Pan-Fried Bok Choy Dumplings

I came across these striking green and white dumplings at a restaurant in Harbin, China, and knew I had to recreate the two-toned wrappers at home. The natural green color is made using spinach.

To make the dough:

Stuffed with a juicy mushroom and bok choy filling, these dumplings are an irresistible dish for a gathering. You can pan-fry them until golden and crispy on the bottom— the perfect appetizer/party food— or cook them in a pot of water for boiled dumplings (shui jiao).

To make the dough, prepare two bowls, one for the white dough and one for the green dough. Measure out flour and salt in the separate bowls. Make a well in the center of one, and gradually add the boiling water, stirring with a spoon until the mixture forms clumps, then add 1 tablespoon cold water and knead for 5 minutes until it forms a ball. This is the white dough.

Blend spinach with ¼ cup boiling water. Strain the liquid into a mesh strainer and press to extract the juice. Discard spinach pulp. Add hot water to the green juice to form ½ cup liquid. Add to the second flour and salt mixture, and knead into a ball. This is the green dough.

Cover the bowls and let dough rest as you prepare the filling.

To make the dumplings, divide each color of dough into two portions, and knead well. Roll each white portion into a 1 inch rope. Flatten the green portions into two rectangular pieces with the same length as the white ropes. Wrap each white rope in the green piece, then pinch tightly to seal. Cut into small tablespoon-sized pieces, flattening each piece with the palm of your hand. 

Dust the working surface with flour and roll each piece out into a flat disc. Add a generous amount of filling and pleat the edges, pinching tightly to seal.

Heat a layer of oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat, then place the dumplings in the pan and allow to fry until golden on the bottom. for 2 minutes. Pour ¼ cup water into the pan, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow dumplings to steam until the water has evaporated, then remove the cover, increase heat to medium-high and fry for a few more minutes, until the bottoms of the dumplings are golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Notes/Substitutions/Tips:

• I used fresh shiitake mushrooms. You could also substitute cremini/baby bella mushrooms, though I recommend shiitake for the flavor.
• I shred the cabbage and carrots by chopping them into rough chunks and processing them in a food processor a few times.
• If you have access to Chinese chives I highly recommend using them instead of scallions.
• Don’t skimp on the oil for this recipe– it’s important for the flavor and mimics the fattiness of traditional meat dumplings.
• To see how I pleat the dumplings, go to my Instagram page and view the story under my story highlights. Or see a guide to pleating dumplings here.
• My favorite dipping sauce is a combination of Chinkiang vinegar (or rice vinegar) + soy sauce + chili sauce.
• Optional step before frying: dip the bottom of each dumpling in water and then in a layer of white sesame seeds to coat.
• To freeze, place the potstickers on a tray (uncooked) to freeze individually, then store in a freezer bag.

More dumpling recipes:

• Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings
• Mushroom Potstickers

If you made this recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below. Or tag me on Instagram @hannah__chia, I love seeing your re-creations!

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📖 Recipe

Pan-Fried Bok Choy Dumplings (Vegan)

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Two-toned Chinese spinach dumplings, stuffed with a juicy mushroom and bok choy filling and pan-fried to a golden-brown crisp. 

• Author: Hannah
• Prep Time: 60
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 35 1x
• Category: Sides and Appetizers
• Method: Cook
• Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Dough

White wrappers:

• 1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 tbsp cold water

Green wrappers:

• 1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves, packed

Filling

• ½ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 inch thumb ginger, minced
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 cups Butler’s dried soy curls, rehydrated and chopped finely, or 1 14 oz block firm tofu, crumbled*
• 1 lb bok choy (or napa cabbage), finely chopped
• 1 ½ cup carrot, finely chopped
• 4 scallions, finely chopped, both green and white parts
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling seasoning:

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. Make dough: 

   Prepare two bowls, one for the white dough and one for the green dough. Measure out flour and salt in the separate bowls. Make a well in the center of one, and gradually add the boiling water, stirring with a spoon until the mixture forms clumps, then add 1 tablespoon cold water and knead for 5 minutes until it forms a ball. This is the white dough.

   Blend spinach with ¼ cup boiling water. Strain the liquid into a mesh strainer and press to extract the juice. Discard spinach pulp. Add hot water to the green juice to form ½ cup liquid. Add to the second flour and salt mixture, and knead into a ball. This is the green dough.

2. To make filling, heat the oil in a wok or large pan over medium high heat and stir-fry onion and ginger until translucent. Add mushrooms and soy curls (or the crumbled tofu) and cook for another 3-4 minutes, then add cabbage and carrots and stir-fry until most of the liquid from the vegetables is released. Stir in the rest of ingredients and remove from heat. Taste and add more salt or sesame oil as necessary (you want the filling to be quite salty/well-seasoned, as the flavor mellows in the dumplings). Place filling in the fridge to cool.
3. To make the dumplings, divide each color of dough into two portions, and knead well. Roll each white portion into a 1 inch rope. Flatten the green portions into two rectangular pieces, the same length as the white ropes. Wrap each white rope in the green piece, then pinch tightly to seal. Cut into small tablespoon-sized pieces, flattening each piece with the palm of your hand.  Dust the working surface with flour and roll each piece out into a flat disc. Add a generous amount of filling and pleat the edges, pinching tightly to seal.
4. Pan-fry the dumplings. Heat a layer of oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat, then place the dumplings in the pan and fry until golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Pour ¼ cup water into the pan, cover to trap steam, and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow dumplings to steam until the water has evaporated, then remove cover, increase heat to medium-high and fry for a few more minutes, until the dumplings are evenly browned on the bottom. Serve immediately.

Notes

• *I prefer the texture of soy curls, as they’re meatier/chewier, but if you’re using tofu, be sure to press it to drain out excess moisture before you crumble it into the filling.
• My favorite dipping sauce is a combination of Chinkiang vinegar (or rice vinegar) + soy sauce + chili oil.