Mushroom & Tofu Dumplings

Mushroom & Tofu Dumplings

Serves 4 / V / GF

‘Wo bu chi rou,’ I said with my best Chinese accent, but all I got back was shaking heads. ‘I am a vegetarian,’ I said slowly, as if that would help. Still nothing. A very kind blog reader had sent us a list of Chinese phrases for our trip to Beijing, but unfortunately none of them helped. Consequently, our five days in China weren’t as filled with delicious food as we had hoped. The only exception was when we found a dumpling restaurant with an owner who finally understood the word ‘vegetarian’. He came in with a full tray of shiitake-filled dumplings served with an ocean of different sauces and condiments. It was heaven. The easiest way to make gluten-free dumplings is to use rice paper wrappers instead of dumpling dough. They are very easy to handle and taste great. The rice paper dumplings can be steamed, fried or baked and the filling can of course be adapted to what you have available. — David

Ingredients

a knob of cold-pressed coconut oil

1 onion, finely chopped

5 cm (2 in) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped a large handful shiitake or oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped

¼ cabbage, finely shredded

200 g (7 oz) organic, GMO-free firm tofu, crumbled

rice paper wrappers

Soy Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp organic, GMO-free soy sauce

2 tbsp water

1 tsp clear honey (preferably unheated)

1 tsp sesame seeds

a small piece of fresh chilli, thinly sliced

Vegetables

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets

¾ cabbage, cut in wedges

1 bok choy or pak choi, cut in wedges

To Serve

Dried Plum Sauce