Juicy Tofu & Edamame Dumplings

• 16 oz. (453) firm tofu
• 1 cup (150g) shelled edamame
• 3 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tbsp soybean oil
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine (or sake/vodka), optional
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder
• 1 cup soy aspic (see below)

Aspic

• 1½ cups (360 ml) water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mushroom powder
• 1 tsp agar agar powder

Wrappers

• 2 cups (250g) flour
• 6 oz. (170g) fresh spinach, optional
• ½ cup (120 ml) water

Prepare In Advance

1. Cut the tofu into ½-inch (1cm) cubes and place on a parchment paper lined tray and freeze for at least 2 hours.
2. Make the vegan aspic in a frying pan by pouring in the water and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and sprinkle in the mushroom powder, stirring to dissolve. Sprinkle the agar agar powder evenly on the liquid’s surface so that it doesn’t clump. Let the powder dissolve, turn the heat down to a gentle boil for 2 minutes. It will thicken slightly. Pour into a bowl and let it cool. When cool to touch, place the bowl in the refrigerator to set.

Instructions

1. Take the tofu and shelled edamame out of the freezer and the aspic out of the fridge. Let these sit at room temperature for an hour.
2. Prepare the dumpling wrappers. If you’re using spinach to dye the wrappers, then steam the leaves for 1-2 minutes until wilted. Blend with ½ cup (120 ml) water.
3. Place the flour in a large bowl. Whilst stirring continuously, gradually pour in the blended spinach (or water) until the mixture begins to clump together in little clusters. When a large ball of dough starts to form, don’t add any more liquid. You may not need all of the spinach juice (save that for a smoothie)!
4. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. If it’s sticky and too wet, add another tablespoon or two of flour. If it’s too dry, add another tablespoon of spinach water. Cover the dough with a clean, damp dish cloth and set aside for 20 minutes while you prepare the filling.
5. Finely chop the tofu, edamame and mushrooms and place into a bowl. Combine with the oil, cooking wine (if using), ginger, sugar, salt and white pepper. Finely chop or crumble the aspic and mix evenly into the filling.
6. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll the wrapper dough into a long, skinny log – about 1-inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and divide it into 30 equal pieces. Keep these pieces covered with a damp dish cloth while you’re assembling the dumplings. Use a rolling pin to flatten each piece and roll it out into thin 1/16-inch (2mm) by 4″ inch (10 cm) diameter rounds – try to go thin as possible without tearing the wrapper when assembling. And it’s perfectly acceptable if they’re not perfect circles.
7. Assemble the dumplings one at a time: Place one dough round in the palm of your hand. Place one tablespoonful of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold pleats (clockwise or counterclockwise) around the circumference of the wrapper that overlap each other slightly and meet in the middle. As you get towards the last fold, start to twist and gather pleats in the same direction you’ve been folding, creating a pointy tip in the center. Place the assembled dumpling onto a parchment-paper lined steamer basket and continue to assemble until you run out of wrappers or filling.
8. Make sure to have an inch (2.5cm) of space between each dumpling, and steam them for 7-8 minutes over an inch (2.5cm) of boiling water. Serve hot!