There is a Thai takeout place near us that has the best dumpling appetizer. The dough is soft and stretchy, packed with perfectly seasoned greens and served with a beautifully spicy soy-ginger sauce. Because I’ve made my own dumpling wrappers before and love the meditative and repetitive process involved, I decided to try to make these supple and gorgeous dumplings myself this weekend. To replicate them, I pulled some steps from this recipe and method, and the end result was pretty close to the takeout version. The trick here is to use parchment paper to sandwich the dough in while rolling them out into the thinnest shape possible—it prevents sticking and helps to produce a perfect vessel for stuffing the garlic and sesame seasoned chives into.
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FLOWERING CHIVE AND GARLIC DUMPLINGS
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
for the dough
- 1 cup wheat starch
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or starch
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 cup vegetable broth
for the filling
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups flowering chives, chopped and tips reserved
- 1 TB dark sesame oil
for the sauce
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1 TB soy sauce
- 1 TB fresh ginger, grated on a microplane grater
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place all of the wrapper ingredients, except for the boiling broth, into a Kitchen-Aid mixer. Attach the flat beater and mix on low for a few seconds to combine. Heat the broth in the microwave until it comes to a boil and then add it to the mixture and knead at a high setting for several minutes, until the dough is soft and pliable.
- Roll the dough into one large ball, then separate them into four small balls. Roll each ball into a cylinder shape, about six inches long. Place three of them onto a greased plate and cover with saran wrap while you make the first four wrappers.
- Divide the cylinder into four equal pieces. Take one piece in your hand and mold it into a flat circular shape. Place it in between two sheets of parchment paper, then use a mini roller to get them as thin as possible. They don’t need to be a perfect circle.
- Place the finished wrappers under the saran wrap while you make the rest of the wrappers.
To make the filling
- Heat the sesame oil over medium low heat, then add in the garlic and chopped chives. Gently saute for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn. Remove from the pan to cool and set aside.
Make your sauce
- Combining all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
To assemble your dumplings
- Place a small amount of the filling into the center of one of the wrappers. Pull one side up to the center and continue with all sides to make a nice scalloped shape, then flatten them out between the palms of your hand. They don’t need to look perfect.
To fry the dumplings
- Heat about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts smoking, place as many dumplings as you can in the pan without having any of them too close or touching each other. Sear for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the bottom is nicely browned.
- Now add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup water into the pan. Be really careful, because the water will sputter. Quickly cover the pan with a tight lid and reduce the heat to low. Let it steam for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, flip the dumplings and dial the heat back up to medium and saute until the water has all evaporated.
- Repeat these steps until all of the dumplings have been fried, then serve immediately with the ginger dipping sauce and garnish with the reserved flowering chive tips.
Lauren (PB&G) says
Oh boy do these look good!! Question: is wheat starch the same as vital wheat gluten?
erinwyso says
Thanks Lauren! No, VWG and wheat starch are very different. Vital wheat gluten has had all of the starch washed off of it, leaving only the tough and stretchy protein part behind. It's good for seitan-making, but not for this application. You'll want the light and carby part of the wheat to make the dumplings soft and delicate. Good luck!
Lauren (PB&G) says
Thank you so much! =) Can't wait to try them!
Angry Asian says
goodness, this looks lovely, tho so labor intensive! just filling wontons can be time consuming, i can't imagine actually making the wrappers themselves too. i love me some chive blossoms, too.
erinwyso says
Thanks! I've found that dough-making with repetitive steps like this is such a stress-reliever for me. Throw a beer and some good music into that mix and it's all good …
Unknown says
They look delicious. How long is your delivery time?
erinwyso says
Ha! These took over an hour to make and I have no car so …
: )
Mary Banducci says
Amazing! What care and thought goes into making these!
Thank you for sharing!
Do you think I could replace the wheat starch with a combination of other starches for a gluten free wonton?
erinwyso says
Thanks Mary! I think you could try a mix of glutinous rice with the tapioca, but you would need some kind of thickener/stabilizer as well — maybe plain rice flour?
glutenfreehappytummy.com says
oh my gosh, YUM! that looks so delicious! i love the flavor combo!
awesomeveganrad says
lovely! i've made my own wrappers before too, but yours look better. thanks for the recipe!
erinwyso says
Thank you, Jessica!
Yumgoggle says
I am so excited to make my own wrappers. Dumplings are so comforting to eat and I love the Asian flavors. All the links are really helpful.
erinwyso says
Thank you! Will check out your site. Congrats on your launch!
Jenny says
These look amazing! I can't believe I've never seen your site before. I'm in love.
erinwyso says
Thank you Jenny!
Nikki @ The Tolerant Vegan says
These are gorgeous! I bet they're delicious too
Simone Anne says
Oh my goodness! These look amazing. Love it. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I can't wait to make them. 🙂 Also, your description at the top is great… we all struggle sometimes with feeding ourselves and non-vegan loved ones things that everybody really enjoys! Thank you! 🙂
Bailey says
I read through and might have missed it, how many servings/dumplings does this make? I'm so excited to make these!
erinwyso says
It really depends on how big you make the dumplings. I would say "enough for two" plus some for leftovers. : )
I hope you enjoy the recipe!