Caramel Tofu Tahini Dumplings

Jump to Recipe

If there is one thing lockdown has taught me, it’s the importance of dumplings. Whether they’re store-bought or homemade, dumplings are the chill dinner we all need and deserve. They store long-term in the freezer and take mere moments to cook directly from frozen in a nonstick pan. And if you treat your nonstick right, it’s the easiest piece of equipment to clean in all of modern cookery. I realize I posted a potsticker recipe just a few months ago. But desperate dim-sum-free times call for frequent dumpling recipes, so I hope you won’t find today’s Caramel Tofu Tahini Dumplings too repetitive.

Folding Dumplings – Essential Life Skill

I’ve upgraded the importance of dumpling-making skills from “nice to have” to “vital” in just six weeks. There is something about being able to make a big batch of convenience food that is so empowering. Personally, I think of it as an act of self-care. When present Susan just can’t hack it in the kitchen one more night, past Susan saves the day with a bag of frozen dumplings. I’ve even gifted a few bags to a couple of friends in my neighborhood via porch drop, of course.

Less-Than-Attainable Food Cravings

In this time of extreme uncertainty, I find my food cravings have become very focused, insistent, and horrendously inconvenient. My brain keeps serving me daydreams of pub food and takeout Chinese. I dreamt of sushi the other night in full color and surround sound. And when I woke up, I realized this was probably the longest I’ve ever gone without salmon sashimi. Oh, the indulgences I took for granted. Yes, my subconscious seems hell-bent on asking for what it can’t have, which in addition to being incredibly annoying is also terribly cliche.

If You Can Crave it, You Can Make it

The upside to all of this quarantine-time is, well, time. I’ve had plenty of it to perfect my triple fried fries, California roll, and yes, dumpling pleat. Without the simple option to run and grab it, I’ve been forced to try and make it. This has led me to refine a whole host of new culinary skills. And I know for a fact that it’s not just me. A friend of mine proudly told me about her first batch of homemade tortillas over Zoom just the other day. And she’s not a food obsessive like me.

Cooking: A Meditative Practice

The upside of this quarantine is people are engaging with cooking in a different way. They’re not seeing it as a chore, hurdle or massive time-suck. They’re starting to see it as a meditative practice, an actual joy. As far as I know, there is no tortilla shortage and yet my friend felt compelled to make her own. She recognized the soothing power of pressing and cooking your own dough and the sense of accomplishment that comes from making something that nourishes you.

But on the other hand, cooking doesn’t always feel like that. In fact, it may never feel that way for you because cooking, like any activity, is exciting to some but not to all. But if you’re finding yourself weirdly enjoying your extra time in the kitchen, might I put forward these Caramel Tofu Tahini Dumplings as a candidate for your next kitchen project?

Caramel Tofu Tahini Dumplings

This Caramel Tofu filling is an example of the beauty that can be found in limitations. I ran out of soy sauce the day before I made these. At the same time, I had some dumpling wrappers and tofu in the fridge that were flirting with their respective expiry dates. But I was nervous about making dumpling filling without my favorite culinary crutch – soy sauce. I knew my salty, umami note was going to have to come from a different source. That source turned out to be fish sauce, which immediately brought me into Vietnamese territory. And thus, caramel tofu wound up on the menu.

I think it has been established that I am more or less a creature of habit. So it should come as no surprise to you that I included rice vermicelli in this dish. I did the same with the Peanut Butter Kale Potstickers I posted a few months ago and the texture was so pleasing, I couldn’t imagine leaving them out. I used brown rice vermicelli this time because that’s what I had lurking in my pantry. But regular ol’ white rice vermicelli will do the trick as well.

I repeated myself once again when it came to the tahini. Dumplings are easier to pleat when the filling isn’t loose. So, to act as a flavorful binder, I added tahini. I had done the same with peanut butter in my previous potsticker recipe, so I knew it would not only work practically but it would also add some richness to the finished dumplings.

So that’s everything you need to know about these Caramel Tofu Tahini Dumplings. I suppose they’re more or less a variation on the Peanut Butter Kale Potstickers I posted a little while ago. But I think you can never have too many dumplings, especially during the lockdown.

Enjoy!