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Homemade Vegan Wontons
Wontons are surprisingly easy to make and while most are filled with meat, you can make them vegan using countless flavor combinations.
Whenever I sit down to write a post after a period of absence–in this case, over two months–my inclination is always to give you a rundown of everything that’s happened. It’s how I’m wired, always feeling like I have to provide a full accounting of things. But these days, with the exception of trying to furnish our little mountain home the past few months, at times from 800 miles away which has proven challenging occasionally, we’ve all had a common preoccupation–waiting to see how our individual stories will play out this year.
I’m grateful to say that this year has been much kinder to us than it has been for others but it hasn’t alleviated the anxiety or fear about what the future holds for us all. For now, it’s mask on then go about the day.
To make up for the cancelled travel and drastically reduced time with friends and family this year I’ve continued to bake sourdough bread, even learning to adapt my bakes at 5,900 ft.
Back home here in the Bay Area I finally tackled wontons. They’re no huge technical feat but for years I’d buy a package of wonton wrappers with the intention of making them only for them to end up in the bin because I’d find reasons why my efforts would fail.
Finally, this past weekend, fueled by a need to get my diet back to on track, I made these vegan wontons.
What are Wontons?
Wontons are Chinese dumplings that are typically filled with pork or shrimp and seasonings then boiled, fried or added to soup. A typical Sichuan preparation is to serve boiled wontons heavily dressed with a chili oil-soy sauce-vinegar condiment which is the way I’ve presented them here. In addition to tossing them in a simple broth loaded with cabbage for a quick comforting soup, this is my other favorite way to enjoy them. If you like them fried, they’re great that way, too (see my last picture below).
How to Prepare Vegan Wontons
The recipe I’m sharing replaces the traditional meat filling with my favorite vegan combination, tofu and mushrooms, and rounded out with shallots, carrots, cabbage, ginger and garlic.
Most filling recipes are straightforward, calling for mixing raw ingredients and seasonings but with tofu not contributing much by way of flavor I pre-cooked the vegetables to coax out as much of it as possible. Just a few minutes on the stove also gives the carrots enough time to soften since wontons cook fairly quickly when boiled.
Pre-cooking the vegetables is worth the extra five minute step. The bulk of the time required to make these wontons is in filling the wrappers. If you have a mini food processor use it for the vegetables and the chopping/mincing job will take only seconds rather than several minutes.
I bought a large package so I filled 50 in one go (and you’d understand how happy I was to see that the filling I prepared was all used up!) but it was fun to see them come together and my husband and I enjoyed the chili oil-soy-vinegar soaked ones as I jumped from filling a small batch, cooking them and photographing them for this post. Later that evening I threw together pot of wonton soup using a small batch I had thrown in the freezer a few hours before.
Wonton-Making Tips
- Wonton Wrappers are typically made with flour, eggs and water so if you want yours vegan look for a brand that doesn’t use eggs. I picked up Vegan Nasoya wrappers at my local Safeway so you shouldn’t have much trouble sourcing them.
- Shiitake mushrooms have a meatier, sturdier texture than cremini mushrooms so that’s my recommendation though the latter is what I used here and work just fine.
5 from 1 vote
Homemade Vegan Wontons
Wontons are surprisingly easy to make and while most are filled with meat, you can make them vegan using countless flavor combinations.
CourseMain Course
CuisineAsian
Keywordwontons, vegan wontons, homemade wontons
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Wonton Wrapping Time for 50 pieces 45 minutes
Servings 50 pieces
Author Jean | Lemons + Anchovies
Ingredients
Wonton Filling (for 50 pieces)
- 8ozfirm or extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled (1/2 block)
- 5 ozshiitake or cremini mushrooms (about 6 medium)
- 1/3large carrot or half of a small one
- 1 shallot, peeled (or 1/4 or 1/3 of an onion)
- 1inchknob fresh ginger, peeledYou can grate with a Microplane or process with the rest of the vegetables
- 2clovesgarlic
- Small wedge cabbage
- 1stalk scallion with two to three green shoots, chopped
Seasonings for Filling
- 1/2-3/4teaspoongarlic powder
- 1/2-3/4teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2teaspoonmushroom seasoning (optional)
- 1 1/2teaspoonsoy sauce or coconut aminos or liquid aminos
- 1 1/2teaspoonsesame oil
- pinch or two salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Other Ingredients
- 1packagewonton wrappers (I used the thin variety)
- few tablespoons olive oil
For Garnish/Serving
- chopped scallions
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- chili oil (I used my homemade chili oil for this)
- vinegar (or lemon juice)
Instructions
Prepare the filling
Tofu: Take your drained tofu and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or tear with your fingers until it's in small crumbs. Set aside.
Vegetables: You can finely mince the vegetables but it will take longer than using a mini food processor. The instructions here call for the use of one.
Roughly cut the carrots, shallot and ginger (if you haven't grated it in a Microplane) in pieces then toss along with the garlic cloves into a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture is minced. You want small, distinguishable pieces and not a paste.
Preheat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the minced vegetable mixture and cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionaly so it doesn't burn.
Using your processor again (you don't have to clean it), toss the mushrooms in and pulse until they're also in small pieces. Add to the vegetables in the pan along with the garlic powder, onion powder, mushroom seasoning (if using), soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if it's too dry. You can use the smaller amounts called for in the ingredient list and add more to taste when you combine the filling components. Continue to cook, stirring occasionaly until fragrant and you see some of the mushroom pieces start to show some golden color. This will take three to four minutes. Turn off the heat and add to the crumbled tofu.
Using the food processor again, add the cabbage and pulse a few times until shredded. Add to the tofu-vegetable mixture along with the chopped scallions. Toss until well combined and add the sesame oil. Taste for adjustments to the seasonings until you're happy. You can add more salt, soy sauce, garlic or onion powder or sesame oil.
Fill the Wontons
Take a wonton wrapper and fill with about one teaspoon of filling. Moisten all four sides of the wrapper with water using your finger then fold one half over the filling, creating a triangle (see pictures). Gently press around the filling to push out any air pockets stuck in the wrapper and seal the edges. Then fold the two sides of the triangle together, pinching to seal again. It helps to dab a little water on the edges to seal. Repeat until you've used all your wrappers and filling. Tip: to keep the wrappers from drying out, cover the filled wontons and wrappers with a kitchen towel as you wrap.
Boil the Wontons
Bring a pot of water to a boil then slide in the prepared wontons in the pot. The cooked wontons will float to the top when they're done, about three to four minutes. (A soft, rolling boil is better to keep the wontons from tearing.) When done, take a slotted spoon and fish them out of the pot and transfer to a plate. You can serve them Sichuan style as pictured with chili oil, soy sauce and vinegar, topped with more scallions.
For the prepared (uncooked) wontons you won't use the same day arrange them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag to use later.
Fried Wontons
For fried wontons you can prepare the mixture and fill the wrappers the same way. Fold them only once for the triangle shape then fry them for one to two minutes on each side.
