Pan Fried Rainbow Vegetarian Dumplings

When Skittles said to taste the rainbow I’m 99.9% sure they were referring to these Rainbow Vegetarian Dumplings!

Loaded with mushrooms, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and spring onions and flavoured with ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. As you can see these Vegetarian Dumplings are jam-packed with vegetables and nothing nasty, so eating a whole batch in one sitting is not only acceptable but also healthy, you’ll be getting at the very least 2 out of your 5 a day!

Colouring the wrappers is totally optional but I highly recommend taking the time to do this step because:

1. If you have children they will go nuts of this idea, I don’t have any myself but I have a metric tonne (read 8) of nieces and nephews. They absolutely lose there shit every time I mention I’m going to make these Vegetarian Dumplings or anything rainbow for that matter. Also makes it a fun way for them to eat their vegetables
2. Easy to make.
3. Everyone will think you’re a god
4. Have you seen them? How cool are they!? As if you don’t want to make rainbow dumplings!
5. Refer to above.

I’ll leave this photo here just so you can stare at it for a minute and understand what I mean. As if you haven’t always wanted to eat a bright yellow Vegetarian Dumpling.

Oh, you thought we were done? No no no, think again because everything is about to get a whole lot better. The dumpling skins are coloured from 100% natural ingredients. There’s a big debate on whether or not artificial food colouring is harmful so I just find it best to avoid altogether and instead use mother nature to colour.

All of the skins except for black are made using vegetables: 

Pink – Beetroot juice

Yellow – Carrot puree (you could also use Turmeric, just know that Turmeric has a very distinctive taste)

Green – Spinach puree (chives would also work)

Black – the black was made using Squid Ink but if you wanted to make these Vegetarian Dumplings into Vegan Dumplings replace the squid ink with activated charcoal.

Full directions for how much of each to add to the dough is in the recipe notes.

Pan fry for a crispy bottom or boil for silky smoothness. Serve with either Black Vinegar, Soy Sauce or Chilli Oil. Or all three if you’re cool.

*Disclaimer: The amount of water needed for each colour varies. Start slow, adding a bit a time until you reach the right consistency (you want it to be shaggy and not sticky at all)

If you enjoyed this recipe then you MUST check out these other dumpling recipes from around the world!

• Japanese Pork Gyoza’s
• Nepalese Momo’s 
• Russian Pelmeni 
• Pork and Prawn Shumai 
• Chinese Chive Dumplings 
• Manti
• Pierogi 
• Bacon Cheeseburger Dumplings

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM @TILLYEATS. I LOVE SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! 

5 from 5 votes

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Rainbow Vegetarian Dumplings

Prep Time

50 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Resting

2 hrs

Total Time

1 hr

 

Servings: 20 dumplings

Ingredients

Dumpling Dough

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup boiling water*

Filling

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 stalks spring onions
• 2 cups mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil

Instructions

Dough

1. Boil the kettle and measure out ¾ of a cup and let sit for 2 minutes. Divide 2 cups of flour into 4 bowls, make a well in the centre of each. Add in the vegetable juice/puree and begin to slowly add the water. Until a shaggy dough starts to form.

2. Flour your work surface and place the dough onto it, begin kneading the dough with the palm of your hands for 5 minutes. You’ll want the dough to be elastic and smooth. Test the dough by imprinting one of your fingers, it should slowly bounce back with a light impression of your finger remaining.

   Place the doughs into a ziplock bag and remove all the air, seal tightly closed. This will steam the dough making it very soft, leave it for at least 15 minutes if in a rush otherwise leave it for two hours. The longer you leave it the softer it will be.

Filling

1. Stir fry garlic, spring onions and mushrooms for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, soy sauce and sesame oil. Cook until wilted and cooked. Let cool in the fridge. 

Cooking

1. Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture into the centre of the wrapper. With your fingertip lightly wet the top half edges of the wrapper. Fold in half and pinch the edges together, making sure the dumpling is fully sealed. Keep compleated dumplings covered with a damp tea towel. 

2. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan that has a lid, over medium heat. Once the pan is hot add in the dumplings, as many as can fit without touching one another. Cook for 3 minutes or until browned. Carefully pour in ¼ cup of water, once the hissing has stopped place on the lid and lower the heat so the liquid is just simmering.
   

   Check the dumplings after 2 minutes, the wrappers should be slightly translucent. If so remove the lid and raise the heat slightly and continue to cook until all the liquid has been evaporated. 

Recipe Notes

For green, blanch 1 cup of spinach and blend until smooth. Add 2 tbsp to the dough or more until it reaches the green you’re after.
For purple, boil 2 beetroots until soft, peel and blend until smooth. Add 2 tbsp of puree to the dough. Alternatively, use the juice out of canned beetroots. 
For orange, cook two small carrots until soft and blend until smooth. Add 2 tbsp of puree to the dough. 
For black, mix in 1 tsp of squid ink or activated charcoal 

Watch the full video for Vegetarian Dumplings here: