Dumplings!

I have been wanting to cook my own dumplings for awhile. However, with the Christmas season hustle & bustle increasing exponentially by the day, I decided not to bother with making the dumpling dough from scratch (though it's still on my to do list to try). I looked at quite a few recipes trying to find a vegetarian filling that I thought would be tasty and determine whether a pre-cooked filling is preferable. I ended up creating a blend of a couple different recipes and have definitely sided with the pre-cooked filling camp! These take a while to do so a dumpling day with a friend would be far more fun. I think my filling might make about 100-125 dumplings, so you could also cut this recipe in half if you just want enough for a single meal. Or use the extra filling as a taco filling or over steamed rice.

Filling

Raw Dumplings

Beautifully fried/steamed dumplings with sauce

Vegetarian Dumplings
1 1/2 c. finely grated cabbage
1 1/2 c. finely grated carrot
5 green onions, finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 can water chestnuts, diced
2-3 Tbs minced ginger
sesame oil
soy sauce
rice vinegar
fish sauce (or oyster sauce)
1/2 c. cilantro, finely chopped
dumpling wrappers (100?)
**Optional - can replace some of the veggies with crumbled, marinated tofu

1. Heat 2-3 Tbs sesame oil (or canola oil) in a deep skillet and add ginger and garlic. Saute until fragrant.
2. Add cabbage, carrot, green onions, and water chestnuts. Saute on medium heat for 3-5 minutes until veggies have wilted just a bit. While they cook, drizzle on a bit of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce to taste. I probably did one to two circles of the pan with soy sauce and rice vinegar and a couple of dashes of fish sauce. The filling should taste good on its own before it goes in the dumpling. There should be almost no liquid in the pan when you're done cooking.
3. Remove filling from heat and stir in cilantro.
4. Open the dumpling wrappers and keep covered with a damp cloth. Work on one to two wrappers at a time. Place a rounded 1/2 tsp of filling in the centre of the wrapper. Use a finger or brush to moisten along half of the edge of the dumpling. Fold and crimp the edges so it is sealed.
5. Lay out dumplings on parchment paper. If you're going to cook them soon, keep covered with damp cloth. If not, fill a pan and then put in the freezer to freeze. Once the dumplings are completely frozen, put them in a ziplock bag and store for later!
6. To cook. Heat canola oil in a deep skillet with lid. Put 10-12 dumplings in the pan and let cook until browned and a bit crispy on one side. Pour in 1/4 c. water (don't get splattered!) and quickly cover with lid. Let steam 2-3 minutes until cooked.
7. Serve with dipping sauce!