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I love a dumpling, and because it’s very hard to find any pre-made vegetarian dumplings in my regular grocery store, I decided to make my own. Here is a delightfully healthy recipe with an easy-to-make filling. Dumplings are also great to make big batches of and freeze to just pop in a boiling pot of water whenever.
Cook Time: 40 minutes. Serves: approximately 25 dumplings
Ingredients:
1 large bunch kale
1/2 package pre-fried tofu or tofu puffs*, diced
4 green onions, chopped
A small thumb of fresh ginger, grated
A glug of sesame oil
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
A package of pre-made wonton or dumpling wrappers
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp salt
*You can find pre-fried tofu or tofu puffs in the exact same section as the rest of the tofu. It is lighter than regular tofu because most of the water has been squeezed out of it. It’s got a lovely, chewy texture.
Method:
1)Wash the kale well and tear the leaves from the stem. Finely chop the stems, and chop the leaves into the thinnest strips you can manage.
2)Heat your glug of sesame oil in a pan and add the chopped kale stems. Leave to cook for about 3 minutes, then add the kale leaves, grated ginger, and chopped green onions. Cook down your vegetables another 5 minutes and then add the diced tofu and the splash of tamari or soy sauce. Let this mixture cook down for another 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
3)To assemble your dumplings, dip your finger in cold water and trace the outer edges of the wrapper. Place a small spoonful of filling into the centre of the wrapper and fold the edges together, pressing down to seal the dough shut. There are many different ways you can fold a dumpling. The easiest way for me is to fold the dough into a pierogi-like semicircle.
4)To cook your dumplings, bring a pot of water to a boil with a tablespoon each of salt and vegetable oil. Drop your dumplings in one at a time, limiting just four to five dumplings to cook at once to avoid them sticking together. When the dumplings are cooked, they will start to float to the top and their wrappers will look slightly translucent. Scoop the cooked dumplings out with a slotted spoon, shaking off any excess water.
5)Serve your dumplings steaming hot with the sauce of your choice — I prefer peanut sauce.
(Andrea Sadowski/The Cascade)
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
