Thought giving up meat meant giving up those delicious Asian goodies? Well dumpling fans rejoice! Here is a recipe that incorporates all those flavours that we love without any dairy, eggs or meat.

Dumplings have always been a favourite of mine, and I have found a few businesses around my area that do vegan ones (amazing ones too) but I wanted try my hand at making them myself. I have tried this recipe with different vegetables and the ones listed below I believe make the best combination, however they really would work with most veggies. As with my other recipes, I suggest you follow your instinct on some of the flavours, such as the ginger and soy sauce, as they can become overpowering very quickly.

This dish can take a while to make – it requires a fair bit of preparation, time to make the dumplings and shifting them between the hot plate and steamer can take some time. I enjoy making this dish with company as it can be quite a social experience and makes the time go faster. This dish takes roughly 90 minutes to make, but it is well worth it at the end!

Ingredients

1 table spoon olive oil

Half a table spoon of crushed garlic

Tablespoon of raw grated ginger

5 stalks of celery

5 button mushrooms

Half a large head of broccoli

1/4 head of cauliflower

1/5 block of hard tofu – grated

1/2 cup of liquid aminos/soy sauce

1/2 cup of veggie mince

Wonton/dumpling wrappers (this recipe uses wonton wrappers to make the dumplings because they’re a little bigger)

Soy sauce for dipping

Steamer (I use the bamboo ones that you can get from supermarkets)

Method

1. Chop all of the vegetables really fine and put into a large pot

2. Cook off the vegetables until they are soft, then add the veggie mince and the soy sauce/liquid amines

3. Once the vegetables are soft and there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, take the pot off the heat and rest until the veggie mixture has cooled down.

4. While the veggie mixture is cooling, prepare your wonton wrappers by getting a clean plate and a small bowl of water

5. Place the wonton wrapper on the clean plate and dip your finger tip in the bowl of water and slightly wet the edges of the wonton. Once the edges of he wonton are wet, place the sides together and pinch the sides together in a forward motion

6. Once all the dumplings are made, place some oil in a pan and place the dumplings on medium heat until the bottom of the dumplings are a golden brown

7. For the last step, place the dumplings in the steamer until soft to touch and they become transparent

8. Place cooked dumplings on a serving plate with some soy sauce mixed with lemon for a tangy sauce and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Emily