Fresh Veggie Dumplings

The other night, while out to dinner with some people at a pub, one of my friends ordered fried calamari with our meal and explained that it was not only his favorite standard app but he ordered it anytime it was on the menu. In trying it everywhere he ate he had created his own mental calamari Zagat guide: solely rating the quality of a restaurant on the quality of its fried calamari. Good fried calamari = good restaurant. As specific as this may sound I can definitely appreciate the idea of rating places by what you like to order and creating a tiny niche for yourself as a food critic. For me, it all comes down to the steamed vegetable dumplings. Chinese, Japanese, Thai or Vietnamese, if there is a steamed vegetarian dumpling on a menu I always order it. It is my appetizer of choice and I feel confident in my ability to direct you to a quality veggie dumpling. For those in new York I strongly recommend the crystal spinach dumplings at Saigon grill, the steamed edamame dumplings at Rickshaw, the black bean dumplings with mango sauce at Josie’s and whatever you do, do NOT order dumplings (or anything for that matter) at Ivy Cafe on west 72nd street, ick.
So with all these great dumpling places I have never made my own, until now. I found this really simple healthy recipe from Alton Brown on foodnetwork.com and they were delicious. Continue reading for my adapted (easier) version of his recipe. These guys were healthy, tasty and satisfying enough to serve as a main course to a table of carnivores....


The recipe calls for a steamer to cook these but since I don't own one I just used a pan with a whole lot of Pam. You could use oil if you wanted too.
Vegetable Dumplings – adapted from Alton Browne’s Recipe
Ratios of the veggies below do not need to be exactly measured if you are into winging it. Also, I used my cuisinart to chop of the veggies but you could do it by hand.
Ingredients
• 1/2 pound firm tofu
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
• 1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers – Often in the freezer or next to the tofu. If frozen – let thaw.
• Pam or sesame oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
-Drain water from tofu and cut the block in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels or dish towels. Place on a plate, top with another plate, and place a weight on top (books or a large pan). Leave this for about 20 minutes (this is draining out the water to make it firm.) While this is going on you can chop the veggies.
-After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, soy sauce, hoisin, egg, salt, and pepper. Lightly stir to combine.
-To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water using your finger. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.
- If you don’t want to cook them all at once place extra dumplings on a cookie sheet or plate and put in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can transfer them into a plastic bag and keep them in the freezer until you want to cook them up and eat them. They will keep for at least a couple of weeks.
- Spray a large pan or walk with a lot of Pam or a tablespoon of oil. Put over medium high heat.
- Cook dumplings in pan for about 10-12 minutes moving them around and respraying with Pam so they do not stick. Remove from pan once they are golden on the outside.
-Serve with low-sodium soy sauce for dipping.