I’ve been working on a vegetable dumpling recipe for some time now and I finally created one I like. With the farmer’s markets starting to open, I will have more fresh vegetables to play with so stay tuned for more recipes to come. These dumplings are so much lighter without meat and just as tasty.
Start by chopping up the fresh shiitake mushroom caps. A cup of mushrooms is about 6 to 8 caps.
Chop up a cup of scallions both white and green parts.
Chop up two cups of napa cabbage. This is about four leaves depending on the size of your cabbage.
Shred a cup of carrots. I like to use organic carrots.
Soak the glass noodles in water for at least 15 minutes and then chop into small pieces. The softer the noodles, the easier they are to chop.
Chop the Chinese chives or spinach.
Put the mushrooms, chives, napa cabbage, carrots, noodles, salt, corn starch, and sesame oil in a large bowl.
And mix together. Use your hands, they are the best mixers.
Using either store bought skins or homemade skin, scoop a heaping teaspoon into the center of the skin. Leave a half inch between the filling and the edge of the skin.
(1) Place the filling in the middle of the dumpling skin, dab your fingers in the egg wash and coat the edge of the skin, then fold in half but do not press shut (2) You will make three pleats at the edge of the side closest to you. To make a pleat, pinch the skin in between your thumbs and then press firmly to stick to the back side of the skin. (3) Repeat two more times (4) Evenly space the pleats and place firmly on a flat surface to make sure the dumpling “sits” on its own. Pinch the edge firmly to make sure the dumpling is completely sealed. Wrapping homemade skins is a little bit different and you can learn more here.
PS. Please excuse my very dry from cold weather and frequent washing mama hands.
Coat the bottom of a non-stick pan with oil. Fill the bottom of the pan with dumplings. Line them up snug. Cover the dumplings half way with water, put a cover on the pan, and cook on medium heat. After fifteen minutes check the dumplings to make sure most of the water has disappeared. Wait another five to ten minutes. When all of the water is evaporated and the bottoms are brown and crispy, the dumplings are ready to eat!
To get the dumplings out of the pan you can:
1. (take it easy and slow) Take each dumpling individually out of the pan with tongs or chopsticks.
2. (be daring and fast) Notice: should only be done with a 10″ or 12″ pan. Loosen the dumplings at the edge from the bottom of the pan with chopsticks or a wooden spatula. Grab a large dinner plate (10″) and cover the dumplings in the pan. (here comes the big finish) Flip the pan over so all the dumplings come out of the pan at once. This makes a beautiful presentation of the dumplings, something I call the dumpling flower.
I took it easy and slow to get these dumplings out this time.
These veggie dumplings are light and delicious. My little girls love the noodles inside!
| Vegetable Dumpling Recipe | Print |
- 1 cup chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms (6-8 caps)
- 1 cup chopped scallions (4-6)
- 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped Chinese chives baby spinach
- 1 cup chopped vermicelli glass noodle (50 g or 1.76 oz bundle)
- 2 tsp salt (1½ if you are serving with a sauce)
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 egg or water for closing dumplings
- Canola oil for cooking
- To make the filling, combine the shiitake mushrooms, scallions, napa cabbage, carrots, Chinese chives or baby spinach, rice noodle, salt, corn starch, and sesame oil in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix.
- Prepare to wrap dumplings by filling a small bowl half way with water or a beaten egg. Grab a tray to put your wrapped dumplings. If you plan to freeze all or some of the dumplings, line the tray with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Make sure the dumplings do not touch and are all “sitting” by themselves. Freeze the dumplings for 1 hour and then place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Label the bag with today’s date.
- To wrap dumplings, scoop a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of the dumpling skin, use your fingers to brush the water or egg wash around the edge of the skin, fold the skin in half, and close with three pleats at the top. Pinch the edge tightly to make sure it is completely closed. Place firmly on hard surface to make sure dumpling “sits” on its own. Continue these steps until there is no more filling. Will make 40 – 50 dumplings depending on the amount of filling used in each dumpling.
- To cook the dumplings, coat the bottom of a non-stick pan with canola oil, then fill the bottom of the pan with dumplings. The dumplings should be lined up snug. In a 10″ pan, use 1 tablespoon of oil and fill with at least 11 dumplings. Cover the dumplings half way with water. Put cover on pan and cook on medium heat. After fifteen minutes open the cover and make sure most of the water has disappeared. Wait 5-10 more minutes and the dumplings should be done. Make sure the bottoms are crispy and brown. Keep cooking until you get this.
- To get the dumplings out of the pan, you can (1) take them out one-by-one with a chopstick or tong. (2) Loosen the dumplings on the edge from the bottom of the pan with chopsticks or a wooden spatula. Grab a large dinner plate (10″) and cover the dumplings in the pan. Flip the pan over so all the dumplings come out of the pan at once. This makes a beautiful flower presentation of the dumplings.
Veggie Dumpling Mama,
Chrissy xo