Shiitake Mushroom and Spinach Dumplings
on Jul 03, 2020, Updated Jan 09, 2024
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Perfect vegetarian dumplings with a super simple dipping sauce.
My amazing friend Katie Chin is…well, she’s amazing. I met her when I was a cookbook editor and was lucky enough to become the editor of her first cookbook, Everyday Chinese Cooking, which she co-authored with her mom, the kind yet formidable Leeann Chin. Leeann’s story is amazing, a true story of perseverance and determination and grit and bravery.
Katie went on from this first book to author several others on Asian cuisine and became a well-known author and chef in the Asian cooking world. Leeann died several years ago, having achieved so much herself and also having proudly watched her daughter achieve much-deserved recognition. Both Chins are/were experts in the kind of Chinese cooking that makes us feel cared for and just plain hungry.
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Shiitake Mushroom and Spinach Dumplings: Perfect vegetarian dumplings with a super simple dipping sauce.
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Which brings us to dumplings. Dumplings are one of the happiest foods on the planet. Steamed, fried, potstickers, vegetarian, porky, shrimpy, I have not met a dumpling I don’t like, and neither has anyone in my family. Neither has anyone; I’m going to go out on a limb and say.
So when I was browsing through one of Katie’s cookbooks, Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook: 101 Delicious Recipes from My Mother’s Kitchen, that was where I landed. Making dumplings is not hard – it takes time, for sure, until you get good at it, but it’s more a matter of patience and then muscle memory than it is a big-time skill. Now, when it comes to making beautiful dumplings, the kinds with intricate pleats and folds, that’s a whole other level of dumpling craft, and I am 100% not there. Maybe someday. But luckily for us, as long as you seal those babies up, they will taste terrific.
Vegetarian Dumplings
So this is my slight adaptation of Katie and Leeann’s vegetarian dumpling recipe. I went for a simple triangle shape here, using a square dumpling wrapper.
How to Fill and Seal Dumplings
Be careful not to overstuff the dumplings so you can seal them.
The egg white will hold the wrappers shut as it dries. You can press down along the edges or sort of stand up the dumpling and pinch all around until it is sealed.
Cooking Potstickers
These are potstickers, which means that first, they are browned in a pan.
Then, water is added, and the pan is covered. This allows the dumplings to finish cooking, and the steam also causes the dumplings to unstick from the pot and be easy to take out with a spatula (hence the name potstickers…that get unstuck).
And while I am a sucker for a good dumpling, I’m really a sucker for dumplings plus dipping sauce. Three ingredients, and you are done. All of one extra minute. Don’t skip it.
In Katie’s book, she not only shares recipes, she shares the inspiring story of her mother’s life and the stories of her own Chinese-American upbringing, and how she has translated all of Leeann’s cooking acumen into her life. Katie is grateful to Leeann; we are now grateful to Katie.
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Shiitake Mushroom and Spinach Dumplings
Ingredients
For the Shiitake Mushroom and Spinach Dumplings:
- 8 ounces firm tofu
- 2 egg whites (divided)
- 2 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion (white and green parts)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup stemmed and finely chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms
- ¼ cup finely chopped spinach
- 30 store-bought square potsticker wrappers
- 3 tablespoons oil (divided; for frying)
- Water (for cooking)
For the Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped scallion (green and white parts)
Instructions
- Drain the tofu and pat dry, then dice finely.
- In a large bowl, combine one of the egg whites, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, cilantro leaves, mushrooms, and spinach until blended. Add the tofu and toss gently into the mixture.
- Make the dipping sauce: Combine the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Sprinkle scallion on top and set aside.
- Beat the remaining egg white with 2 teaspoons water. Lay one potsticker wrapper on a clean work surface, and place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of the circle. Brush the egg white mixture along the edge of the wrapper, then fold it over to form a triangle and seal the dumpling shut. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and reduce the heat to medium. Add 10 dumplings and pan-fry for 1 minute. Add 4 tablespoons water, then cover and cook for 1 minute more.
- Remove the cover and continue to cook until the water is gone, about 2 minutes. Place the dumpling on a plate lined with paper towels briefly when you take them out of the pan to blot any extra oil. Repeat the process until all of the dumplings are cooked. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce alongside.
Can you make this without tofu? What recommendations do you have in terms of reducing the soy/salt, cornstarch…etc? Thanks! Would love to try this!
You could use cooked chicken or pork, cut the same way, and it should be fine! And there is not much by way of soy sauce, but I always use less-sodium and it works perfectly well.
All purpose cornstarch or flour?
cornstarch!
Well I’ve never made dumplings but love spinach and mushrooms together so I should give this recipe a go!