Hearty Vegetable Dumplings

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Skip the store-bought dumplings this time and try making your own.

Dean and I have been spending our date nights leaning into simple, tactile rituals, things we can do with our hands, side by side. Dumpling-making has become one of them. It’s grounding, quietly connecting, and leaves us with something nourishing for the days ahead. This is a slow and grounding recipe to make with friends or a loved-one.

Quite a few of you asked for the recipe, so here it is. It’s simple, nourishing, and so heartwarming to make at an unhurried pace, especially if you’ve got friends or family in the kitchen with you.

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INGREDIENTS

Serves: 10-15 persons

Time: 20 minutes prep | 20+ minutes wrapping

Wrappers Frozen Rice paper dumpling wrappers or Egg-free wheat wrappers (about 80–100 pcs)

Baking Paper (have plenty ready and handy)

Filling

1/2 small cabbage

2 medium carrots

2 cups textured vegetable protein

Ginger (about a 2-3cm cube )

3 tbsp soy sauce

Salt to taste

3 Tbsp Chinese Five Spice

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METHOD

Prepare your Textured Vegetable Protein Begin by soaking your TVP in salted hot water for about 10 minutes, then lightly squeeze out excess liquid before sauteing the TVP with five spice mix. Set aside in a bowl. In the meantime, if your wrappers are frozen, let them thaw gently in the

Prepare your Vegetables Next, finely dice the carrots and cabbage and place them together in a large mixing bowl. Peel and finely dice the ginger and keep it aside.

Heat a large pan on high and, once hot (a few drops of water should dance on the surface), sauté the ginger until fragrant. Add the carrots and cook briefly, then the cabbage, letting everything soften lightly. Stir through the soy sauce and cook for another few minutes so the flavours come together. Turn off the heat and add to your TVP mixing bowl. Fold gently to mix.

Allow the filling to cool, this makes wrapping much easier.

Set up and Wrap

Set up a relaxed wrapping station with a plate and a small bowl of water per person for sealing. Line containers with baking paper and have your thawed wrappers ready.

Place a small heaped teaspoon of filling in each wrapper (make sure you drain out excessive liquid) and fold however you like (there are many fun styles, allow YouTube to guide you). As you finish each dumpling, lay them in the lined containers without letting them touch. Add a layer of baking paper between layers so they don’t stick.

Storage and Cooking

Steam, pan-fry, or freeze for later. Have with a side sauce, in your soups or laksas. Dean and I love sprinkling some toasted sesame seeds on top of ours. If pan-frying, make sure you ensure your pan is hot enough (a few drops of water should dance on the surface) before pan frying your dumplings to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Alternatively, you can drizzle the pan lightly with toasted sesame oil.

If freezing, consume within 3 months. Dumpling-making can be surprisingly meditative when you settle into the rhythm of it.

We hope you love this recipe

Love, Christine

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