These super flavorful and delicious vegan dumplings, aka gyoza, are incredibly quick & easy to make ! Healthy & are freezable too.
Have you tried making your own homemade dumplings yet ? If not, you are definitely missing out ! These vegan dumplings are filled with tofu and tons of veggies, and they are so much fresher and better-tasting when compared to the frozen ones.
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🥟What you will need
📓Notes / Substitutions
- To make them oil-free, omit the sesame oil in the sauce and use ¼ cup of broth or water to saute the fillings instead. As for the dumplings, sear them without oil, or you can boil them instead.
- To make vegan gyoza gluten-free, use gluten-free wrappers. Also make sure that your soy sauce is free from gluten, or simply substitute it with tamari.
- Dried shiitake mushrooms can be substituted with fresh ones.
- Make sure to use extra firm tofu that had been pressed and drained.
- You can make your own whole wheat wrappers to make this wfpb.
🔪How to make
Vegan dumpling filling
If you have yet to do so, press your tofu either by using a tofu press or by stacking something heavy on top. Do check out this article on how to press tofu for a more in depth instructions.
Soak the dry shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes to rehydrate. Then, slice them up thinly.
Using a fork or your hands, crumble up the tofu into tiny pieces. Set aside.
Make the stir-fry sauce by combining everything needed.
In a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, heat up a tablespoon of neutral oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and ginger. Saute for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Next, add in the cabbage and carrot. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until veggies have soften, stirring frequently.
Next, add in crumbled tofu together with sauce and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until tofu is thoroughly heated. The filling will be slightly saltier to compensate for the bland dumpling wrappers.
Wrapping dumplings
Here, I will be teaching you the easiest way to fold dumplings , which is by simply folding them into half-moon shape.
Prepare a small dish filled with water before starting. Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of filling and place it right in the middle of the wrapper.
Using you fingertip, wet the edges with water. Then, fold them into half and seal it by gentle pinching the edges from one side to another, until the dumpling is tightly sealed. Then, lightly pat it on the bottom on countertop so that it can stand on itself.
Repeat until the filling is used up, and you should get about 25-30 dumplings.
Steam-frying them
To cook vegan dumplings, start by heating up a tablespoon of oil in a cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the dumplings in and cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring, until they are nicely seared at the bottom.
Next, pour in ¼ cup of water and place the lid on. Let it steam for 6-8 minutes, or until the water has dry up. Open the lid and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to crisp them up.
Serve vegan gyoza immediately along with the Chinese dipping sauce. Enjoy while hot !
❕Other helpful tips
- Chop the veggies for filling into fairly small pieces - it will make the wrapping process harder if you have big chunks of veggies and will risk tearing the dumpling wrappers. Hence, I recommend finely slicing or grating your veggies.
- Covering wrappers with a wet tea cloth after opening - This will help prevent them for drying out, which will cause them to be more brittle and fragile.
- Do not worry about perfectly wrapped dumplings - There might be tons of wrapping technique that looks more elegant and pretty than folding them into half-moons, but don't stress about it because regardless of how they look, they will still be really yummy. 😉 If you are looking to step up your wrapping game, I recommend checking out this article on " 10 ways to fold dumplings ".
🥗How to serve
- Add them to veggie and tofu stir-fry. To do so, cook the dumplings as per instruction, then set aside. Make your stir-fry and add the vegan dumplings in right before plating and serving them up.
- Serve them with a side of brown rice salad pack in those extra veggies.
- Or, you can pair them with some rice paper rolls if you prefer to eat your salad this way.
- Toss them into your favorite soup like miso soup or Korean tofu soup.
- Lastly, you can just simply eat them on its own with a Chinese dipping sauce ! ( Recipe for sauce in provided in the recipe card. )
❔Commonly asked questions
This might be because you have overcrowded the pan. As the wrappers will absorb moisture during the cooking process, they will turn gummy hence causing the vegan dumplings to stick to one another. To fix this, simple cook them in smaller batches and make sure that they are not touching each other.
It is not necessary as you can simply cook them frozen using the steam-fry method. To do so, heat up about a tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium heat, and place the vegan dumplings in one single layer.
Let it pan-fry until the bottoms are crispy and golden brown, for about 2-3 minutes before pouring in ¼ cup of water. Place the lid on and let it steam for 6-8 minutes, or until water has evaporated.
Open the lid and let it cook for another 1-2 minutes to really get that crispy golden crust at the bottom. It is then ready to be served !
Most of the dumplings wrappers are made from wheat flour and water, making them naturally vegan. Sometimes egg might be added them, so it is always recommended to read the ingredients label to make sure that they are free from animal products.
Wonton wrappers can definitely be used in place of dumpling wrappers, but you might want to cut them into rounds before using. Or not, you will end up with a rectangular-looking dumpling ! Not that it is a big deal as it will still taste the same.
Or, you can choose to make your own at home. All you need is some wheat flour and water. Check out this blog post to learn more on how to make your own dumpling wrappers.
Yes, these vegan dumplings keeps really well in the freezer, and can be frozen for 3 months. Freeze uncooked dumplings by first placing them on a single layer in a baking tray or large plate. Let it sit in the freezer for about an hour, or until they are frozen.
You can now transfer them into sealed containers or zip top bags of choice.
🍽More vegan Asian recipes
- Spicy Korean Gochujang Tofu
- Stir-fry Rice Vermicelli Noodles
- Chinese Seitan Stir-fry
- Thai Green Curry Fried Rice
If you did make this recipe, it will be awesome if you would leave a rating and review in the comments ! Do tag me on instagram @myplantifulcooking, I would really love to see your recreations. 🙂
📖 Recipe
Super Easy Vegan Dumplings / Gyoza
Ingredients
For the dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
For the dumplings
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 14 oz block extra firm tofu drained and pressed ( see notes )*
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 medium carrot shredded
- 4-6 dry shiitake mushrooms rehydrated ( see notes ) **
- 30 dumpling wrappers
Instructions
Making the dipping sauce
- Simply combine everything needed and mix well. Give it a taste and add more seasonings, if needed.
Vegan dumpling fillings
- Using a fork or your hands, crumble up the tofu into tiny pieces. Set aside.
- Make the stir-fry sauce by combining soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and maple syrup.
- In a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, heat up a tablespoon of neutral oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and ginger. Saute for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Next, add in the cabbage, carrot and mushrooms. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until veggies have soften, stirring frequently.
- Next, add in crumbled tofu together with sauce and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until tofu is thoroughly heated. The filling will be slightly saltier to compensate for the bland dumpling wrappers.
Wrapping dumplings
- Prepare a small dish filled with water before starting. Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of filling and place it right in the middle of the wrapper.
- Using you fingertip, wet the edges with water. Then, fold them into half and seal it by gentle pinching the edges from one side to another, until the dumpling is tightly sealed. Then, lightly pat it on the bottom on countertop so that it can stand on itself.
- Repeat until the filling is used up, and you should get about 25-30 dumplings.
Cooking them up
- To cook vegan dumplings, start by heating up a tablespoon of oil in a cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the dumplings in and cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring, until they are nicely seared at the bottom.
- Next, pour in ¼ cup of water and place the lid on. Let it steam for 6-8 minutes, or until the water has dry up. Open the lid and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to crisp them up.
- Serve immediately along with the Chinese dipping sauce. Enjoy while hot !
Notes
You can now transfer them into sealed containers or zip top bags of choice.
Join the discussion !