Tofu jiaozi for Tuesday

Tuesdays are vegetarian days for me, my small shot at self discipline. So when Vaishali announced her vegan Chinese challenge, I though it would be a wonderful thing to try for Tuesday dinner. It would be a wonderful way to curb that Chinese craving I have been having ever since I read about the challenge.

During her trip to my place last month, Xiaoying had taught me to make pork dumplings (jiaozi)the way she used to, in Shanghai. It was just a simple matter of a proper protein substitute to veganize it. I must admit that it turned out really really well.
This dish goes to Its a vegan world: Chinese at Vaishali’s site.

Tofu dumplings

Wrapper: I used store bought wrappers, but I have made jiaozi wrappers with flour, and water, mixed to make a stiff dough, and rolled out into thin, 3.5" circles.

Filling (for about 10-12 dumplings):
1/2 cup Soft tofu
1/2 cup Cabbage (Napa is the best, but even the usual cabbage will work) chopped real fine.
1/2 inch ginger piece, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 serrano/thai pepper (optional and depends on how hot you want the dumpling to be)
1 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste

Mix the filling ingredients.

Take a wrapper, and place about a tablespoon filling to one side of the circle. Moisten the edge of the circle. Fold the other side of the circle and seal. You can either pinch the edges to make it nice and frilly or use a fork to press the edge.

Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a pot. Add a few dumplings to the water. Wait till the dumplings rise to the surface. Add cold water, bring it back to a boil. By this time, the dumplings should be ready to be taken out.

Serve hot with a mix of soy sauce and sriracha hot sauce.

If there are leftovers, you can refrigerate it, and then just pan fry before you serve again. Dont microwave.