the pieces in a bowl and cover with a towel to prevent them from drying out.

Rolling Out the Wrappers

Flour your surface. Get a piece of dough and then roll it into a ball. Lightly flatten it with your palm.
Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that’s around 3 to 4 inches. If you can’t make them into a perfectly round shape, that’s okay.
You can also roll out the dough using a rotating movement if you have a small, thinner rolling pin. Using one hand, hold the small rolling pin and then hold the dough on the other hand. While you’re moving the pin with your right hand, you are also rolling the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise. Keep moving the pin and rotating until you have wrappers that are around 3 to 4 inches in diameter. It took me a while to get used to this movement since a lot of the pros do it very quicky but once you get your coordination, it’s much easier to roll out the dough.
Repeat either step 6 or 7 for the rest of the dough until you have rolled them all out into wrappers.
Rub some corn starch on each wrapper before stacking them. This will prevent them from sticking to one another. Keep the wrappers covered with a towel while you fill add each piece with filling.
See storage tips for dumpling wrappers in the notes below.

Folding Dumplings

You can watch the video below for a complete step-by-step.
Get 1 piece of wrapper. Place it on your palm. Add in a ball of the filling.
Compress the filling and then carefully fold the wrapper from the bottom to the top, while using your finger to push the filling in. Carefully seal the wrapper with your fingers by pressing both ends together. From there, you can pleat the edges of the dumplings. You can refer to the video for how I pleat mine and other ways to pleat dumplings
Repeat this for the rest of the dumplings

Cooking the Dumplings (see notes)

Heat non-stick pan with a lid. Add in 1 tbsp* of oil. When hot, place 8-9 pieces of dumplings, or more depending on the size of your pan. Make sure that there is space between each dumpling.
Leave to cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until a nice golden brown crust has formed underneath. Flip the dumplings. Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour ¼ cup of water* into the pan and then immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.
Leave to cook in the steam or until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the dumplings and repeat this step for the remaining ones. Garnish with some chopped onion leeks and sesame seeds. Enjoy while hot with some dipping sauce!

Dipping sauce

Mix all ingredients together and feel to adjust according to your desired taste.

WATCH Video

Notes

Pressing tofu

I wrap my tofu in some paper towels and place a heavy flat surface on top to drain the water but you can also opt to use a tofu press.

Cooking

For every batch of 8-9 dumplings, you will need 1 tbsp of oil and ¼ cup of water. Feel free to adjust the amount depending on the size of your pan and how many batches it will take to cook all dumplings.
You can also steam your dumpling instead of pan-frying!

STORAGE AND MAKE-AHEAD TIPS

Storing dumpling wrappers:

Though homemade wrappers are best used when freshly made, if you plan to make them ahead of time, here’s how to store them:

Add around ¼ to ½ tsp of potato or cornstarch to each wrapper then spread it around to coat both sides. Repeat this for the next wrapper and then stack it on top of the wrapper until you have all wrappers coated in starch and stacked. This is to prevent them from sticking to one another when stacked.

Divide the wrappers into 7 stacks of 5 pieces each. I like to divide the wrappers in smaller stacks so I can work on them by batch. Wrap the dumpling wrappers tightly in some plastic wrap and then place them in an air-tight container before placing them in the refrigerator or freezer.

The wrappers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To use, let them come to room temperature before carefully separating and using. Please note that since these wrappers have been coated in starch, you will need water to seal them when using.

Freezing dumplings

Place uncooked dumplings on a lined tray and then freeze for a few hours until hard. Transfer to a resealable bag and keep in the freezer until ready to use.

Cooking frozen dumplings

Do NOT thaw. Cook directly from frozen to avoid dumplings from getting soggy. Place the frozen dumplings on a hot pan with some oil and leave to cook over medium until a lightly brown crust has formed. Add the water and cover to cook in the steam.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

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