Golden Bottom Veggie Potstickers

• 40-50 dumpling wrappers thawed if frozen
• 1 round eggplant about 1 lb
• 1¼ cup green beans measured before cut
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms
• 7 oz firm tofu drained
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt see notes
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or to taste

a few dashes of white pepper

• 1 teaspoon miso yellow or white

sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons cake flour or corn starch plus more for dusting

cooking oil

water

Prepare the vegetables

1. Slice eggplant into 1cm thick rounds. Stack a few rounds together and slice into thin strips. Turn the stack around so the line stays horizontally. Cut into cubes and set aside.
2. To cut the green beans, pile a few of them into stacks, then chop them into tiny bite-sized pieces. Repeat the same process for mushrooms. Please keep in mind that these vegetables will shrink once cooked but you want a good bite-size piece so you can easily fill them in the wrapper later.
3. Cook the filling
4. Next, heat a large non-stick skillet with 2-3 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Sauté ginger until slightly golden and aromatic. Mash tofu into crumbles over the pan. Cook the tofu until a thin crust forms or start to dry up.
5. Add the mushrooms, green beans, eggplant, and toss to combine. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes or until the eggplant is tender.
6. Season with salt, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, and miso. Stir-fry to combine until the miso has dissolved. You may use the back of the spatula to mash the miso while stir-frying.
7. Then, add a drizzle of sesame oil, give it a final toss and turn off the heat. The mixture shouldn't have much moisture left. If you do, use a slotted spoon to transfer the filling into a bowl. Let it cool.
8. Add the flour and mix until well-combined.
9. Wrap the dumplings
10. Fill a small bowl with water and dust a large baking pan with flour or cornstarch. Set aside.
11. To wrap the dumpling, moisten a wrapper's circumference with water.
12. Top with a spoonful of filling and pleat to seal. Place the dumpling on the dusted baking pan and cover it with a cloth to prevent it from drying out.
13. Repeat until all the filling is used. You may get 40-50 dumplings depending on how much you fill the dumplings.
14. Cook the dumplings
15. Heat a large non-stick pan (I used 10") over medium heat with 2 teaspoons of oil. Arrange as many dumplings as the pan comfortably fits, with a slight gap.
16. Cook until the dumpling bottom gets a thin crust (golden bottom – see video). Add about ½ cup of water to the hot pan. Be careful as it will sizzles.
17. Cover with a lid (that has a vent) and cook until all the water has evaporated. When the dumplings are done, they will turn semi-translucent and you should hear minimal sizzling sound. The dumpling bottom will turn deeply golden as well.
18. Turn off the heat and transfer to a plate. Serve with a side of chili oil or sliced ginger in Chinese black vinegar.

Salty component – There are 3 salty components in this recipe: salt, soy sauce, and miso. Some miso or soy sauce is saltier than others, so please reduce or increase the amount accordingly.

The water needed depends on the size of the pan and the number of dumplings you put in. The rule of thumb is to add enough water to cover a little over the bottom of the dumpling. For my 10″ pan, I used about 1/2 cup water.