These dumplings have a savoury tofu veggie filling wrapped in homemade dumpling wrappers, pan fried and steamed to get those crispy bottoms.
Dumplings are a lot easier to make than you’d think. These vegan tofu dumplings are flavourful, juicy, and a little crispy on the bottom with a chewy skin.
I decided to pleat them in this way, but there are many other pleating designs you could try! Here are 4 other ways you could pleat them.
What’s in these vegan tofu dumplings
- garlic and ginger
- defrosted traditional/firm tofu, crumbled up so that it incorporates better into the filling
- cabbage
- carrot
- soy sauce
- cooking caramel sauce. This is optional, but I add it because it gives the filling a nice dark brown colour.
- sesame oil
- cornstarch which helps to bind the filling together. This makes it easier to fill and pleat the dumplings.
- white pepper and salt to taste, of course!
Making your own dumpling wrappers
I prefer DIY dumpling wrappers over store-bought for a few reasons!
They’re more stretchy and flexible, which makes it easier for pleating. Store-bought dumpling wrappers are more stiff, and break easily if you pull on the skin (which is bound to happen when pleating).
They’re so easy and cheap to make at home, it’s literally just flour and water. It’s not as complicated as making bao dough, for example, which contains yeast.
How to cook pan fried dumplings
The method of preparing these tofu dumplings is similar to my Pan Fried Mushroom + Chive Buns.
The dumplings are pan fried in a bit of oil until the bottom is slightly brown. Add water, cover with a lid and let steam for 1-2 minutes. This ensures that the skin is fully cooked and the filling is piping hot. Once cooked, the dumplings are left to pan fry until the bottoms are golden brown and crisp.
More dumpling recipes for you to try:
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!
Vegan Pan Fried Tofu Dumplings
Ingredients
Dumpling wrapper
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 90 ml water
Tofu filling
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ knob of ginger minced
- 250 g traditional/firm tofu defrosted and crumbled (4 blocks)
- 100 g cabbage shredded
- 1 small carrot shredded
Sauces
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking caramel sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- white pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
Make dumpling wrappers
- In a bowl, mix together flour and water until a dough comes together. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead it for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and firm. Place into the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.
Cook the filling
- In a large pan over medium heat, fry the garlic and ginger in oil until fragrant. Cook the shredded cabbage and carrot for 2 minutes, then add in crumbled tofu and sauces. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in cornstarch.
- Remove from the heat and let cool until ready to pleat dumplings.
Pleating dumplings
- Divide the dough in half, roll into a log and divide into 12-13 pieces, around 10g each. Cover the dough with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out as you work.
- Dust the work surface with flour. With a small rolling pin, flatten a dough ball out into a small round. Then roll out the edges only, turning the dough 90 degrees after each roll to get a circle. The edges should be thinner than the center of the dough.
- Place a tablespoon of filling in the center. Pinching the opposite sides of the dough together with your left hand, pleat the dough 3-4 times with your right hand from the center to the right. Repeat with the other side.
Cook dumplings
- In a large pan with some oil over medium heat, arrange the dumplings, making sure that they don't touch. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the bottom is slightly brown, then pour in some water and cover with a lid.
- Steam for 1 minute or until the dough is completely cooked, remove the lid and let the water evaporate. Pan fry for a while until the bottom is crispy again, then remove from the pan.
- Serve immediately with chili sauce, or dipping sauce of your choice.
The dumplings were amazing. Easy to make, very delicious. Overall I definitely will do them again 💖
aww thank you ioana, im glad you liked them!
thank you for this recipe, my dumplings turned out delicious!
im glad you liked them anya 🙂
Tried it out , it was a success 😍 I really like ur recipes a lot , simple ingredients with simple instructions but super scrumptious
thank you lim yi! im so glad you liked the dumplings hehe