Vegan Chive Pockets

Vegan chive pockets – like a crisp and chewy dumpling, stuffed with a fragrant chive tofu filling. Warm and comforting.

Looks like a curry puff, tastes like a dumpling. No?

We are using a hot water dough to make these vegan chive pockets. In short, flour can absorb more hot water than cold water. Since we are pan-frying and not boiling, hot water dough helps the pockets remain tender, preventing them from becoming tough. If you’re interested to know more, check out this blog post here.

Ingredients

• 160 g all-purpose flour
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 100 ml hot water

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 80 g firm tofu
• ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
• black salt, to taste

• 100 g chives, chopped
• 25 g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• ½ tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and white pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Make dough: In a medium bowl, combine all the dough ingredients. Mix to get a shaggy dough, then knead for a few minutes until everything is fully incorporated. Shape the dough into a tight ball. It should be soft and smooth. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and rest for 1 hour.
• Noodles: Prepare noodles according to package instructions, then cut into short threads
• Method 1 (cooked filling): In a large wok over medium heat, cook garlic in oil until fragrant. Add in scrambled tofu, turmeric powder and black salt to taste. Add in rice vermicelli noodles and season with all the sauces. Cook for 1 minute before adding in the chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then finish with Chinese cooking wine. Once the chives are slightly wilted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

• Method 2 (partially cooked filling): Prepare noodles and cook your scrambled tofu in the same way. Add everything to a bowl, together with chopped chives. Season with all the sauces to taste, and mix until fully incorporated.
• Assembly: Roll the dough into a log and divide into 6 equal pieces, around 30g each. Roll one piece into a small round, then roll only the edges of the dough, rotating 45° after each roll. The edges should be thinner then the center. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center, then fold one side over the other. Pinch to seal and pleat the edges. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

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• Cook chive pockets: In a large non-stick pan over medium-low heat, pan-fry the pockets on one side until lightly browned. Flip them, add a splash of water, then cover with a lid to steam for 20-30 seconds. Remove the lid and add some oil (optional). Continue to pan-fry on both sides until crispy golden brown.
• Serve warm with your favourite dipping sauce.

Tips to make vegan chive pockets

• Flour can absorb more hot water than cold water. Since we are pan-frying and not boiling the dumplings, hot water dough helps the pockets remain tender, preventing them from becoming tough.
• I find that the cooked filling is more fragrant, and makes filling and pleating a lot easier, but both methods work.
• You can roll the dough out quite thin, because we’re not cooking it for very long. However, I still like to add water to the pan and steam the pockets, then pan-fry with oil to get crispy skin that’s cooked all the way through.

Similar recipes to try:

• Vegan Pan Fried Tofu Dumplings
• Vegan Steamed Crystal Dumplings (Chai Kueh 菜粿)

If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!