Colourful Veggie Dumplings

50 mins Prep Time

20 mins Cook Time

Written By

Nadia Boachie

If you've never tried rainbow dumplings your chance has finally arrived! By using natural food dyes, you can make your dumpling wrappers pop with vibrant colours. The wrapper recipe for carrot and spinach (orange and green) is from Red House Spice and I was inspired to try and make another colour, so I decided to try it out with beets. With simple vegetables like carrots, spinach and beets, you can dye your dough orange, green or red. In Chinese culture, dumplings are made and eaten at several celebrations around New Year, like on Xiao Nian (小年, aka Small Spring festival, seven days before the New Year). They are also eaten year-round and often involve the help of all family members and friends. This recipe is vegan but you can fill these colourful wrappers with whatever dumpling filling you desire. For example, you could try different combinations of veggies for the filling or even add meat to these wrappers like pork-leek, shrimp-leek, shrimp-pork -- the combinations are endless. These aesthetically pleasing dumplings are sure to impress anyone you serve them to, so save this recipe for a special occasion or when you are in an experimental mood.

If you give this recipe a shot, make sure to post up your creation on Instagram and tag @tastetoronto and @travelandmunchies!

Ingredients

For Green Wrappers

150 grams all-purpose flour
200 grams spinach
200 mL water

For Orange Wrappers

150 grams all-purpose flour
250 grams carrots, sliced
150 mL water

For Red Wrappers

50 grams all-purpose flour
200 grams beets, cut into a small dice
200 mL water

For Filling

4 cups (185 grams) napa cabbage, shredded
4 cups (165 grams) portobello or shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cups (107 grams) green onion, finely sliced
1 1/2 cups (120 grams) carrots, grated
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sesame oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Avocado oil or other oil with high smoking point

Directions

Prepare the Green Dye

3 Steps

Step 1

Bring water to a boil. Briefly blanch spinach then drain. Transfer to a food processor to puree.
Step 2

Use a fine sieve to extract 75 mL of spinach juice for the dough (add a little water if necessary).
Step 3

Discard spinach.

Prepare the Orange Dye

3 Steps

Step 1

Bring water to a boil. Add carrots to pot and cook for 5 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a food processor to puree.
Step 2

Use a sieve to extract about 90 grams semi-liquid puree for the dough.
Step 3

Discard carrots.

Prepare the Red Dye

2 Steps

Step 1

Simmer red beets (cut into small pieces) in water for 5 minutes.
Step 2

Drain the beets to get 75 mL purple liquid for the dough. Discard beets.

Dough

2 Steps

Step 1

Add water/green dye, orange dye and red dye to the specified amount of flour gradually. Mix until no more loose flour can be seen. Then combine and knead with your hands until smooth.
Step 2

Leave to rest covered for 40–60 minutes.

Filling

4 Steps

Step 1

Place a large skillet or wok on the stove over medium-high heat.
Step 2

Add oil, ginger, garlic and cabbage. Cook until cabbage begins to wilt and shrink down.
Step 3

Add mushrooms, green onion, and carrots, along with soy sauce and sesame oil. Continue to cook until liquid begins to evaporate.
Step 4

Season with pepper, to taste and salt (only if needed). The soy sauce tends to add enough saltiness for my taste.

Assembly

3 Steps

Step 1

Cut the dough with a bench scraper into quarters. Working a quarter at a time, roll dough into a rope then cut into small pieces (always keep the unused dough covered).
Step 2

Press each piece into a small disc. Then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a thin disc (refer to the video below). Dust with flour if the dough sticks.
Step 3

Place a spoonful of filling into the middle of the wrapper. Seal the wrapper into the shapes of your choice. You can watch this video for how to fold.

Cooking

3 Steps

Step 1

Heat up a small amount of oil (just enough to cover the surface of your pan) over high heat. Place dumplings bottom side down, making sure to not overcrowd the pan.
Step 2

When the bottom of the dumplings are golden brown, pour in cold water (enough to cover 1/3 of the dumplings). Cover with a lid.
Step 3

Uncover when the water evaporates completely. Cook another 30 seconds or so to crisp back up again.