Since I’m constantly cooking Monday-Friday (for this blog), the weekends are usually spent going out to eat. And since I live so close to San Gabriel Valley, I usually head there for a meal or two. Chinese food is one of my al-time favorites. I have to say, I love meat pot stickers and dumplings. Shrimp and pork? Delicious. But for a lighter weeknight meal, I wanted to try my hand at Vegetarian Pot Stickers. And I’m so glad I gave them a few tries, because these are SO good.
I roasted a kabocha squash and added a bunch of stuff to it like green onions, sautéed mushrooms, sesame oil, chili paste, ginger and white pepper. It was glorious. It tasted like heaven.
This makes about 24 pot stickers which sounds like a lot but when you start eating them, it feels like it could go on forever and ever. I would highly recommend doubling this recipe and then freezing the rest. Pot stickers are THE ABSOLUTE BEST to cook straight from the freezer.
I watched this video a few times to get the crimping right and guess what, I still didn’t do it correctly. I ended up being ok. Billy nailed them and made beautiful moon-shaped dumplings (I put them at the front of this photo lol). I had some trouble but even mine that weren’t perfect, tasted delicious.
When you make pot stickers, the thing you have to do is fry first and then add some water and then immediately cover. That water creates a crispy crust and steams the dumplings. They end up being crunchy and soft and delicious all at the same time.
The dipping sauce is super easy and I love it because it’s got that spice! But feel free to skip the fire added if you’re feeling more mild vibes.
If you make these Vegetarian Pot Stickers, let me know!Â
Vegetarian Pot Stickers
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 1/2 pound kabocha squash
- Vegetable oil
- 3 ounces mushrooms of choice I used enoki mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger from about 1-knob of ginger
- Kosher salt
- 2 green onions ends trimmed and sliced
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or chili paste of your choice
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper use black pepper in a pinch
Assembly, Dipping Sauce and Serving:
- 24 pot sticker wrappers or won ton wrappers
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 green onions ends trimmed and sliced, as garnish
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds as garnish
Instructions
To Make the Filling:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the squash cut side down and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. Scoop out squash and add to a bowl.
- In a small skillet, set over medium heat, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the green onions, mushrooms, ginger and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add to the bowl with the squash and add the green onions, sesame oil, Sriracha, white pepper and a pinch of salt. Mix it up and give it a taste. Adjust the salt according to taste; I ended up adding an additional few pinches of salt.
To Assemble the Pot Stickers:
- Place one wrapper in your hand. Add a teaspoon of filling to the center of the wrapper and moisten hallway around the edge with a wet finger. To seal, using the thumb and forefinger of one hand, form tiny pleats, pressing the edges together. Stand the dumpling up on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
- *NOTE: If you’re cooking these in a few hours, transfer them to the freezer. And cook them straight from the freezer.
To Make the Sauce:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, Sriracha and sesame oil. Set aside.
To Cook the Pot Stickers:
- To a 10-inch, non-stick skillet, set over medium heat, add a few teaspoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the pot stickers so they’re standing up right. Cook, uncovered until the bottoms are light golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water and then quickly cover with a lid. Cook until bottom is crispy and dumplings are steamed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the pot and serve alongside the sauce. Garnish with sliced green onion and sesame seeds. Serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
More Potsticker Recipes:Â
Yes! More vegan recipes please! These look great.
To anyone who loves animals, consider going plant-based 🙂 check out the Joaquin Pheonix move Earthlings! It will blow your mind what humans are doing to every other species for profit without thought to what consumers find ethical, what is best for the earth, and what is healthy and sustainable.
Thanks again!
The filling of potstickers is always an inspiration for our creativity xD I like it!
btw, the Black Panther is so greatttt 😉
So I’m sitting here looking at your photos before reading it, and I’m thinking: how did she get the crimping to look so professional? And then I read your post. They look great!
Thanks for the recipe.
Great recipe Adarme, but once you get me mouth watering. hahahaha. This looks really great..going to give it a try. Something warming and delicious.
Try adding some rice wine vinegar and Hoisen sauce to the dipping sauce, adds a new dimension.
So pretty! I am definitely going to try to make these. Does that little pot in the 3rd picture on the post have eye balls?
Haha yes it does. 🙂
So cute! That would definitely brighten my day…especially given these dreary Chicago days.
Ok idk why I haven’t made veggie potstickers yet but I am SO all over this! I never love the ones at Chinese restaurants, so I’m skipping that noise and going right to these.
Yassss they’re so good. AND easy!
I love potstickers and honestly never imagined myself making them at home, but this looks so un-intimidating! I’ve learned not to care if my home cooking is ugly (and you should see my comically misshapen empanadas) so long as it’s delicious.
Hahah I understand this. Honestly once they’re cooked up, they all look great. 🙂