>U Mom Knows Best: Plant Based Chinese Dumplings With Spicy Chile Sauce

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Plant Based Chinese Dumplings With Spicy Chile Sauce

Forget the take-out restaurant for dumplings. Learn how easy they are to make at home.


 One of my favorite places to eat is always some type of Oriental restaurant. I like these eating establishments as they have unique foods that are not that simple to make at home. Also, the meals come with plenty of vegetables. So I am glad that my husband also enjoys eating Chinese and Thai food so he always agrees with me when I select these restaurants. I enjoy the food so much that I always want to eat it again later that week. The problem is the leftovers go fast, my husband takes them in his lunch for work. So I have to always recreate the delicious Chinese meals at home.

 Last month I recreated the Pad Thai dish that I had on New Year's day at the local Thai restaurant. I made my recipe into a keto recipe so it was healthier. Check out my Keto Pad Thai recipe Here. Several years ago, I learned how to make vegetarian egg foo young and fried rice. I now make egg foo young several times a month as it is so easy to make. Yes, these dishes take longer to make than picking up Chinese food but it is so much cheaper to make Chinese meals at home.

  
So my latest Oriental craving started with seeing a plant-based recipe on Oprah's website for Chinese dumplings. Her recipe or should I say her chef's recipe for potstickers had ingredients in it that I could not serve to my family. The recipe had beets and eggplant in it. These are vegetables that I love but not my family. So I decided to modify Oprah's plant-based Chinese dumpling recipe with ingredients that I knew my family would enjoy. I omitted ingredients and added different vegetables. This was the first time that I had made and tasted potstickers. I have never tried the potstickers at my favorite Chinese place because they have meat in them and I do not eat meat. Potstickers just look so delicious to me and anything that comes with a dipping sauce has my vote or should I say taste buds.

Chinese Dumplings are easy to make


 Chinese dumplings are not that hard to make. Sure, it does take time to make the filling and fold all the little bundles of goodness. These dumplings remind me of tamales as both take some time to assemble but it is so worth it. Once you get the hang of folding the wonton wrappers, you will see that homemade potstickers are so worth the time. The plus side of making them at home is that you can make the potstickers vegan, try ordering plant-based Chinese dumplings at a Chinese restaurant.

Round wonton wrappers are better


 I prefer using round wonton wrappers for my dumplings but square wonton wrappers work just fine. You can find wonton wrappers in the produce section at your grocery store. My store only had the square wonton wrappers so my Chinese dumplings may look different from what you find at the Oriental restaurant. I need to make a shopping trip to the international store to stock up on my favorite Chinese ingredients like bean sprouts, seaweed, ramen, and specialty sauces. Do you have an Oriental store near you? If so what are your favorite ingredients to buy?

If your wonton wrapper is round, fold the wrapper over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.



How to fold square wonton wrappers


  If you can only find the square wonton wrappers, don't fret as folding them for the dumplings is not that hard. You just have to fold them in a different way. The best way to make the dumplings with square wonton wrappers is to lay the wonton so it looks like a diamond shape. Then add a tablespoon of filling to the center of the wonton. After moistening the edges of the wonton wrapper, fold it over to look like a triangle, make sure to press on the edges so they stick to each other. Then grab the corners of the wonton and fold them over to look like a purse. Then press the edges together. The first couple of wonton wrappers may seem hard to fold but you will get the hang of it. Don't worry too much about how your dumplings look as they will still taste so delicious.


Freeze the dumplings for later


These Chinese dumplings freeze so well and can be cooked at a later time. So you can make a double batch of the potstickers and freeze some of them for later. Just place the uncooked dumplings in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Then place the dumplings in a ziplock baggie, where they can be frozen for up to 3 months.


Steaming the wonton dumplings


You have several options when it comes to cooking the Chinese dumplings. You can pan-fry, steam, or boil them. I like the pan-fry and steam method the best and it gives the dumplings a nice brown bottom. My recipe has this method but if you want to just steam the dumplings, just place them in a steamer basket in a simmering pot of water for eight minutes. To boil the dumplings just toss them into your favorite broth-based soup for wonton soup.

Potstickers need dipping sauces


The best part of eating Chinese potstickers is dipping them into sweet chili sauce or soy sauce. I included an easy-to-make recipe for the sweet chili sauce in my below recipe. For the chili part of the recipe, I used crushed red pepper flakes. The best crushed red pepper flakes come from the pizza place. So next time you order a takeout pizza, make sure to ask for the red pepper. They always give you way too many packages of red pepper so stick the extra packages in your fridge for later. The extra-sweet chili sauce can be used on ramen noodles or cooked vegetables.

 So now that you have learned how to make potstickers, you need to make these with other Oriental dishes for a complete homemade Chinese takeout meal. You could just serve these delicious Chinese potsticker dumplings with a bowl of rice or you can serve them with a homemade vegetarian egg foo young and Keto Pad Thai. I included the links for these delicious recipes below.


Make my homemade vegetarian egg foo young!

https://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/12/vegetarian-egg-foo-young.html

Make my Keto Pad Thai


https://www.momknowsbest.net/2020/01/keto-friendly-pad-thai-with-malaysia.html


Make sure to Pin this recipe so you can make it later!


Plant Based Chinese Dumplings With Spicy Chile Sauce

Plant Based Chinese Dumplings With Spicy Chile Sauce

Yield: 36
Author:
prep time: cook time: total time:
Skip the take-out order, Chinese Dumplings (also commonly known as potstickers), are easy to make and taste much better when you make them homemade!

ingredients:

dumpling filling
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 12 ounces plant-based ground meat, I like Lightlife
  • 1 cup green cabbage leaves, finely shredded
  • 1/2 cup green onions, minced
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 36 wonton wrappers
  • small bowl water for assembling the dumplings
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking the dumplings
sweet chili sauce
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce 
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  •  2 tablespoons water

instructions:

How to cook Plant Based Chinese Dumplings With Spicy Chile Sauce

To make the dumplings
  1. Heat the olive oil and sesame in a pan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute.
  3. Then add the remaining ingredients, except the wonton wrappers, small bowl of water, and additional olive oil. Stir and cook the ingredients for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the plant-based ground meat is slightly cooked.
  4. To assemble to wontons: Clear a large space and gather wonton wrappers, prepared filling, and the small bowl of water.
  5. Begin by filling the middle of a wonton wrapper with about a tablespoons worth of pork filling. Wet your finger, and run along the edges of the wonton wrapper. .
  6. If your wrapper is round, fold the wrapper over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal. If your wrapper is square, then fold the edges into a triangle. Then fold once more, see the step by step images of how I fold my dumplings in the above photos.
  7. Repeat the process until all wonton wrappers are filled. Once you have filled the dumplings you can freeze them or cook them.
  8. Heat a large frypan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and place dumplings in an even layer. Fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden.
  9. Add 1/3 cup of water and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and serve with soy sauce and sweet chili sauce.
To make the sweet chili sauce
  1. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic cloves, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes to a non-stick pan.
  2. Heat over medium heat while stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
  3. Let it cook for a few minutes until it’s slightly thickened (3 minutes)
  4. Mix the cornstarch and water together and add this to the sauce as well.
  5. While stirring frequently (to prevent the sauce from burning at the bottom), simmer the sauce for a further 3 minutes or until it reaches the desired thickness.  If it thickens too much, add a little extra water to thin it out. 
  6. Cool to room temperature and store in the fridge.
Created using The Recipes Generator

34 comments:

AiringMyLaundry said...

Yum, this looks so good! I've always liked dumplings so I'll be sure to try these out.

Kay Flawless said...

We made some like this when we were in Vietnam, they are lovely!

Chad said...

I never thought doing dumplings from scratch would be that easy! This is soooo exciting! Will do this over the weekend for sure.

Jaredamy said...

Yummy! This recipe looks so delish! I love Chinese foods like dumplings. The sauce makes it even better.

Kathy said...

I love dumplings. I have never tried making them myself before though. I'm really looking forward to trying out your recipe.

Brandy Ellen said...

I am thinking that my oldest would love to try these plante based chinese dumplings. They sound delightful.

Heidi@OneCreativeMommy.com said...

Oh, these look so good! I wish I could find a gluten free wonton wrapper. I love these, but I have to make mine gluten free for my family.

Marie at Complete Literature said...

Very nice! Funny thing, we actually made homemade from-scratch chinese as well. We had chinese fried rice that actually was very close to the real thing. And we also made chicken lo mein.

Passion Piece said...

I love this kind of dumplings, especially in a company of a spicy sauce. I'll give this recipe a try for sure! :)

Lisa Joy Thompson said...

These look amazing! I haven't made potstickers at home before, but I feel like I need to give them a try!

Heather said...

My family would be so impressed if I made these! They really like dumplings but I've never made them on my own before. Definitely going to try!

Gust si Aroma said...

How inviting these dumplings look! The perfect appetizer for my family!

Eileen M Loya said...

I make dumplings very often. My son always asks me to make it. I have not tried making plant based dumplings though. I will see if I can get these ingredients in our grocery store or maybe I can check the Healthy Options outlet store nearby. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

GiGi Eats said...

Well you certainly made these perfectly!! They look like full envelopes! ha ha!

Fatima D Torres said...

This recipe reminds me of my cousin. He used to eat dumplings often when we were younger. Curious if he'd be interested in this version since he's vegan now. Sharing with him.

Ruth I said...

I've got to try this recipe! I love dumplings and this looks so good! Yum!

Ckrusch said...

It looks amazing and so easy to make! My son loves dumplings and I can't wait to try it!

Why Girls Are Weird said...

Oh my goodness those look SO GOOD, they're making my mouth water! Totally going to try this recipe out. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!

Candace Hampton said...

I love dumplings! The fact that they are plant based is definitely appealing. I never knew what kind of meat was inside them exactly, lol! This would be a cute thing to make as a couple.

Nina said...

i love dumplings, this is a nice twist using plant based ingredients ! thats clever

Prime Beauty said...

Wow I had no idea Chinese dumplings were so easy to make! They even better with plant-based ingredients!

Mom Knows Best said...

I so agree about the plant-based ingredients as I dont eat meat.

Mom Knows Best said...

I like to think of them as mini egg rolls

Mom Knows Best said...

That is a tough one as the wonton wrappers contain wheat. I looked gluten free dumpling recipes up and there are some that are made from a rice dough. I wonder if rice paper would work?

Kathy said...

These look so good. I love dumplings. I have never made them before though. I can't wait to try these.

Monica Simpson said...

I would love to try these! I have been wanting to incoporate more plant based meals into our home.

Richelle Escat said...

Sounds great to try since it's plant based. And they look so cute!

Beth said...

I love dumplings. My town`s common food is dumplings and we always go out to eat but now I can make my own at home. Thanks to your recipe

Tammy said...

Confession time. I've never had a dumpling. These look so good and doesn't seem hard to make.

Fatima D Torres said...

You had me at Spicy! I love anything with a kick.

Sarah Bailey said...

Now this sounds absolutely delicious - love a little bit of spice!

Swathi said...

This looks delicious I love this plant based Chinese dumplings.

mail4rosey said...

I might try boiling them and tossing them into wonton soup. That sounds good.

melissa cushing said...

These look absolutely delicious and I would love to try them! Amazing recipe and pinning this one ;)

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