Vegetable Dumplings (vegetarian soup dumplings with agar agar)

This recipe teaches us how to make juicy, healthy, and vibrant vegetable dumplings that are vegetarian-friendly and bursting with flavor.

The star of these dumplings is the homemade agar agar soup filling, which adds a delightful burst of umami. To prepare it, simply combine vegetable broth, soy sauce, salt, and agar agar powder in a pot, bringing it to a boil before simmering until dissolved.

The filling for the vegetable soup dumplings consists of a fried tofu and egg mixture combined with chopped glass noodles and a variety of seasonings.

In contrast to the traditional half-moon or round shape of Chinese dumplings, this recipe introduces a unique variation. We will create a dumpling with a flour-like shape, featuring four pockets on four sides. Then these pockets will be stuffed with colorful and flavorful toppings of your choice.

Now let’s get ready to savor every bite of these delicious vegetable soup dumplings, perfect for sharing with family and friends.

EQUIPMENT you will need:

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Heat resistant food storage container
• Large frying pan or wok (For frying the tofu egg filling)
• Steamer (Or you can use a large pot and a steaming rack to steam the soup dumplings.)

INGREDIENTS List

– For making agar agar soup

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1¼ tsp agar agar powder

– For making tofu egg filling

• 100 g glass noodles (About two 2-ounce bundles. You don’t need to be too precise about the weight. I used bean thread noodles, you can also use sweet potato noodles, potato starch noodles, or rice vermicelli.)
• 1 lb firm tofu (You don’t need to be too precise about the weight of the tofu for this recipe. Simply grab a block of firm tofu from any brand of your choice. Any amount between 400g to 600g will work well, so feel free to use what suits you best.)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsps. cooking oil (I used vegetable oil, feel free to use olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil …)
• 2 green onions (chopped)
• 2 tbsps. soy sauce (Use light soy sauce or regular soy sauce.)
• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (Can use regular oyster sauce if you are not vegetarian. Can use 1 tbsp of soy sauce instead if you don’t have oyster sauce at home.)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder (optional)
• ½ tbsp sesame oil (optional)

– Others

• 50 dumpling wrappers
• ½ cup corn (frozen or fresh corn kernels)
• ½ cup mushroom (diced)
• ½ cup baby spinach (blanched and chopped)
• ½ cup carrots (I used frozen diced carrots. Feel free to use fresh ones.)

Note: I topped my vegetable dumplings with corn, baby spinach, mushroom, and carrot. You can easily swap them with different vegetables or proteins according to your preferences.

When using leafy vegetables, it’s recommended to blanch them in hot water, remove excess water by squeezing, and finely chop them.

If you’d like to use meat toppings like shrimp or pork, it’s advisable to cook them thoroughly before using to ensure safe storage of dumplings in the freezer for an extended period.

There are plenty of other fantastic options for toppings, such as scrambled eggs, seasoned ground pork that’s fried, peas, sautéed and chopped shrimp, chopped steak, shiitake mushrooms, cubes of sausage, water chestnuts, and more.

Step-by-step INSTRUCTIONS 

– Prepare the agar agar soup

1. Add vegetable broth, soy sauce, salt, and agar agar powder to a pot, stir until completely dissolved. Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, continue to simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the agar agar from clumping.

2. Pour the mixture into a heat resistant food storage container. Let the soup cool to room temperature, cover with lid or food wrap, keep in the refrigerator until it’s fully set.

– Prepare the tofu egg filling

1. Soak the glass noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes until they soften. Drain and chop into ½-inch in length.

2. Remove a block of firm tofu from the packaging and drain any excess water. Gently press the tofu block between paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to remove more moisture. Place the tofu into a large mixing bowl.

3. Crack 2 large eggs to the firm tofu. Crumble the tofu using clean hands to achieve a ground texture. Mix the ingredients with your hands until the tofu and eggs are thoroughly combined.

4. In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu and egg mixture to the pan. Stir-fry the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the eggs transition from a liquid to a solid state.

5. Add the chopped glass noodles to the pan. Stir-fry over medium heat for 2 minutes.

6. Add chopped green onions, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, salt, white pepper powder, and sesame oil to the pan. Continue to stir-fry for another 2 minutes until all the ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a large container and set aside.

– Wrap and steam the vegetable soup dumplings

1. Prepare toppings to be stuffed into the holes on four sides of the dumplings. I prepared ½ cup of frozen corn kernels, ½ cup of frozen diced carrots, ½ cup of chopped baby bella mushrooms, and ½ cup of blanched and chopped baby spinach.

2. Unmold the agar agar soup jelly you’ve prepared in previous step to a large cutting board, casually chop it into small fingernail-size pieces.

3. Take a dumpling wrapper and place it on one hand, using your other hand to dip a finger into a small bowl of cold water, and run it along the edge of the dumpling wrapper. 

4. Spoon about ½ tbsp of chopped agar agar soup jelly and ½ tbsp of tofu egg filling to the center of the wrapper. Carefully fold the dumpling wrap into half, pinch it together in the center. Then do the same on the other ends of the cross and pinch it together in the center. In this way you will get a dumpling with 4 pockets.

5. Fill each pocket with the prepared toppings. Repeat this process until all the filling has been used.

6. Fill a large pot with about an inch of water and place a steaming rack inside. The water should be below the level of the rack. Place the soup dumplings on a plate brushed with a thin layer of cooking oil (to prevent from sticky.) Place the plate on the steaming rack. Cover the pot with a lid.

7. Set a 15 minutes timer, turn on the stove to medium high. Once the water in the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to medium low. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and open the lid.

8. Serve the vegetable dumplings hot with your favorite dipping sauce. For example, you can mix 2 tbsps of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, ¼ tsp of sesame oil or chili oil, and ¼ tsp of sugar.

How to store homemade vegetable dumplings?

To store homemade vegetable dumplings, place them in an airtight container with the sealed side up. Be sure to leave some space between each dumpling to prevent them from sticking together. This stackable dumpling storage container I found online is perfect for storing and organizing homemade foods in the freezer.

Once frozen, they will not stick together. The dumplings can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat, there is no need to thaw them. Simply steam the frozen vegetable dumplings for 15 minutes until heated through.

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