Spinach and Mushroom Pot Stickers
Crispy, crunchy, salty and accidentally vegan, these spinach and mushroom potstickers are simply heavenly.
When the world started to go into a bit of tail spin in late March, I was on a remote beach in eastern Sri Lanka. We had to frantically book an early flight home, and nearly ended up getting stuck in Sri Lanka. Touching down in Cape Town, we had arrived back just two days before the entire country went into a complete lock-down.
The first few days home were a spiral of latent adrenaline surges, weird sleep patterns (is micro jet lag a thing?), and anxiety inducing hours on news pages and social media.
Wandering aimlessly around our apartment, feeling weird and out of sorts I started a sour dough starter, just because I could. I decided to get more ambitious, why not make dumplings, actually better yet make them from scratch, seeing I had all this time. I spent an entire day absorbed in the process of creating, free from the negative news cycle and all the anxiety it brought, and I paused at the end of the day to realise I felt good. You see, you can’t half heartedly cook something like dumplings, you have to immerse yourself. It’s a form of moving meditation.
The dumplings marked the beginning of the Lock Down Chow Down. Join me (almost) every day as I satisfy my cravings and throw pantry ingredients together in a couple of interesting ways, because, hey, why the hell not.
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel and #lockdownchowdown on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Happy cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make with other fillings?
Feel free to experiment with other fillings and let us know how they turn out!
Can I use pre-made dumpling wrappers?
Yes! This will make the whole process a lot quicker. Dumpling wrappers can be easily found online or in the frozen isle of asian grocery stores.
Spinach and Mushroom Pot Stickers
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- Author: Jess Bunn
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 28 - 32 Dumplings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This recipe can be viewed as a cook along on Instagram!
Ingredients
For The Wrapper Dough
- 3/4 – 1 cup boiling water
- 2 cups cake flour (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
OR
- 1 Pack frozen round gyoza dumpling wrappers
For The Filling:
- 400 g chopped button mushrooms
- 2 cups chopped and de-stemmed spinach
- 1 Tsp chilli
- 1 Tsp ginger
- 1 Tsp garlic
- 2–3 Tbsp soy sauce (add to taste)
- oil as needed
- salt and pepper
- raw sesame seeds for cooking (optional)
Instructions
To make your own dumpling wrappers
- To make the dough add the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add a 3/4 cup of hot water, and the sesame oil. Using your hands, start mixing the flour and water together and knead everything until a soft and pliable dough forms. Should the mixture seem a bit dry, add the remaining 1/4 cup of hot water, a little at a time, until you have a soft mass similar in texture to playdough.
- Wrap the dough and place it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, or for up to two days.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (or clean wine bottle) roll the dough out to just under 1mm thick, sprinkling over more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. You can also use a pasta machine for this step, which makes everything go A LOT quicker.
- To form your dumpling wrappers cut the dough into rounds with a 9-10cm cutter. Place your wrappers on a platter and cover in a slightly damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. Dust the excess flour off the dough scraps as you can (more flour = harder to roll dough), and reform the scraps into a ball. Roll the ball out and repeat the cutting process until all the dough is used up, or the scraps become too difficult to roll from being overworked.
To make the dumplings:
- To make the filling, finely chop the mushrooms. You can use a knife for this, or throw the mushrooms whole into a food processor and pulse them until fine.
- Place a large high sided frying pan over high heat, add a drizzle of oil and fry the mushrooms until all their water has released, and they start to turn golden brown.
- Add the ginger, chilli and garlic, and fry for 2 minutes further.
- Add the chopped spinach and sauté everything until the spinach has wilted. Remove the filling from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Assembly & Cooking:
- To the centre of each dumpling wrapper add a heaped teaspoon of filling.
- To seal the dumplings, dip your finger in water and run it around the inside edge of the wrapper. You can now use a fork to seal the edges, like with a pie crust, or you can pleat the wrappers closed. A visual guide to both methods is available on my Instagram story highlights. Repeat the steps until all the wrappers are filled.
- (optional) For a fancy finish you can dip the bottoms of the dumplings into a shallow dish of water, and then into a dish of sesame seeds. The sesame seeds with crisp up when cooked, and give a nice crunchy bottom to the dumpling.
- To cook the potstickers, place a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to liberally coat the bottom of the pan. Wait until the pan is well heated, then add the potstickers. Cook until their bases turn golden brown. Add 1 cup of water and quickly place a lid on the pan. Steam the dumplings for 4 minutes or until the wrappers are soft but a slight bite (like al dente pasta). Remove from the pan and serve immediately with my Chili Garlic Sauce.
Notes
- FREEZING: Store your uncooked dumplings in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Category: Dumplings
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Asian-inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 78.02kcal
- Sugar: 0.37g
- Sodium: 171.97mg
- Fat: 1.02g
- Saturated Fat: 0.12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.62g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15.22g
- Fiber: 0.73g
- Protein: 2.21g
- Cholesterol: 0.97mg