Christmas starter: Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for kimchi and tofu dumplings

The truth about Christmas past is that the vegan was often sent to the Siberian end of the dining table with a nut roast for one. Happily, we’re in 2019 and it doesn’t have to be this way any more.

These bold but comforting little dumplings are the perfect way to cut the ribbon on the Christmas meal, and are something that the whole family can both help to make and eat together. Christmas, after all, is about sharing – well, until it comes to the last dumpling, at least.

Kimchi and tofu dumplings with dipping sauce

Don’t worry about your pleating skills: you can just press these little dumplings shut and they’ll still look lovely. You’ll need a food processor to make the filling, though.

You can find gyoza wrappers in the freezer section of most Chinese shops or big supermarkets – I use Happy Belly gyoza skins, which are round and 10cm in diameter. If you can find only square ones, they’ll work, too.

Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr
Makes About 30

For the dipping sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

For the dumplings
280g firm tofu, drained
250g good-quality vegan kimchi
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
10 spring onions, finely chopped
Salt
30 gyoza (or wonton) wrappers, defrosted
Black sesame seeds, to serve

First, make up the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl, then put to one side.

Cut the tofu into large pieces, then put in a food processor. Weigh out the kimchi – both cabbage and juice – add to the tofu, then blitz until the mixture resembles mince.

Over a medium flame, heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan for which you have a lid. Once hot, add all but a small handful of the spring onions. Stir-fry for four to five minutes, until soft, then add the kimchi and tofu mixture and cook for 10 minutes, until the water disappears. Taste – you may need to add up to a teaspoon of salt, but this will depend on your kimchi, so add it bit by bit. Tip the mixture into a bowl, and wipe out the frying pan.

For the dumplings, fill a small bowl with water. Take one wonton wrapper (cover the rest with a damp tea towel to stop them drying out). Wet the outside of the wrapper with a (clean) finger dipped in the water bowl. Put two heaped teaspoons of filling in the centre of the wrapper (or enough to be generous, but not so much that you can’t handle the dumpling). Fold over the wrapper to enclose the filling, then press closed or pinch and pleat the wrapper, working from one side to the other, pressing out as much air as possible as you go. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling (congratulating yourself on the improvement of your pleating skills as time goes on).

Related: Nigel Slater’s gyoza recipes

To cook the dumplings, heat a tablespoon of oil in the frying pan over a low flame. Once it’s hot, add as many dumplings as will fit in a single layer on the base of the pan and fry for a minute or two, until their bottoms are golden. Gently flip over, turn down the heat, add five tablespoons of water and cover the pan with a lid. Steam for six to seven minutes, until the pastry is soft and the water has evaporated. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

Throw the reserved spring onions into the dipping sauce, then arrange the dumplings on plates, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with saucers of dipping sauce.

Fiona Beckett’s drinks match

You really want something aromatic with this, ideally with a touch of sweetness, so think grape varieties such as pinot gris, riesling and gewürztraminer. You get the three together in New Zealand producer TWR’s absolutely delicious Toru 2018 (£17.95 Hop, Burns & Black, 13%), which is also organic and suitable for vegans. FB