Dumpling Filling Recipe Vegetarian

I don’t even know who I am anymore. These delicious homemade CHINESE VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS (Jiaozi / 餃子) — filled with sautéed snow pea leaves, Chinese chives, shiitake mushrooms and tofu — are challenging all my fundamental, life-long dumpling beliefs! You see, I have always been very particular about dumplings. At minimum, the dumpling skin must have a nice chewiness and the filling flavourful and not too “loose” and with the proper mouth-feel when you bite into it. I grew up eating and making lots and lots of a classic Shanghai style dumpling filled with bok choy, ground pork and sometimes shrimp. In fact, the very first recipe I shared on this blog was my grandmother’s SHANGHAI WONTONS/DUMPLINGS recipe. All of my life, I considered that recipe superior to all other dumplings. Hands down, by a landslide, without a shred of doubt, forever and ever, amen. Veggie dumplings? Pssssssft. Not even a contender. Why bother? Never had a veggie dumpling that I loved and was worth the trouble. UNTIL NOW…

Yes, that firm belief has been shaken to its core. I am shook. For I now declare these CHINESE VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS equally as delicious as my beloved bok-choy-and-pork Shanghai dumplings. With the added virtue of being meatless and plant-based. How awesome is that? Very very. My daughters gobbled these up the three times I made them in the last two weeks (an upside of preparing for this blog post). They love ‘em. My meat-loving husband conceded that these were very tasty “for veggie dumplings” and that he would be fully happy to eat a meal of “mostly these veggie dumplings with a few of the meat ones” lol. That’s high praise, from him!

This is why I am so eager to share this recipe with you! I’m particularly excited because this recipe is unlike any of the other vegetarian dumplings I found on the internet, filling-wise. Most vegetable dumpling recipes I came across are filled with some combination of cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and tofu. Don’t get me wrong - I love all of those ingredients a lot. But for dumplings, I definitely prefer the more vegetal flavour of dark leafy greens, over the sweetness of carrots or taste of cabbage (not least Napa cabbage, which despite being one of my fav asian veggies is, again, too sweet for my dumplings). Other snow pea leaves dumplings typically contained meat or shrimp. In this plant-based dumpling recipe, the combination of sautéed snow pea leaves, Chinese chives and shiitake mushrooms is so tasty together that very little else is needed besides some well-squeezed, extra-firm tofu to give the filling some body and substance, plus the simple seasonings of tamari, sesame oil, white pepper powder and kosher salt.

Gluten Free Crystal Dumplings With Vegan Filling

. They are one of the best Chinese greens around, with a mild but lovely vegetal flavour and tender leaves and stalks. It is a bit on the pricier end as far as Chinese greens go. I get mine from a Korean supermarket for $6/lb, apparently grown in Mexico. Chinese supermarkets sell it a bit cheaper but I’ve noticed there tends to be more tough stalks that need to be pulled off, so, you kinda get what you pay for. Even at a premium, snow pea leaves are well-loved by Chinese and other East Asian people. My husband and girls would eat piles and piles of it, simply sautéed with garlic. Here in North America, I still find them fairly unrecognized and under-utilized outside of Chinese restaurants and asian households. If you can find it at your local Asian supermarket, definitely grab some for this recipe! If you are unable to get snow pea leaves, substitute (same weight) with another dark leafy Chinese green veggie such as baby bok choy, which is fairly accessible these days even at conventional grocery stores. (See the image under Method, “prepare the filling” section of this blog post for a look at what raw Snow Pea Leaves look like.)

Chinese chives is another asian vegetable (pictured above). They are different from the chives you get in the herb section used for garnish and finishing dishes. Chinese chives have long, tender blades that is green the entire length with slightly darker tips. Their flavour is leek-y and a bit garlicky, often compared with ramps. They add such a delicious and unique taste and aroma to the dumpling filling. Chinese chives are commonly available at asian supermarkets (I grab mine at the same Korean one where I get the snow pea leaves). However, if you can’t find Chinese chives, substitute scallions and some minced garlic in the recipe.

The ingredients in the filling really do make these CHINESE VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS stand out on their own. I might be a lot biased so don’t take my word on it and try the recipe for yourself! Then tell me all about what you think!

Mushroom And Carrot Dumplings

Recipe makes approximately 7-dozen (84) dumplings, enough to feed 4-6 adults depending on appetites! Extras freeze wonderfully - see head notes above.

Make the dough (skip if using store-bought wrappers - see head notes): Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Put bowl on top of a moist kitchen towel to help the bowl stay in place while you stir. Slowly drizzle the 315ml of water in a steady stream while mixing with your hand or a pair of chopsticks. Once incorporated, the dough should still look a bit scraggly with some loose, dry bits throughout. See image below.

Start kneading the dough with your hands, only sprinkling teeny bits of water over very dry areas as needed - see first image below. Knead for 8-10 minutes until very smooth (see second image below, after 5 minutes of kneading). Shape the dough into a ball and allow to rest 15 minutes under a tea towel. Knead again for 3 minutes (see third image below).

Vegetarian Rice Dumplings

Drizzle a tiny bit of oil into the mixing bowl and roll the dough ball around to lightly coat all over. Cover with tea towel again and this time, rest for at least 1 hour or up to overnight (use food wrap to wrap tightly if resting overnight). The longer the dough rests, the softer it gets. Softer dough is easier to handle but you also want the dough to retain some chewiness. Meanwhile, make the filling.

Prepare the filling: Preheat a wok or large cast iron pot over medium heat. Drizzle some oil, add snow pea leaves and sauté until just wilted but still bright green, about 1-2 minutes. Do in batches if needed and do not overcook. Place back in colander to cool. Next, drizzle a bit of oil and saute the chopped chives about a minute and add the chopped shiitake mushrooms to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Set into large mixing bowl. The sautéed snow pea leaves should be cool to touch now. With the colander set in the sink, grab handfuls of the greens with both hands and squeeze excess water out. Repeat until all of it has been squeezed. Add these to the bowl of chives and mushrooms. Finally, add the squeezed tofu, tamari, sesame oil, white pepper powder and kosher salt to taste. Mix well. Taste a bit of filling and adjust seasoning to your taste. Filling should be on the saltier side since it will be wrapped inside unsalted dough.

Wrap the dumplings: Set up your wrapping station. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to hold the wrapped dumplings. Set out the bowl of filling and a small dish of cold tap water for sealing edges. Have some flour on hand for dusting as you roll out dough. A kitchen scale is useful to weigh out dough pieces to ensure you end up with same-sized wrappers (but don’t worry if you don’t have one, you can also eye ball it). Roll wrappers and fill and fold them in small batches, as the rolled-out wrappers dry out quickly. Cut the dough ball into 6-8 more manageable pieces. Take one cut piece (re-covering the rest under the tea towel) and roll it with your hands into a long rope about 1” in diameter. Cut into 1 tbsp sized pieces, about 10g each. Dust pieces with flour and also your work surface. With cut-side facing up, flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand. Dust a small rolling pin to roll the dough into circles approximately 3½” in diameter, with the edges thinner than the centre of the wrapper.

Vegan Dumplings (with Chili Oil Dipping Sauce)

You can roll dumpling wrappers in one of two ways: (1) roll forward and back while rotating the dough 45 degrees after each pass, exactly like you would when rolling out pie dough -

OR (2) left hand rotates the dough simultaneously while right hand rolls the rolling pin over the right edge of the dough (or vice versa for Lefties) -

. I actually do a combo of the two. I start with method 1 because I find it easier to create a nice round shape that way. Then once I’ve reached about 80% of the desired size, I switch to method

Making Chinese Dumplings (jiaozi) From Scratch

Drizzle a tiny bit of oil into the mixing bowl and roll the dough ball around to lightly coat all over. Cover with tea towel again and this time, rest for at least 1 hour or up to overnight (use food wrap to wrap tightly if resting overnight). The longer the dough rests, the softer it gets. Softer dough is easier to handle but you also want the dough to retain some chewiness. Meanwhile, make the filling.

Prepare the filling: Preheat a wok or large cast iron pot over medium heat. Drizzle some oil, add snow pea leaves and sauté until just wilted but still bright green, about 1-2 minutes. Do in batches if needed and do not overcook. Place back in colander to cool. Next, drizzle a bit of oil and saute the chopped chives about a minute and add the chopped shiitake mushrooms to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Set into large mixing bowl. The sautéed snow pea leaves should be cool to touch now. With the colander set in the sink, grab handfuls of the greens with both hands and squeeze excess water out. Repeat until all of it has been squeezed. Add these to the bowl of chives and mushrooms. Finally, add the squeezed tofu, tamari, sesame oil, white pepper powder and kosher salt to taste. Mix well. Taste a bit of filling and adjust seasoning to your taste. Filling should be on the saltier side since it will be wrapped inside unsalted dough.

Wrap the dumplings: Set up your wrapping station. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to hold the wrapped dumplings. Set out the bowl of filling and a small dish of cold tap water for sealing edges. Have some flour on hand for dusting as you roll out dough. A kitchen scale is useful to weigh out dough pieces to ensure you end up with same-sized wrappers (but don’t worry if you don’t have one, you can also eye ball it). Roll wrappers and fill and fold them in small batches, as the rolled-out wrappers dry out quickly. Cut the dough ball into 6-8 more manageable pieces. Take one cut piece (re-covering the rest under the tea towel) and roll it with your hands into a long rope about 1” in diameter. Cut into 1 tbsp sized pieces, about 10g each. Dust pieces with flour and also your work surface. With cut-side facing up, flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand. Dust a small rolling pin to roll the dough into circles approximately 3½” in diameter, with the edges thinner than the centre of the wrapper.

Vegan Dumplings (with Chili Oil Dipping Sauce)

You can roll dumpling wrappers in one of two ways: (1) roll forward and back while rotating the dough 45 degrees after each pass, exactly like you would when rolling out pie dough -

OR (2) left hand rotates the dough simultaneously while right hand rolls the rolling pin over the right edge of the dough (or vice versa for Lefties) -

. I actually do a combo of the two. I start with method 1 because I find it easier to create a nice round shape that way. Then once I’ve reached about 80% of the desired size, I switch to method

Making Chinese Dumplings (jiaozi) From Scratch