Crispy Rice Paper Dumplings
Crispy rice paper dumplings are a great appetizer or main dish. They're crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and filled with a flavorful mix of crunchy vegetables and protein. This recipe is gluten free and dairy free with a plant based option.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- ½ pound protein of choice (any ground meat, crumbled firm tofu, or pulsed cooked chickpeas)
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari or soy sauce use coconut aminos for soy free
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 2 cups any color cabbage thinly sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms of choice finely chopped
- large rice paper sheets/spring roll wrappers about 8.5 inches in size, see notes below
- oil for cooking dumplings
Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup low-sodium tamari/soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- splash maple syrup omit if using coconut aminos
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds optional
- sliced green onions optional
Instructions
- Brown meat with aromatics. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add one tablespoon of oil along with the garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, then add in your protein of choice. After 1-2 minutes add the tamari/soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Once browned, add the vegetables and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Cool filling and make sauce. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked protein and vegetables to a bowl and allow them to cool. While the filling cools, whisk together the tamari/soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, maple syrup, and sriracha for your dipping sauce.
- Prepare your dumpling station. Fill a large shallow bowl with cool water and grab a large plate and a cutting board. Lightly oil the plate to place your wrapped dumplings on so they don't stick. You'll use the cutting board to wrap the dumplings on.
- Hydrate rice paper. Take a sheet of rice paper and completely submerge it in the water for a few seconds. Transfer it to your cutting board. The rice paper will rehydrate and become softer as you're working with it so it's important not to over soak it.
- Add filling and wrap. Add ¼ cup of filling to the center of the rice paper. Then gently pull the bottom of the rice paper up over the filling, fold over the left side, and then the right. Finally, roll it forward to seal the dumpling. Then repeat with a second rice paper so it's double-wrapped.
- Cook until crispy. Wipe out the excess moisture in the skillet and place it back over medium heat. Add a thin layer of oil to coat the bottom of the pan and place 3-4 dumplings in the skillet leaving space between them. Cook on each side for 5-6 minutes or until crispy with some brown spots. Transfer to a wire rack and continue with the process until you've cooked all the dumplings.
Notes
Makes about 12 dumplings, but this will number vary depending on the amount of filling used.
Make sure you use the large rice paper sheets: they're 22 cm or 8.5 inches in diameter. If you can only find the small rice paper sheets, you'll only be able to use about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling.
See blog post for more helpful tips and storage.