Step 1

Add in 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix well. Create a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the warm water

Step 2

Use a spatula or chopsticks to mix the flour and water. Once the dough starts to come together, you can use your hands to mix the bits of dough. Knead together for several minutes until the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands.

Step 3

Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a bowl. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Step 4

Drain excess liquid from the tofu. Mash with a form and then transfer to a cheese cloth or any cloth. Squeeze out liquid.

Step 5

If using dry mushrooms, rehydrate the dried mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for at least 15 minutes.

Step 6

Finely shred or process the carrots. Repeat this for the cabbage, mushrooms, and onions, and garlic.

Step 7

Heat a pan. Add in 1 ½ tbsp canola or other neutral oil. When the oil is hot, add in the garlic and onions. Add in the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms.

Step 8

Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes until the carrots are tender. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste. Add in the tofu and mix well. Turn off heat.

Step 9

Add in cornstarch and mix until well combined. Season with some sesame oil and and chinese 5 spice, if using.

Step 10

Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool while you work on the wrappers.

Step 11

Divide the filling into 35-36 portions. I do so by getting a large tablespoon and scooping a generous amount, and then rolling and compressing it to create an oval or round ball of filling.

Step 12

Flour your surface. Remove the dough from the bowl. Punch your thumb into the center to create a hole. Slowly pinch and form the sides to create a larger hole before slowly pulling apart the sides to create a large ring (see video)

Step 13

Sprinkle the dough with some flour. Using a knife, slice the ring of dough into 14 to 15-gram pieces, making around 35-36 pieces.

Step 14

Place the pieces in a bowl and cover with a towel to prevent them from drying out.

Step 15

Flour your surface. Get a piece of dough and then roll it into a ball. Lightly flatten it with your palm.

Step 16

Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and lightly coat your rolling pin with some flour as well. While holding both ends of the rolling pin, roll out the dough by moving the pin forward and backward. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the movement. Continue to roll out the dough until you have a wrapper that’s around 3 to 4 inches. If you can’t make them into a perfectly round shape, that’s okay.

Step 17

You can also roll out the dough using a rotating movement if you have a small, thinner rolling pin. Using one hand, hold the small rolling pin and then hold the dough on the other hand. While you’re moving the pin with your right hand, you are also rolling the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise. Keep moving the pin and rotating until you have wrappers that are around 3 to 4 inches in diameter. It took me a while to get used to this movement since a lot of the pros do it very quicky but once you get your coordination, it’s much easier to roll out the dough.

Step 18

Repeat either step 6 or 7 for the rest of the dough until you have rolled them all out into wrappers. Keep the wrappers covered with a towel while you fill add each piece with filling.

Step 19

Get 1 piece of wrapper. Place it on your palm. Add in a ball of the filling.

Step 20

Compress the filling and then carefully fold the wrapper from the bottom to the top, while using your finger to push the filling in. Carefully seal the wrapper with your fingers by pressing both ends together. From there, you can pleat the edges of the dumplings. You can refer to the video for how I pleat mine and other ways to pleat dumplings

Step 21

Repeat this for the rest of the dumplings

Step 22

Heat non-stick pan with a lid. Add in 1 tbsp* of oil. When hot, place 8-9 pieces of dumplings, or more depending on the size of your pan. Make sure that there is space between each dumpling.

Step 23

Leave to cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until a nice golden brown crust has formed underneath. Flip the dumplings. Prepare the lid of your pan. Using the lid as protection, carefully pour ¼ cup of water* into the pan and then immediately cover to prevent it from splashing due to the heat.

Step 24

Leave to cook in the steam or until the water has evaporated, around 5-6 minutes. Take out the dumplings and repeat this step for the remaining ones. Garnish with some chopped onion leeks and sesame seeds. Enjoy while hot with some dipping sauce!

Step 25

Mix all ingredients together and feel to adjust according to your desired taste.