By Genevieve Ko
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- 4(1,258)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Great dumplings are as much about texture as taste, and these double the welcome contrast of tenderness and crunch. Simultaneously fried and steamed in a covered skillet, the wrappers develop crackling brown bases, while the tops become delicately chewy. Inside, the crunch of spicy chile crisp punctuates soft tofu and greens. Wringing water out of both fillings first allows them to soak in the soy sauce and chile crisp and ensures the filling doesn’t end up watery or bland. Another benefit to this vegan filling is the ability to taste it raw and adjust the seasonings before wrapping.
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Ingredients
Yield:About 35 dumplings
- 8ounces firm tofu, cut into ¼-inch slices
- 6ounces spinach, watercress or baby bok choy, finely chopped (3 cups)
- 3ounces garlic chives or scallions, thinly sliced (1 cup)
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 2celery stalks, finely chopped (½ cup)
- 1tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for serving
- 1tablespoon chile crisp, plus more for serving
- 35homemade dumpling wrappers or store-bought round wrappers
- Grapeseed or other neutral oil, for frying
- Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar and sesame oil, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (35 servings)
31 calories; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 35 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Arrange the tofu slices in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel or between double layers of paper towels. Roll tightly in the towel as if rolling a sleeping bag, then squeeze it over the sink to remove as much liquid as possible. Let stand 10 minutes for the tofu to continue releasing liquid. If the towel gets soaked, transfer the tofu to another dry towel.
Step
2
Toss the spinach, chives and salt in a colander. Let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze the greens in the colander over the sink to release as much liquid as possible. Transfer the greens mixture to a large bowl. Add the drained tofu, squeezing it to crumble into bits as you add it, then mix evenly with the greens. Add the celery, soy sauce and chile crisp, and stir until evenly mixed. Taste, and add more soy sauce and chile crisp, if you’d like. The filling on its own should be very flavorful because the wrappers are not seasoned at all.
Step
3
Set up a dumpling assembly line with the bowl of filling, wrappers and a small bowl of water. Using a dessert spoon or other small spoon, scoop a mound of filling, then press it against the side of the bowl into a tiny football. Set the filling in the center of one wrapper. Use your fingertip to dampen the edges with water. Bring together the sides over the filling to enclose in a half-moon. Pinch the center together, then press the edges together to seal, pleating decoratively if you’d like. Sit the dumpling upright on your work surface. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. Cook immediately or freeze in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until hard, then transfer to airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Step
4
You can cook as many or as few dumplings at a time as you’d like. Choose your pan size accordingly: An 8-inch skillet will fit 8 to 10; a 10-inch will fit 14 to 16. When ready to cook, coat a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or nonstick skillet with a thin, even layer of oil. Arrange the dumplings in the pan, pleated side up, spacing ⅓ inch apart, and filling the pan. Add enough cold water to the pan to come ⅓ inch up the sides (about ¼ cup for an 8-inch pan; ½ cup for a 10-inch).
Step
5
Cover the skillet and cook over medium until the rapid firecracker popping diminishes to a steady, low crackle, indicating that all the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Uncover and check to see if the bottoms are browned and the dough is slightly translucent all the way to the top. If so, remove from the heat. If not, cook uncovered 1 to 2 minutes longer. Let stand for a minute so the dumplings release from the skillet naturally. Transfer to a plate, browned side up. Make your own dipping sauce with any combination of soy sauce, chile crisp, vinegar and sesame oil, and enjoy with the hot dumplings.
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Cooking Notes
Ellen
What is chili crisp?
Al Eugene
Chili Crisp is kind of a condiment: a mixture of shallots, garlic and spicy peppers that are cooked in oil until crisp. Then drained and added to more spices, soy, sugar, anise, cinnamon, etc. and re-introduced to the oil to marinate. It can be jarred for a long while. There are a lot of variations. I landed on this version. It has a slight Chinese 5 spice slant.https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/chili-crisp/
Alex
It is so wonderful. Basically, it's deep fried chilis and garlic packed in oil. It comes in a jar and is often found in Chinese grocery stores, although I've seen it in some mainstream ones lately too. The brand I like is called Lao Gan Ma. There are recipes online to make your own too (Serious Eats has one), but the jarred stuff is so good it hardly seems worth it.
Bob
Having watched these cooked before me in Tokyo, I do it a bit differently. I place the dumplings in the pan with oil uncovered. When the bottoms of the dumplings are a deep golden brown add water and cover until the water is absorbed.
Michelle
It's such a small amount of filing, it cooks quickly (even if you were using ground meat in the filling). Just make sure to follow the instructions for getting the water out of the tofu and veggies before mixing them together so that you don't have soggy dumplings.
RoLo
Wanted to add, for anyone who's unfamiliar with chili crisp + who has to avoid peanuts, the original Lao Gan Ma (aka the "co*ke" of chili crisp) contains peanuts, a detail not often mentioned when people describe this condiment. There's now such a variety of chili crisp products + recipes online that a nut allergy shouldn't be a hindrance (and if you live with severe nut allergies you're probably used to checking labels anyway), but I thought it worth mentioning all the same.
Prakash Nadkarni
The simplest chili crisp recipe is at bonappetit.com/recipe/chile-crisp(you can substitute 1 medium onion for the 4 shallot). You can make it in under 40 minutes. Some versions add crushed Sichuan peppercorns (1-2 tsp in the above recipe): others also sneak in 1 tsp MSG or 1 crushed bouillon cube. You may want to add a LITTLE salt to the recipe: a particularly vile commercial brand adds a heroic amount.This stuff is very versatile: it's good enough to eat even with plain rice.
Jim Liu
To make your dumplings more crunchy don't add water to the pan when first frying, just oil. Brown the dumplings on two sides, then add 1 tablespoon of water and cover, If you want a chewy dumpling skin, add a small amount of vinegar/water and cover. The water will cook the dumpling filing irrespective of meat or vegetarian filing. I have made this for over twenty years. It is much better than the traditional restaurant dumplings.
Dash
It’s not authentic but Trader Joe’s now has their own chili crisp. It’s delicious and will work if you don’t have an Asian grocery nearby.
Libby in Georgia
The filling was absolutely fantastic. I used collards and sliced them very thin - they are drier than many other greens and gave off very little liquid. I also used an entire block of tofu (14 oz) because it was easier, and then adjusted the seasoning a bit. But my family loved it (including 2 somewhat greens-reluctant teenagers). Enough filling to make a second batch for the freezer, which feels like money in the bank!
Susan
Chili crisp is a chili infused oil with crunchy bits of the chili's left in. You can make your own, just Google it...Just don't breathe the fumes of the oil, or you'll send your lungs. I won't tell you how I know.
Chelsea
First batch was lackluster - on the second batch I doubled the chili crisp, added about 6 cloves fresh garlic, a tablespoon of white miso, and two tablespoons of harissa to the second batch and they had much more depth and spice
jd2711
Has anyone tried with meat vs tofu? Any idea on the amounts?
Carl
I discovered chili crisp last year and now put it on almost everything. The condiment I never knew I needed. the bon appetit recipe is excellent.
sumwug
@Ellen, it’s a condiment that has recently become enormously popular. I received a jar for the holidays, and I am a convert: it’s simply delicious. This recipe sounds like a great use for it. (It must be in many stores, but I bought mine online.)
Nat
Made with kale (with stems finely sliced) instead of celery and bok choy and it came out great!
David Gordon
Wonderful texture and flavor. Prep time longer than expected.
Molly
I was afraid these would be a little boring, but they are not! Quite delicious, and I recommend a dipping sauce of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce (about 1:1) with a dollop of chili crisp to taste. Yum!I'm a dumpling novice, and perhaps the rest of you amateurs out there can learn from my mistake - chop everything FINELY. Smallish won't do when it comes to getting your dumplings to stuff well and seal up nicely. Those spinach leave will fight you all the way otherwise.
Celeste Onorati
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made them today. I used bok choy, scallions, tofu and all the rest of your ingredients. The perfect prettymoney pockets. Delicious!!! Happy Lunar New Year 🎉
Samantha
These were absolutely fantastic. I don’t like celery so I replaced with carrots (an homage to my favorite veggie dumplings from Joe’s Peking Duck House in Philly Chinatown). I’m in Japan and the Japanese version of chili crisp I used probably isn’t as good as homemade, but I’ll definitely make this again and make my own chili crisp next time.
JZ
Surprisingly (?), chili crisp keeps quite well in the freezer! I keep a small jar of it for future use and it works and tastes just as fab as a fresh batch.
Wendy
Agreed with others that filling needed a little more oomph. Added a bit more soy and chile crisp, as well as mashed garlic, grated ginger, and 1 T white miso per suggestions. Also added some chopped water chestnuts for even more crunch. Really good!
Lyn Jay
A lot of work for a meh dumpling. Needs more chili crisp in the filling.
Charlotte B
I made this two days in a row with homemade wrappers and they were outstanding. I wasn’t great at forming the dumplings though, so I tried sandwiching filling between two flattened rounds of dough and rolling them into delicate, flaky pancakes. I know it’s not traditional, but I used olive oil to fry them. I liked the pancake version even better than the dumplings!
charlie
Can I steam these instead of fry them? How long do they last in the fridge?
PGregory
Trader Joes chili crisp is delicious and worked well with this recipe!
Joanne
Ahh many new Chili Crisp store additions since these comments. My jar go-to now is WuJu. so good - hadn't thought about using it with dumplings yet. on my next list!
Addie
I substituted cooked shrimp for tofu. However I could not get the water/oil ratio correct. They came out soggy and also crispy at the same time. Not sure I will try again. I gave up after several failed batches and briefly sauteed the filling and served it over rice - which was great.
jmack
My goodness! So many paper towels! I don't even keep them in my kitchen anymore. Use a kitchen towel - and save a tree.
nick
NB for the spice-averse: try S&B Chili Oil with Crunchy Garlic, a Japanese brand that's mild but very flavorful. It's on Amazon if you cannot find it locally. (My favorite use for it is in "gussied up" ramen. Cook your basic Top Ramen, add a handful of baby spinach to wilt, then mix in an egg as you would for egg-drop soup. Add a generous dollop of this chili crisp on top, drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. Fast, delish, healthy-ish.)
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