Chinese New Year Dumplings (Vegan)

Adapted from Grace Parisi’s recipe at Food&Wine.com. See original recipe here: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-and-lemongrass-dumplings

We here at Worthington are fans of the Chinese New Year and the food that comes with it. Unfortunately, a lot of the recipes require ingredients that aren’t friendly to vegetarian and vegan diets. We found a recipe from Food & Wine and made a few adjustments to make a vegan version. Our Chickett has a texture very similar to real chicken and can be found in most stores that carry our products. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound Worthington Foods Chickett, thawed and diced
• 1 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemongrass (2 stalks)
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Put the flour in a medium bowl. Add the water in a steady stream, stirring until a dough forms. Knead the dough until any bumps are gone, about 5 minutes. Dust the dough with flour, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the Chickett with the cabbage, cilantro, lemongrass, chives, ginger, garlic and salt.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and dust it with flour. Quarter the dumpling dough, then roll each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope. Cut each rope into 12 pieces and roll into balls; sprinkle with flour. Working with 5 or 6 balls at a time, roll to 3 1/2-inch rounds. Brush the excess flour off of the rounds. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling onto the center of each round. Bring up the sides of the wrapper; press and pleat the edges to seal in the filling. Lift each dumpling by the pleated edge, transfer to the baking sheet and press down lightly to flatten. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. In a very large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Arrange half of the dumplings in the pan, pleated edge up. Cook over high heat until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water to the skillet, cover and cook until the water is evaporated and the dumplings are cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Uncover and cook until the bottoms are well browned, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the dumplings to a plate. Cook the remaining dumplings in the remaining oil and serve.

Best of luck with your recipe (and your New Year)!

– Worthington