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Rice Wrapper Dumplings with Vegan Fillings

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of Ox and it's bound to be a prosperous year. And of course, the most classic and traditional food for the Chinese New Year is dumplings. These are a much quicker and easier version of the traditional dumplings and here's another perk, they are also gluten-free!

Growing up, every year on Chinese New Year's Eve my family would make dumplings and we would eat them together at midnight. And as a tradition, my mom or my grandma would hide coins in some of the dumplings and whoever get those would be blessed with good luck for the new year. 

However, the process of making Chinese dumplings is so tasking. I remember watching my mom doing it and thinking oh my god, 2, 3 hours of labor for 5 minutes of eating?! I can't say I'm that on board no matter how much I love dumplings. So I came up with this extremely simplified version! By using Vietnamese rice wrappers you can completely eliminate the need to make the dough, knead, portion, roll... All you need to do is dip the wrapper in warm water and wrap!

For the fillings, I made a delicious and nutritious vegan version with tofu, mushrooms, carrots, and sweet peas, they were perfectly umami, earthy, and slightly sweet!


INGREDIENTS:

1 block extra firm tofu

6 oz mushroom, white or baby bella

1 large carrot

1/2 cup frozen sweet peas

1 scallion

About 5 rice wrappers

1 1/2 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce

1 tablespoon coconut amino

1 teaspoon rice vinegar


TO MAKE:

- Drain and wrap the tofu in some kitchen towels, gently squeeze out as much water as possible;

- Finely chop the mushrooms and the carrot, you can quickly pulse them in a food processor or hand chop;

- Thinly slice the scallion;

- In a large frying pan, heat a drizzle of oil, add the scallions, and sauté for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and carrots, cook till the vegetables soften and add the rice vinegar;

- Use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan, press on any large piece with your spetula, stir to combine, season with tamari sauce and coconut amino, sauté for another 4-5 minutes over medium heat till cooked through and no liquid is left, turn off the heat and set aside;

- Cut the rice wrappers in quarters, dip one piece in a bowl of warm water till the wrapper becomes soft, add about 1 tablespoon of fillings in the center of the wrap, gater the edge and twist to close, repeat till all fillings are used up;

- Serve immediately, enjoy!


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