Kimchi & Tofu Dumplings + Dumpling sauce

These meatless kimchi dumplings pack in a lot of flavor and can spice up a boring ramen packet! You can boil these, pan fry or deep fry them.

I parboiled some bok choy, bean sprouts, added some kimchi, a bag of ramen and you’re all set! For an extra healthy flair, you can ditch the seasoning packet and add 1 tbs of miso paste instead and some Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Sate Sauce, recipe -here-.

*The key to these is to have the DRIEST ingredients, so make sure to press your tofu real good to remove any liquids, and to pat dry or evaporate most of the liquids in pan. Any excess liquids will make moist dumplings that will fall apart. When you fill your dumplings they have to be on the dry side. So if you need to pat/blot/press your entire mixture with paper towels then please do!

DUMPLING INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pack (7oz) Firm tofu forked into crumbles (basically about 1/2 cup of crumbled tofu)

• 1.5 tbs sesame oil

• 1/4 cup chopped shallots

• 3 garlic cloves minced/finely chopped

• 1/2 tbs minced ginger

• 1 cup of kimchi (drained and hand squeezed of all liquids then chopped into smaller pieces)

• 4 stalks scallions thinly sliced in diagonal slices (about half cup of chopped scallions)

• 1 tbs light soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 egg (lightly beaten)

• 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts, parboiled (~1.5 min); finely chopped

• 1/2 cup julienned carrots and chopped into smaller pieces

DIPPING SAUCE

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 1 scallion, sliced

• 4 clove garlic, minced

• 2 teaspoon minced ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

PREPARATION

1. Press the tofu 20 minutes to get rid of excess moisture (wrap the tofu in paper towels or a kitchen towel and press the tofu block between plates).

2. Wash and completely drain and pat dry bean sprouts, julienne carrots & chop into smaller pieces and set aside (the longer the better, let them dry out!).

3. Heat 1 tbs sesame oil in pan over medium heat. Add shallots until semi-cooked/transparent, then add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 2-3 min) then fold in drained & chopped kimchi and stir to get rid of any excess moisture and set aside.

4. Smash tofu in a large mixing bowl and press tofu with a large fork until you have tofu scrambles/crumbles and add to pan and pan fry for a few minutes over medium heat.

5. Add soy sauce, 1/2 tbs sesame oil, salt and black pepper to pan and cook until most of moisture has evaporated.

6. Transfer to large bowl and let cool. Then whip in egg, bean sprouts and carrots and mix well.

DUMPLINGS

1. Add 1 cup of water to a bowl to use to dip your fingers in to seal dumplings.

2. Put about 1 teaspoon of filling into the center of the wrapper (you may use less or more depending on your wrapper size, don’t over stuff these).

3. Fold into desired dumpling shapes:

• Wet 1/2 of circular wrapper edge with water or 2 sides of a square dumpling wrapper. You just want to wet two finger tips around half of the dumpling wrapper about 1/4 to 1/2" wide, leave other half side of your dumpling dry so that the starch/flour can create a nice seal.

• Fold the wrapper in half and carefully pushing down the filling slightly to let out any excess air and press edges down tightly to create a nice airtight seal around dumpling.

• Pinch the edge together to seal into a half-moon shape or triangle shape if you have square dumpling wrappers.

• For a completely round effect I pinched the ends together by bringing the corners to over to each other, dabbed with a little water, and pinched tightly to seal.
  
  ** To prevent your stack of dumpling wrappers from drying out, place a damp kitchen towel over the wrapper package to keep them from drying out. *Warning- do not put your finished dumplings in a closed lid tupper ware container and place in fridge, your dumplings WILL come out soggy, If you aren’t going to cook them dumplings the same day, then I would freeze the finished dumplings to keep them dry and crisp until you are ready to cook/boil/fry them (boil or deep fry them in its frozen form)

TIPS:

**Kimchi, tofu and bean sprouts contain a lot of liquid. Be sure to strain/dry as much as possible or else dumplings will tear and fall apart when assembling.

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TO BOIL DUMPLINGS

1. Heat small pot of water until you have a rolling boil, and add carefully few dumplings at a time and cook for about 3-4 min and scoop out with a slotted spoon.

TO PAN FRIED DUMPLINGS

If you like pan-fried dumplings I like boiling all my dumplings and will set aside on a plate until all water has evaporated and will pan fry with a little oil to a pan (add about 1 tbs or so of vegetable oil (enough oil to lightly coat bottom of pan, let it heat up some) in a pan (cast iron preferred) until golden brown about 2-3 min- flip once.)