Vegetable Dumplings (vegetarian soup dumplings with agar agar)

Ingredients

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp agar agar powder
• 100 g glass noodles
• 1 lb firm tofu
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsps. cooking oil ((I used vegetable oil, feel free to use olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil ...))
• 2 green onions ((chopped))
• 2 tbsps. soy sauce ((Use light soy sauce or regular soy sauce.))
• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper powder ((optional))
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil ((optional))
• 50 dumpling wrappers
• 1/2 cup corn ((frozen or fresh corn kernels))
• 1/2 cup mushroom ((diced))
• 1/2 cup baby spinach ((blanched and chopped))
• 1/2 cup carrots ((I used frozen diced carrots. Feel free to use fresh ones.))

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Prepare the agar agar soup ---

2. 2

   Add vegetable broth, soy sauce, salt, and agar agar powder to a pot, stir until completely dissolved. Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, continue to simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the agar agar from clumping.

3. 3

   Pour the mixture into a heat resistant food storage container. Let the soup cool to room temperature, cover with lid or food wrap, keep in the refrigerator until it's fully set.

4. 4

   --- Prepare the tofu egg filling ---

5. 5

   Soak the glass noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes until they soften. Drain and chop into ½-inch in length.

6. 6

   Remove a block of firm tofu from the packaging and drain any excess water. Gently press the tofu block between paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to remove more moisture. Place the tofu into a large mixing bowl.

7. 7

   Crack 2 large eggs to the firm tofu. Crumble the tofu using clean hands to achieve a ground texture. Mix the ingredients with your hands until the tofu and eggs are thoroughly combined.

8. 8

   In a large frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu and egg mixture to the pan. Stir-fry the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the eggs transition from a liquid to a solid state.

9. 9

   Add the chopped glass noodles to the pan. Stir-fry over medium heat for 2 minutes.

10. 10

    Add chopped green onions, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, salt, white pepper powder, and sesame oil to the pan. Continue to stir-fry for another 2 minutes until all the ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a large container and set aside.

11. 11

    --- Wrap and steam the vegetable soup dumplings ---

12. 12

    Prepare toppings to be stuffed into the holes on four sides of the dumplings. I prepared ½ cup of frozen corn kernels, ½ cup of frozen diced carrots, ½ cup of chopped baby bella mushrooms, and ½ cup of blanched and chopped baby spinach.

13. 13

    Unmold the agar agar soup jelly you've prepared in previous step to a large cutting board, casually chop it into small fingernail-size pieces.

14. 14

    Take a dumpling wrapper and place it on one hand, using your other hand to dip a finger into a small bowl of cold water, and run it along the edge of the dumpling wrapper.

15. 15

    Spoon about ½ tbsp of chopped agar agar soup jelly and ½ tbsp of tofu egg filling to the center of the wrapper. Carefully fold the dumpling wrap into half, pinch it together in the center. Then do the same on the other ends of the cross and pinch it together in the center. In this way you will get a dumpling with 4 pockets.

16. 16

    Fill each pocket with the prepared toppings. Repeat this process until all the filling has been used.

17. 17

    Fill a large pot with about an inch of water and place a steaming rack inside. The water should be below the level of the rack. Place the soup dumplings on a plate brushed with a thin layer of cooking oil (to prevent from sticky.) Place the plate on the steaming rack. Cover the pot with a lid.

18. 18

    Set a 15 minutes timer, turn on the stove to medium high. Once the water in the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to medium low. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and open the lid.

19. 19

    Serve the vegetable dumplings hot with your favorite dipping sauce. For example, you can mix 2 tbsps of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, ¼ tsp of sesame oil or chili oil, and ¼ tsp of sugar.