These gyoza dumplings are one of my favorite dishes. My family and I love it so much that we often make about a hundred of these dumplings at a time to enjoy for dinner and the next few days too. These dumplings freeze really well to enjoy throughout the next few weeks as well.
Traditionally, gyoza dumplings are made with meat, leek, and sometimes other ingredients as well. This vegan tofu gyoza recipe includes a variety of vegetables and ingredients which make it a small pouch full of flavor and textures.
The process of cutting the ingredients and individually wrapping each dumpling can be a hassle but once you try this recipe, it will be all worth it! I like to chop the vegetables and other ingredients by hand because it seems to taste better for some reason but putting it in a food processor could speed up the process and can make it much easier.
I show how I wrap the dumplings in my video but it does not need to be wrapped in that way. As I was growing up, my younger brother and I used to have fun making all kinds of shapes and sizes and it was delicious any way! There are also many tutorials and videos of really unique and cool ways you can wrap these. I just do it in this way because it fits really well in a round pan and the way it is wrapped helps keep the yummy vegetable flavors and everything inside while cooking.
Things you will need:
Firm tofu - It is important for you to get the firm one because the softer ones will be difficult to wrap in the gyoza skin.
Gyoza skin - You can often find these at asian grocery stores. They usually come in packs of 50 skins. There are also many recipes online on making these from scratch yourself.
Garlic chives (Nira) - These garlic chives give a special flavor to the dumplings that I can’t go without. If you can find these, often at asian markets, it will make the dumplings much better!
Green onion - I like green onions and put quite a lot in this recipe but if you are not a big fan, you adjust it to your liking.
Shiitake mushroom - The shiitake mushrooms give the dumplings great umami flavor.
Cabbage - You can either use regular cabbage, Chinese cabbage or both. In this recipe I used regular cabbage but it is delicious with Chinese cabbage or both of them.
Lotus root - Lotus is one of the key ingredients next to the tofu. The rest of the ingredients become soft when cooked so it adds a nice contrast and crunch to the dumpling. I’ve heard others adding walnuts instead because they can’t find lotus roots but if you can find it, I recommend not skipping this ingredient.
Carrots
Veggie/seaweed broth - I used a powdered version to prevent the stuffing from becoming watery and difficult to wrap in the gyoza skin. If you do not have a powdered version, you can skip this or you can possibly use the liquid broth when cooking the dumplings instead (I use water when cooking the dumplings).
Ginger - The ginger makes the dumplings have a very slight spiciness. If you do not like spiciness at all, you should probably adjust the amount of ginger.
Garlic - I’m a big garlic fan so I put a lot of garlic in this recipe. So please adjust if you do not like garlic as much. I like to use raw garlic but powdered garlic works as well.
Salt
Black pepper
Soy Sauce - You can substitute this with liquid aminos or other alternatives if desired.
Rice Vinegar - I do prefer rice vinegar for the dipping sauce but other vinegars could work also. Please let me know what worked for you!
Red chili oil - I use a Japanese red chili oil called Rayu.
Sesame oil - Sesame oil gives the dumplings a wonderful addition to the flavor and gives the dumpling a nice crisp bottom.
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This recipe makes about 50 gyozas.
Ingredients: Gyoza dumpling -
½ pack of firm tofu
1 pack of gyoza skin (50 skins) ½ pack of garlic chives
1 - 2 green onions
3 shiitake mushrooms
¼ medium cabbage
¼ medium lotus root
1 carrot
1 tbsp ginger
½ tsp salt
1 pack of powdered veggie/seaweed broth
1 - 2 cloves of garlic ( or ½ tbsp garlic powder)
2 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp black pepper Dipping sauce -
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Few drops (or to taste) of chili oil/ rayu
Instructions:
1. Drain liquid from the tofu package and wrap the tofu with a paper towel or a cloth towel to soak up remaining liquid. Place in a bowl and then a weight (or something heavy) on top to get all excess water out. Change paper towel or cloth towel if necessary. Get as much liquid out as possible. Leave weight on while cutting the vegetables.
2. Chop garlic chives, green onions, shiitake mushroom, cabbage, lotus root, carrots, and ginger as small as possible. (You can use a food processor for this as well.)
3. Once everything is chopped and added to a large bowl, add salt and mix. This allows the water to come out of vegetables. Squeezing the vegetables helps this process as well.
4. After a few minutes, squeeze out the water outside the bowl to discard any liquid. I like to take handfuls of chopped veggies, squeeze the liquid out into a sink or bowl, and get a new additional large bowl where I can separate the chopped veggies that have been squeezed into it (which separates the squeezed and not squeezed). Whatever process works the best for you is wonderful. The idea is to get as much liquid out as possible!
5. In the bowl of squeezed chopped veggies, add grated ginger, broth powder, garlic (or garlic powder), pepper, and sesame oil and mix.
6. Then, unwrap the tofu that has been drained out and add to the bowl.
7. Mix until everything is well combined. I recommend using your hands to mix really well.
8. Finally, you can wrap the dumplings! Prepare a small cup of water to put a bit on the edges of the dumpling skin. For each dumpling skin, put about 1 tbsp of filling (this can vary to size of skin). I dip my finger in the cup of water and slightly wet the edges of the dumpling for it to stick to each other to prevent the inside from coming out. The fold skin in the middle like a taco, allowing the filling to be inside and seal the edges. I like to additionally fold one side in like a ribbon so that the dumpling curls in like a moon shape. (Watch video for reference.)
9. Once all the dumplings are wrapped, in a pan spread some sesame oil to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the pan. Then, place the dumplings in a pan.
10. After placing the dumplings in the pan, turn the heat to medium high and cook until the bottom is golden brown.
11. Once golden brown, turn the heat to low, pour about ¼ cup of water, and cover with a lid.
12. Cook on low heat until you start to see through the dumpling skin (about 10 minutes). The green and orange color from the vegetables should be more visible once it is cooked.
13. Then, take the lid off and let the remaining water evaporate and the bottom of the dumpling should be crisp.
14. Enjoy the dumplings with soy sauce and rice vinegar. If you want a little spice, add a few drops of chili oil for a perfect dipping sauce!
15. These dumplings should be kept in the fridge after it cools and be eaten in a few days. They can also be frozen after they are cooled, which makes them last longer.
Please let me know what you think or if you have any questions in the comments! And if you try the recipe and post it, make sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see it :)
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