These crispy rice paper rolls have been super popular on social media and they looked so good to me that I wanted to create my own version and share them with you (this is not my original idea!). I also thought it would be a fun date night dinner to try and make them with your spouse, partner, or friend! However, be warned that it is definitely a project and a little tedious so you have to be committed!
A simple veggie and tofu mixture (or use ground meat, see substitutions section for other ideas!) gets wrapped up in rice paper, then pan fried until crispy and golden, and served with a crunchy tangy cucumber salad and a delicious soy dipping sauce. Successfully making the dumplings takes a few practice tries, so don’t be discouraged and have fun with it (and watch the video)!
Ingredient Highlight
Tofu! is a soybean curd is made by curdling fresh soy milk, pressing it into a solid block and then cooling it. It’s a great source of protein, calcium, selenium, iron, magnesium, and zinc to name a few.
I’m personally not a huge tofu fan and usually opt for tempeh, but when you get it crispy and smother it in a sauce, it’s delicious!
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 30 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
For the filling:
- 2 tbsp olive oil + more for frying
- 2 cups finely chopped or thinly sliced green cabbage and/or kale
- 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white/light green parts and dark green parts separated
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 (14 oz) block extra firm tofu, crumbled, water squeezed out*
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 16 rice paper sheets found in Asian/ethnic aisle
- Sesame seeds optional
For the dipping sauce:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp sriracha
- ½ tsp sugar or maple syrup
For the cucumber salad:
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced about 3 cups
- 1 cup grated carrot
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- *Add crumbled tofu to a dish towel and ring out the water before adding to the pan. If you’re not into tofu, just use a pound of ground meat. see substitution section
- Note: it can take a while to make all 32 dumplings, so if it’s a date night, save some time and just make 16 (you can make the rest another day).
- ~ Create your own filling! To simplify, you could fill these with anything you want, just make sure there is protein and veg in there (see substitutions section).
- ~ Don’t want to fry? Frying is the most delicious way to make these, but it can be messy and smoky, so if you want to make it easier on yourself, use the oven! Arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush both sides with oil. Bake (folded side down) in a 450F (use convection if you have it) oven for about 15 minutes or until crispy.
Instructions
- For the cucumber salad, mix everything together in a medium bowl. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes (longer is better – overnight is best!).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil, cabbage, mushrooms, white/light green parts of the scallion, and salt. Stir to combine and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the cabbage and mushrooms are softened and the water has cooked out.
- Add the tofu, soy, sesame, ginger, and garlic and stir to combine everything and infuse the flavors together, about 1-2 minutes. If there is a lot of water in the pan from the tofu, simmer it so that it can evaporate. Stir in half of the green parts of the scallions (save the rest for topping).
- For the dipping sauce, mix everything together in a small bowl.
- Fill a bowl or plate wide enough to fit the rice papers with a thin layer of room temp water. Dip a rice sheet in it, making sure it is covered in the water, and let it sit for about 15 seconds. Remove, shake off excess water, and place on a cutting board. Repeat with another rice sheet and place on top of the first one (we want two layers!). You can use a paper towel to gently wipe off any excess water.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the rice paper in half and then into quarters. Place about 1 scant tablespoon of the filling in the center of each triangle (it’s super important not to overfill and to keep the edges dry otherwise it won’t stick). With clean hands (if fingers are oily, the rice paper won’t stick well to itself), carefully fold two of the corners over and on top of each other (they should stick together) and then fold the other two sides over, stretching them so it’s nice and compact (see video!!). Transfer to a large plate or baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat with remaining triangles. Then repeat with remaining rice sheets until the filling is used up.
- Clean out the skillet used to make the filling and wipe dry. Over medium-high heat, add about 3 tablespoons oil (enough to generously coat the skillet). Once the oil is hot, add as many dumplings as you can fit without letting them touch, placing the folded side down, and let fry for about 4-5 minutes or until crispy and light golden. Flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate or baking sheet and let cook for 10 minutes before eating (they are very hot!).
- Serve the dumplings over the cucumber salad with dipping sauce on the side. Top with green scallions and sesame seeds (if using).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Finely chop or thinly sliced 2 cups cabbage
- Finely chop 2 cups mushrooms
- Thinly sliced 1 bunch scallions white/light green parts and dark green parts separated
- Crumble 1 block tofu
- Mince or grate 2 cloves garlic
- Grate 1 tbsp ginger
- Make the filling
- Grate 1 cup carrot
- Peel and thinly slice 2 cucumbers (about 3 cups) + make the cucumber salad
- Make the dipping sauce
Substitutions:
- Not into tofu? Neither am I, but I actually liked it in these. However, you could use 1 lb of ground pork – just cook it before the veggies, remove it, and then add it back in once the veggies are cooked.
- The cabbage and mushroom combo is classic, but you could do only cabbage, more or less mushrooms, or add in any other finely chopped veggie (like bell pepper, kale, etc…).
- These dumplings are essentially a vehicle for whatever fillings you want. So if you didn’t want to cook the filling, you could just put a slab of tofu, a few slices of avocado, and some shredded carrot in the center and call it a day! Or try with cooked salmon (or tuna), avocado, and scallions!
- You could serve these dumplings with any simple veggie side if you don’t want to make the cucumber salad (a simple green salad or slaw would be great).
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge:
- Dumplings or dumpling filling: up to 5 days
- Dipping sauce: up to 7 days
- Cucumber salad: up to 6 days
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm leftover dumplings up in a lightly oiled covered skillet – this will help crisp them back up and warm them up at the same time. You could also pop them in the microwave in a pinch.
- Leftover dumpling filling would be delicious served on top of rice with the dipping sauce drizzled over and something crunchy on top, like peanuts.
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