Excerpted with permission from Kung Food by Jon Kung; Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright 2023 by Jonathan Kung. All rights reserved.
Vegetable and Tofu Dumplings
Yield: 24 dumplings
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ (14-ounce) block extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled as finely as possible
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 small red or yellow bell pepper, minced as finely as possible
- 3 button or cremini mushrooms, stemmed and minced as finely as possible
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon MSG or mushroom bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 24 dumpling wrappers, circular or square
- Dumpling Dipping Sauce (recipe below), black vinegar, or chili crisp, for serving
Procedure:
- In a large bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons cool tap water until smooth. Add the tofu, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, MSG, and sesame oil and mix with clean hands until uniform in texture.
- Set a small bowl of water on your work surface. Place the dumpling wrappers on a cutting board and use a small spoon to add about 2 teaspoons of the filling to the center of each wrapper.
- This is the simplest way to fold: Dip a finger into the water and moisten the edges of the bottom half of the wrapper, then fold the top over the bottom, enclosing the filling while pushing out any trapped air. Press on the edges to seal. You can moisten and pleat the sealed edges, if desired. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
- Proceed to steam, boil, pan-fry, or deep-fry the dumplings. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.
Dumpling Dipping Sauce
Yield: ¼ cup
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons chili oil
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 large garlic clove, smashed
Procedure:
- Stir the chili oil, soy sauce, and garlic together in a small bowl. Remove the garlic clove before serving, or don’t.