It’s Friday, people! Woot woot! Shall we celebrate with some vegetable dumplings? Wait, does everyone else love dumplings too? Or is it weird that I’m so excited by these? There’s just something about a little package of food with dipping sauces that I really love. And I love that you can put pretty much anything in a dumpling and it will likely taste great. Given my fondness for dumplings, I am pretty much in heaven whenever we go out for dim sum. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, but it’s so hard to resist wanting to try it all. A never ending parade of dumplings and dumpling type items on a cart? Yes, please! I have been fortunate enough to enjoy dim sum in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and while dim sum in Boston can’t quite compare, it’s still one of my favorite things to do.
Making these vegetable dumplings is not quite like the amazing variety at dim sum, but it sure beats the frozen stuff. The filling is delicious, and can be adjusted for your preferences. These are really pretty easy to make, especially if you make the filling the day before you assemble the dumplings. But be warned, assembling them is easy but time consuming. I suggest cranking up the tunes and creating your own dumpling party. You’ll have a tray full of dumplings before you know it!
Vegetable dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup white cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup water chestnuts, diced
- 1 cup chopped chives or scallions
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 package square wonton wrappers (you could also use round gyoza wrappers)
- Salt to taste
- Vegetable oil
For the dipping sauce:
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup sliced scallions
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sambal (garlic chili sauce)
Directions
To make the dumplings:
Add one tablespoon of vegetable oil to a wok or large saute pan and turn heat to medium-high. Once pan is heated, add the onions and ginger and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and stir.
Add the cabbage, water chestnut and chives or scallion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.\
Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is soft. Remove from heat and drain in a colander.
When the mixture has cooled, add the sesame oil and add salt and pepper if needed.
Fill a small bowl with water.Take out 4 wonton wrappers at a time and keep the rest covered.
Using your finger, wet two sides of the wonton wrapper. Place one teaspoon of filling in the middle of each wrapper. Carefully fold the sides up to form a triangle and seal very tightly. You don’t want the filling to come out while cooking! Use the rest of the filling to make the dumplings.
To cook, you can steam the dumplings for about 10 minutes, until the wrapper is tender. Alternately, you could make potstickers by lightly coating a non-stick pan with oil and heating on medium-high heat. Place the dumplings in the pan and cook until the bottoms brown. Then add ¼ cup water and cover the pan. When the water has evaporated remove the cover and cook just until the bottoms get crispy again.
To make the dipping sauce:
Mix all ingredients together and stir
Enjoy!