I’m a huge fan of dumplings and making them is so fun and rewarding. It does take time and effort making wrappers from scratch but there's nothing like freshly made wrappers from homemade dough.
Check out my video below to see how I made the wrappers and folded the dumplings from scratch!
Homemade wrappers are very pliable so you don’t even need to use water to seal them. You can also get really creative with your wrapping techniques because homemade wrappers are soft and don’t break easily, like store-bought wrappers do.
You can also stuff them with lots of filling with little worry of the wrappers cracking because of being too filled up.
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.
I finished my dumplings or potstickers off with homemade chili garlic sauce and a delicious dipping sauce.
Find all recipes below. Hope you enjoy these! :)
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Vegan Potstickers or Dumplings
Makes around 35-36 dumplings Dough 2 ¼ cups (310g) all-purpose flour ¾ cup + 1 tbsp warm water ¾ tsp salt
Note *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. Filling 1 400g block extra firm tofu 150g fresh mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms), dried or canned would work too 1 medium carrot (100g) 25g 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 sesame oil 1/4 tsp chinese five spice (optional) 2.5 tbsp cornstarch For cooking 1 cup water, divided into ¼ cup water for each batch* 4 tbsp canola oil or other neutral oil, divided into 1 tbsp for each batch* *Note: 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.
STEPS (see video above)
Preparing Dough for Wrappers
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 4 ½ 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 4 ½-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. Keep the wrappers covered with a towel while you fill add each piece with filling.
Folding Dumplings
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*
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!
*Notes:
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 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.
Dipping sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp distilled white vinegar
½ tbsp coconut sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness
1 tsp chili garlic sauce (homemade recipe below), adjust according to desired spice
1 tsp sesame seeds
Chili Garlic Sauce
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients 28 pieces (50g) bird’s eye chili 12 garlic cloves (30g), peeled 3/4 cup neutral oil such as canola, avocado, etc. 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp chinese five spice powder 1 dried star anise, optional 1 dried bay leaf, optional 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, optional
Steps
Chop off the top ends and stem of the chilies. Place the chilies and garlic cloves in a food processor. Process until finely minced.
Heat a saucepan. Add in 3/4 cup neutral oil. Season with salt, sugar, and five spice powder. Add in the rest of the herbs and spices, if using.
Leave to simmer over medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and chili. Cook over medium heat, stirring every few minutes until the chilies have turned in a much darker share of red, around 25 minutes.
Turn off heat and then leave to cool. Store in an air-tight container or jar in a cool, dark place until ready to use. Can be stored for up to 3 months.
How much cabbage is required for this recipe? Also, these potstickers look great!