Vegetarian dumplings in Chinese New Year

This is a late post about Chinese New Year. 

In 2013 Chinese New Year (Snake Year), I made vegetarian dumplings. These vegetarian dumplings are traditionally made on Chinese New Year eve and eaten on the next day, with the hope that the whole next year will go by smoothly. I guess it is because eating meat involves killing, chopping--things related to anxiety and lack of peace. The recipe is from my aunt. My grandma and my mother used it too. 

Here it is:

Ingredients: 1/4 Napa cabbage, 2 carrots, a small bundle of green bean vermicelli, 5~6 mushrooms, a small bundle of bean sprouts, some cilantro, fermented bean curd (Ranch 99 has), sesame oil, and salt.

To make the filling:

1. The cabbages are chopped and squeezed out water. 

2. The other vegetables are chopped and mixed with chopped cabbage. 

3. Add fermented bean curd and sesame oil. Taste. Maybe add more.

4. Add salt and taste.

To make the dumpling:

5. Follow the procedure described before to wrap the dumpling.

http://joelvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2012/09/zucchini-shrimp-potstickers.html

To boil the dumpling (Option 1):

6. Boil plenty of water in a large pot. Add dumplings and gently stir. In a minute or two, the dumplings will float. Keep boiling until the wrap is fully cooked. Total time 4~5 minutes. 

To steam the dumpling (Option 2)

6'. Boil water in a large steaming pot. Put dumplings on wet cheese cloth. Cover and steam for 7~8 minutes. 

7. Serve hot with vinegar. 

The result was pretty good:

The vegetarian filling: Napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms,bean sprouts, Fermented bean curd, sesame oil, etc. 

I boiled the dumplings. Steaming is another option.

Vegetarian dumplings

In my 20s I thought my life had taken an unconventional direction, but now it has converged to the path my parents and grandparents took. It is about making delicious food and sharing them with family and friends. It is about love, memories, and tradition. I love and am loved. 

Timmy said it was super delicious even though the flavor of fermented bean curd was a surprise.