Vegan Tofu Cabbage Dumplings

My mum’s side of the family has been moving between China and New Zealand since the 1880s, but my Por Por and Gong Gong immigrated to New Zealand in the 1930s and 1950s respectively. One of my favourite foods growing up was my Por Por’s wonton recipe, which my mum turned into a dumpling recipe when I was in my teens. The original recipe has a pork filling, which is delicious but not suitable for my collection of vegan friends in Wellington. I love this recipe because, to me, it represents the connection between my past and my present—traditional food that has been adapted to suit my life in Wellington and that I can share with all the people I love.

Makes 50-60 dumplings.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely diced (you can also substitute spring onions)

• 2 medium carrots, grated

• ¼ of a cabbage, thinly sliced then chopped into small pieces

• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

• 300g firm tofu

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp chinkiang vinegar

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• 50-60 dumpling wrappers (I like the Oriental Cuisine Chiao Tzu skins, but use whatever you can find) White pepper to season

Filling method

1. Heat a neutral oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the onion and carrot and cook until soft, around 5 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and ginger to the frying pan. Cook until fragrant, around 1 minute.

3. Add the cabbage and cook until soft, around 5-10 minutes.

4. Crumble the tofu into the pan—try to get the crumbles pretty small. Stir through the mixture.

5. Add the soy sauce, chinkiang vinegar, and brown sugar. Season with white pepper. Stir through until the mixture is heated through. At this point, taste the mixture to check the seasoning, and adjust as needed.

6. Transfer the mixture to a container and let it cool down. I usually place the filling in the fridge for a couple of hours.