Tofu and Vegetable Wontons

Ingredients

Ingredients

• ~45 wonton wrappers
• 2 tbsp neutral oil (sunflower/rapeseed/avocado/peanut)
• 340 g extra firm tofu
• 170 g carrot (~1 medium sized)
• 50 g edamame beans
• 125 g shiitake mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 inch piece of ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp mushroom sauce/vegetarian oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp mushroom stock powder/vegetable stock powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
• 4 garlic chives (spring onions/scallions can be used in lieu)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp cornflour (cornflour for uk readers and corn starch for us readers)
• 6 tbsp chinese chilli oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (not needed if it's in the chilli oil already)
• 6 tbsp chinese black vinegar (chinkiang vinegar)
• 6 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 6 spring onion greens, finely chopped
• ~30 g coriander (~30g), finely chopped
• 3 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. First start by prepping all the vegetables and tofu. This is a quick cooking process so I recommend having everything prepped and ready.
2. Blitz the carrots, edamame, and shiitake mushrooms in a food processor until they're all very finely chopped. I recommend doing each one separately to ensure even sizes. For the extra firm tofu, this can either be blitzed in a food processor as well, or simply just crushed by hand.
3. To make the filling, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the tofu and mushrooms and sauté until the moisture has dried up and you start to see a small amount of caramelisation. At this point, add in the carrots, edamame, garlic, and ginger.
4. Continue to cook the mixture together for 2-3 minutes before adding the mushroom sauce, light soy sauce, 5 spice, stock powder, and white pepper.
5. Continue to cook the tofu and vegetable filling for a further 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat off, and while still hot, add in the garlic chives, toasted sesame oil, and cornflour (this is corn starch for US readers and cornflour for UK). I prefer to transfer the mixture into a separate bowl to cool down.
6. Once cooled completely, place a tablespoon of filling right in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Then, using a wet finger tip, lightly wet the edges of the wrapper - this will help it to seal. I always keep a small bowl of water beside my folding area for this.
7. Fold the wonton in half, sealing around the filling tightly. Try and avoid air bubbles here as they can puff up and burst during cooking (especially if boiled too rapidly).
8. Next, wet one edge of the folded wonton and bring both edges together - pinch tightly to seal. To prevent the wontons from drying out, place them into a tray lined with baking paper and cover with a lightly damp kitchen towel.
9. When ready to cook, bring a saucepan of water up to a rolling boil. Add in the wontons and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer the wontons for 3-4 minutes, then remove using a spider or slotted spoon. The wontons can also be steamed for 6-7 minutes. If pan frying, heat oil in a frying pan and place the wontons in a single layer. Once the base has browned, add enough water to cover the base of the pan and cover with a lid. Allow the wontons to steam until all the water has evaporated.
10. To make the spicy dumpling sauce, simply mix together the chilli oil, black vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, garlic, coriander, spring onions, and toasted sesame oil.
11. Next, add in the steaming hot wontons and gently toss them in the spicy wonton sauce to coat.
12. Finally, finish with sliced spring onions and enjoy your spicy saucy tofu and vegetable wontons!