Red Curry Tofu Dumplings

by Lisa Lin

Great for parties or dinner, these vegan dumplings are a treat.

Red Curry Tofu Dumplings

  • Servings: 40-50 dumplings

These red curry tofu dumplings are a perfect blend of flavors and textures, and they’re vegan too! The recipe came about during a grocery shopping trip at Nugget Markets, where the wide range of fresh produce inspired the creation of these delicious dumplings.

Ingredients

  • 1 14-ounce package of firm tofu
  • 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil, plus more for frying dumplings
  • 1/3 cup chopped shallots
  • 2 tbsp minced ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups finely sliced napa cabbage
  • 2 scallions, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp red curry paste
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk
  • 40 to 50 round dumpling wrappers
  • water for wrapping dumplings, plus more for cooking


Dipping Sauce

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar

Directions

  • Press the tofu: Drain the tofu from the package and wrap the tofu with a layer of paper towels. Place the block of tofu on top of a plate and place a small stack of plates over the tofu. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Unwrap the tofu block and divide it into 2 pieces. Crumble the tofu by squeezing it in your hands. Set the crumbled tofu aside.
  • Cook the filling: Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook a minute more. Next, add the cabbage and scallions and cook until the cabbage starts to wilt, about 2 minutes. Transfer the tofu to the pan. Add the salt, red curry paste, and coconut milk to the pan, and stir to coat the tofu and vegetables. Turn off the heat. Transfer the filling to a large bowl and let it cool for 15 minutes.
  • Make the dipping sauce: Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together, until the sugar dissolves. Set the dipping sauce aside.
  • Prep the dumpling-making station: Fill a small bowl with water for wrapping the dumplings. Grab a baking sheet for the finished dumplings and a towel to cover the dumplings to prevent them from drying out. Get a spoon for scooping the dumpling filling.
  • Wrap the dumplings: Refer to the video or photos in the post to get a visual of the folding technique.
  • Cook the dumplings: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the dumplings to the pan. Let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom of the dumplings are lightly golden brown. While holding onto the lid of the pan (to use as a shield), pour 1/2 cup of water into the pan. The water will sputter everywhere, so use the pan to keep the water from hitting you. Cover the pan with the lid and let the dumplings cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and check to see if the bottoms of the dumpling are deep golden brown. If the color is still pretty light, let them cook for a minute more. Transfer the dumplings to a plate. Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the remaining dumplings.
  • Serve the dumplings with the dipping sauce.

  • Typically, I like cooking pan-fried dumplings in my cast iron pan because it blisters the dumpling wrapper the best, creating an extra crispy skin. However, if you use thinner wrappers, the dumplings won’t lift off from the pan too well, so you’ll get a lot of dumpling wrapper stuck onto the pan. For these dumplings, I used wrappers of medium thickness and used a non-stick pan to cook the dumplings.