Peanut Butter Kale Potstickers
These Peanut Butter Kale Potstickers feature a vegetarian filling consisting of cabbage, kale, shiitakes, rice noodles, and shredded extra firm tofu dressed in a rich peanut sauce spiked with red curry paste.
Equipment
- Nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid.
Ingredients
- 50g (1.8oz) dried rice vermicelli
- 2 tbsp neutral oil I used canola
- 2 shallots diced
- 1 (2-inch) knob ginger peeled, minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 brick extra firm tofu grated
- 100g (3.5oz) shiitake mushrooms stems removed, diced
- ½ head napa cabbage halved lengthwise, finely chopped
- ¼ cup waterchestnuts minced
- 300g (10.5oz) green kale stalks removed and coarsely chopped
- 3 Thai red chilies thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup all-natural crunchy peanut butter
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp red curry paste heaping
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 50 round dumpling wrappers
- 1 scallion thinly sliced
- sesame seeds for sprinkling
- crushed red pepper flakes for sprinkling
Instructions
- Place the rice vermicelli in a large heatproof bowl, set aside. Put a full kettle of water on to boil. Pour the boiling water over the noodles and let stand until the noodles are tender. About 10 minutes.
- While the noodles are steeping, heat the oil in a large wok until shimmering. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and saute until just translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant, about a minute more.
- Add the tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, and water chestnuts to the wok along with another pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are browned and the cabbage has wilted. Start adding the kale in batches, only adding more when the subsequent batch has wilted.
- Take the wok off of the heat. Taste and season accordingly with a splash of soy sauce and stir in the red chilies. Transfer the filling to a large bowl.
- Drain the noodles and, using kitchen shears, snip the noodles into the tofu mixture, 2-3 inches at a time.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk to combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, wine, red curry paste, honey, and sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the tofu and noodle mixture and toss to integrate and coat. Set aside.
- Take a dumpling wrapper and, with a wet finger, draw a 1-inch border around the edge of the wrapper. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper and fold in half, forming a sort of taco-shape. Pinch to seal the center. Go to one side of this seal and pleat the side of the dumpling closest to you. Make sure the pleat points towards the center. Make two more pleats like that and press to seal the corner. Go the other side of the sealed center and repeat, again pushing your pleats towards the center to form a crescent shape.** Transfer the finished dumpling to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until you run out of filling or dumpling skins.
- Once the dumplings are finished, you can either transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and let freeze for 30 minutes before transferring the dumplings to a freezer bag for future consumption. Or you can fry some or all of the dumplings up fresh.
- In a non-stick skillet heat 1 tbsp of neutral oil over high heat until shimmering. Add the dumplings to the pan and sear until golden on the bottom. Throw a ¼ cup of water in the pan and cover with a domed lid immediately. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let steam for 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer the potstickers to a large platter and garnish with scallions, sesame seeds, and chili flakes. Serve with black vinegar, sriracha, soy sauce, Sichuan chili oil or all of the above.
Notes
** If you're looking for more guidance on pleating dumplings, I found this video extremely helpful.