Who doesn’t love a nice plate of hot, juicy dumplings? They cook in minutes and are a great lunch, snack, or side dish for any meal. But, finding prepared vegetarian dumplings in the grocery store has always been a challenge for me. But, if you make a big batch all at once, you can freeze them on a cookie sheet and then store them in a freezer bag for months.
Dumpling Wrapers
Equipment
- kettle
- thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flower – 170g all-purpose, unbleached
- 1 Cup Water – 250 ml at 85 Celcius
Instructions
- measure out your flour and bring the water to 85 Celcius using a tea kettle or a pot and thermometer
- slowly add the water, mixing with a fork
- knead dough on the counter for 15 minutes
- shape and place in an airtight bag for 2 hours
- roll as thin as humanly possible and cut into rounds
To make dumplings, you first need the wrappers. This is a universal recipe and can be used for any type of filling. Make sure to knead the dough for the full 15 minutes, it helps form the gluten structures that make the dough hold.
The dough will be very sticky at first, but as you knead it will pull away from your hands. It will re-moisten as it rests in the bag, and should come out feeling like an earlobe.
Roll the dough out as thin as possible. I like to do it between silicone bake mats so it doesn’t stick to my rolling pin, and I don’t have to add a whole lot more flour. Cut the dough into rounds and store them in an airtight bag or under a damp tea towel until ready to stuff.
Set up an area with a bowl of water, and a lined baking sheet. spoon small amounts of the stuffing into the centre of each wrapper. Do not be tempted to overstuff them! if you cant close them properly they won’t cook right or may fall apart in the pan.
Dip a finger in water, and run it along the edge of the wrapper, and fold. I like to make different shapes If I’m using more than one stuffing.
If you plan on eating your dumplings right away, there’s no reason to freeze them. But, to store them, freeze them on a baking sheet until they are solid, then transfer them into the freezer bag. You can store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To cook your vegetarian dumplings, bring a pan up to medium heat. I gt so impatient waiting for pans to heat, but if you don’t start with a hot pan you’ll get soggy dumplings instead of crispy potstickers. Fry the bottom of the dumplings in a small amount of oil for 5 minutes, then add your water and cover right away.
Cook until you start to see the wrappers changing colour a little, and only add a small amount of water.
Mushroom Dumplings
Equipment
- frying pan
Ingredients
- 5 g dried mushrooms soup mix, anything with lots of flavours
- 1 Cup button mushrooms washed and diced
- 1/4 White Onion
- 1/4 Cup pickled carrots
- 2 tbsp cooking oil sesame adds good flavour
Instructions
- Re-hydrate the flavourful mushrooms, and mince
- In a hot pan, start roasting onions until they just start changing colour
- throw in both types of mushrooms, and slowly add the re-hydrating water to the pan, fry until most of the juices are gone
- Pull everything off the heat, and allow to cool, mix in the pickled carrots
- Spoon filling into dumpling wrappers
- use a finger to brush water on the wrapper edges, and fold them together
- freeze dumplings on a baking sheet for 2 hours, then store them in a freezer bag.
- If you're eating right away, put a pan on medium heat, and wait for it to come to temperature
- add oil to the pan and fry until golden brown. Add 2 tsp of water and put the lid on the pan to seam until wrappers turn slightly translucent.
