Gluten Free Veggie Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)

Is there anything more delicious than stuffed pasta? Probably not. It’s super hard to find gluten free gyoza, and I’ve actually never encountered a fresh version at a restaurant or a frozen version at the grocery. I decided to make my own using super healthy chickpea pasta! I highly recommend making an extra big batch and freezing the leftovers, because these do take some time, and they are worth it! These gyoza are gluten free, vegan, oil free, and refined sugar free. They’re also an excellent source of protein, essential fatty acids, and vitamin D! This is how we made them:

Gluten Free Veggie Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)

Ingredients:

Chickpea Pasta

1 flax egg (1 tbsp very fine flax meal + 3 tbsp warm water)

1 ½ cups chickpea flour

¼ cup tapioca starch

¼ cup sweet rice flour

1 tsp xanthan gum (optional, but it really helps keep the dough from crumbling)

½ tsp salt

½ cup warm water

Filling:

½ block extra firm tofu, crumbled into small pieces

5 shiitake mushrooms, finely diced

Few handfuls of spinach, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely grated garlic

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

2 tbsp rice vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

¼ cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

½ tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

In a tiny bowl, assemble your flax egg. Mix it together, and set it aside for about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the chickpea flour, tapioca starch, rice flour, xanthan gum, and salt.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mix, and add in your flax egg once it has set up. Add about ¼ cup of the warm water, stir until the mixture is crumbly. Then get in their with your hands. Add water slowly until the dough sticks together. It should be tough but cohesive. If it gets too sticky, add in more chickpea flour. Continue kneading for a few minutes. This is your workout. Did you skip the gym today? I’m here to push you and tell you that you can knead this dough for 10 more reps!

Wrap your pasta in a reusable wax wrap or plastic, and let it rest for 30 minutes. There’s no rest for you, however! Let’s make the filling!

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a couple tbsp of water (or oil if you’re not avoiding) and once it starts to bubble, add the tofu, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic. Stir frequently until the mushrooms are soft. Add the spinach and green onions, and continue to cook until the spinach starts to wilt. Add the Bragg’s, rice vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Now, traditionally gyoza are pan fried and then steamed. Since we’re not using any oil and working with somewhat delicate dough, we are going to boil ours instead. Heat a large pan of salted water on the stove for boiling the gyoza, and then let’s make assemble these beauties!

I find that they key to good gyoza is making sure you roll your pasta thin. Personally, I like the ease of a pasta press, but every once in a while when I can’t find the clamp to secure my press to my counter (literally 98% of the time I want to use my press), I roll it out instead, and it can be done! Whether you’re using a press or a rolling pin, you’ll want a flat surface and to lay out some gf flour or some chickpea flour. Knead the dough in the flour and make sure there is enough flour under the dough so it won’t stick and enough flour on the dough so your pin won’t stick. Roll out your dough very thin either with the pin or with the press.

Using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, ravioli cutter, or even a glass, cut the dough into 3”-4” circles and place in a single layer on parchment paper. Don’t let them stick together or you will hate your life if you have to start over!

To assemble the gyoza, you’ll want a small bowl of water to wet the edges of the circle. Once the edges are wet, place a small amount of the tofu mix in the middle of the gyoza. You’ll want to use about a tbsp or so of the tofu mix. I have never once guesstimate the correct amount and over or under fill every single time. Fold the gyoza in half and seal the edges. Feel free to make some fancy folds, but remember our dough is a little more fragile than traditional dough, so be gentle!

To cook the gyoza, give your boiling water a stir, and drop them in one at a time making sure they don’t stick. Also, do not crowd your water! Gyoza are introverts and need their time and space. Work in batches! Cook the gyoza for 5 minutes so dough is cooked all the way through. Remove the gyoza with a slotted spoon.

You can eat the gyoza soft like this, or you can air fry them to get them a little crispy.

To air fry, spray the air fryer with a little oil, and then add your gyoza. Cook at 350 F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Loving our gyoza? Tag us in your photo on Instagram @notthatkindofveganofficial or on Facebook for a shoutout!