Vegetable and tofu dumplings

Your ingredients

Get ready: Bowls, knife, rolling pin, small saucepan and lidded frying pan.

• 🍚Wrappers: 250 g plain flour
• 💧Wrappers: 130 ml water
• 🥣Filling: 150 g five-spice tofu/smoked tofu
• 🥬Filling: 70 g Chinese chives
• 🍄Filling: 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
• 🥕Filling: 50 g carrot
• 🥬Filling: 1 tbsp spring onions
• 🥣Filling: 1/2 tsp ginger
• 🌶️Filling: 1/4 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
• 🥣Filling: 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 🥣Filling: 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 🥜Filling: 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 🥣Filling: 1/4 tsp salt
• 🥣Frying: cooking oil
• 💧Frying: water
• 🥣Dipping sauce: 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 🌶️Dipping sauce: 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 🌶️Dipping sauce: 1/4 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
• 🥬Dipping sauce: 1 tsp spring onions
• 🍯Dipping sauce: 1 pinch sugar
• 🥣Dipping sauce: 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 🍚Dipping sauce: 2 tsp black rice vinegar

Let’s make it

1. Make the dough

   Gradually mix water into flour and knead into a dough. Rest covered for 10–15 minutes, knead smooth, then rest another 30–60 minutes.

2. Prepare the filling

   Finely chop tofu, chives and mushrooms and grate carrot. Gently warm the filling oil with spring onion, ginger and Sichuan pepper until fragrant, then mix into the vegetables with soy sauce, sesame oil and salt.

3. Roll thirty wrappers

   Divide dough into three ropes, then each into ten pieces. Roll thin discs, keeping unused dough covered.

4. Fill and seal

   Add a small spoonful filling, fold into a half-moon and press the edges closed, adding pleats if you like. Avoid overfilling.

5. Brown then steam

   Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan and brown dumpling bases. Carefully add water to reach about one-third up them, cover and cook until wrappers, mushrooms and filling are cooked through. Uncover and let the bases crisp as water evaporates.

6. Make a gentle sauce

   Warm sauce oil with chilli, Sichuan pepper and spring onion until fragrant. Remove from heat, add sugar, soy sauce and vinegar carefully, then serve alongside the hot dumplings.