Vegan Vegetable Potstickers – Connoisseur Veg

These vegan potstickers are fun to make and even more fun to eat! Bursting with vegetables and spices, crispy on the bottom, soft and gooey on top, they make a delicious appetizer that will be a hit at your next gathering.

For most of my life, potstickers have been one of those foods reserved for restaurants or takeout. They are very fancy and extravagant to make yourself, right?

Not really. Homemade potstickers are quite easy to make. There are a few steps involved, but the process is super easy and fun!

Let’s talk about what makes a potsticker! This is an Asian style dumpling. I’ve shared a recipe for tofu dumplings on this site in the past, and they’re just like potstickers. But potstickers are cooked in a certain way: they are fried in a pan with a little oil, then steamed. This gives them amazing texture! The bottoms are crispy and golden brown, thanks to the frying step, while the tops are tender and soft from the steam. They really got the best of everything going.

These special vegan potstickers are stuffed with garlic, ginger and Chinese five spiced veggie filling. Each one is its own little taste-bomb, but even more so when dipped in my sesame soy dipping sauce.

Jump:

Ingredients you will need

• Peanut oil. You can substitute another neutral high-heat oil if you wish. Canola oil, corn oil, and vegetable oil will all work.
• Shiitake mushroom.
• Scallions Also known as green onion.
• garlic
• ginger
• Cabbage. I’m using green cabbage, but red should work just fine too.
• the carrot
• Water chestnuts. They are usually sold in cans and can be found in the international aisle of most supermarkets.
• I am Willow Tamari or liquid aminos will also work.
• Brown sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
• Sriracha sauce. It adds minimal heat to the filling. Can be omitted if preferred. I used Kitchen Garden brand Sriracha, which is vegan.
• Sesame oil toasting. Look for it in the international aisle at the store.
• Cornstarch.
• Chinese five spice.
• Dumpling wrappers. We are using Shanghai-style wrappers, which are the round type. Check the ingredients to make sure your wraps are vegan. I used the Twin Marquis brand.
• Sesame seeds.
• Rice vinegar. This is for making the dipping sauce, so if you’re planning on using a pre-made sauce, you can cross it off your list.

How are they made?

Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. If you want to skip the recipe, scroll all the way down!

• There’s a good deal of prep work, so make sure to get it all out of the way before you start cooking: chop the vegetables and measure the spices for your filling.
• Cook the mushrooms. Lightly oil the bottom of a medium skillet and place over medium heat. Add the finely chopped shiitake mushroom caps and cook for a few minutes, until they start to brown. Flip them once or twice so they brown all over.
• Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and transfer to a plate.

• Heat a little more oil in the pan and add your aromatics: chopped scallions (white parts only – we’ll use the greens later), minced garlic and grated ginger.
• Cook everything briefly until the mixture is very fragrant. Watch it carefully and stir frequently to prevent burning.

• Raise the heat a little and add finely chopped cabbage, carrots and water chestnuts.
• Cook the vegetables for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until they begin to soften.

• Return the mushrooms to the skillet and add the green part of your scallions along with the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, sesame oil, cornstarch, and five spice.
• Use your spatula to flip everything quickly and mix the ingredients. After about a minute of cooking you can remove the skillet from the burner.
• Check the filling and season with salt to taste. Note that the dipping sauce is salty, so you won’t need to add any salt to the filling.

• Fill a small bowl with water and place one of your dumpling wrappers on a work surface.
• Use a finger to moisten the edges of the wrapper, then place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center.
• Fold the wrapper in half over the filling and pinch together in the center when the edges of the wrapper meet. As you close the wrap, make small pleats to the left and right of the pinched part, but on the side of the dumping facing you. This video tutorial is really helpful if you need more guidance on folding potstickers.
• Repeat the process until all your filling is used.

• Coat the bottom of a nonstick skillet with some oil and place over medium heat. You need a skillet that you can cover, but not too tightly, as some water will escape. A lid is ideal, but foil will do in a pinch.
• Add your potstickers to the skillet, with the flat (non-plated) sides down. Pan-fry the vegan potstickers until they are golden brown on the bottom.

• Add some water to the pan, cover it and let it steam for a few minutes, until all the water evaporates. Be very careful here, as water may splash onto the hot cooking surface.

Suggestion: Avoid crowding the pan. Although they are called “potstickers”, I find they tend to stick to each other more. You will probably need to cook them in batches.

• Sprinkle sesame seeds on your vegetable potstickers and serve with dipping sauce.

Remaining and storage

Leftover potstickers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.

More vegan Asian-inspired appetizers

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