Pan-Fried Bok Choy Dumplings (Vegan)
Two-toned Chinese spinach dumplings, stuffed with a juicy mushroom and bok choy filling and pan-fried to a golden-brown crisp.
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 35 1x
- Category: Sides and Appetizers
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
Dough
White wrappers:
- 1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 tbsp cold water
Green wrappers:
- 1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves, packed
Filling
-
1/2 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 1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
- 4 scallions, finely chopped, both green and white parts
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- 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 tbsp cold water and knead for 5 minutes until it forms a ball. This is the white dough.
Blend spinach with 1/4 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 1/2 cup liquid. Add to the second flour and salt mixture, and knead into a ball. This is the green dough.
-
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.
- 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.
- 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 1/4 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.
Find it online: https://theplantbasedwok.com/pan-fried-bok-choy-dumplings-vegan/