Vegan Gyozas

Our Vegan Gyozas are a Japanese-style appetizer or side dish to enjoy with your favorite Asian-style meals. These vegetable dumplings or potstickers are filled with tofu and fresh vegetables and served with a delicious homemade dipping sauce.

What are Japanese gyozas?

Gyozas (Jiaozi) are the Japanese version of Chinese Potstickers or Dumplings. Japanese gyozas consist of a dumpling or gyoza wrapper filled with shredded vegetables and protein such as meat, fish, or tofu and cooked by panfrying and steaming at the same time. This technique will make your gyoza crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

Japanese gyozas are really similar to Chinese Dumplings. The wrapper tends to be thinner and the filling prepared by chopping the veggies and protein smaller than Chinese Dumplings.

Our Vegetarian Dumplings are:

• Vegan
• Japanese-style
• An appetizer or side dish
• Filled with tofu, cabbage, carrot, spring onions, and shiitake mushrooms
• Made with store-bought wrappers
• Easy to prepare
• Family-friendly

How to make Vegetable crispy Gyoza or Dumplings

Ingredients

Gyoza Wrappers. Store-bought or homemade gyoza wrappers can be used to make our recipe. We use frozen store-bought wrappers as it speeds up the preparation process. If you have some extra time and you prefer to make your own wrappers, have a look at Just One Cook Book recipe. If you are using frozen wrappers like us, you will need to leave the wrappers in the fridge to defrost at least 6 hours before making the gyozas.

Fresh veggies. One thing we love about gyozas is that you can make the filling different every time. We have a favorite combination of ingredients when we make gyozas but we do like to add different ingredients from time to time. Our top veggies for the dumpling filling are fresh shiitake mushrooms, spring onions, Napa cabbage, and carrot.

Firm Tofu. Firm tofu is our top plant-based protein when it comes to making gyozas. We love how it crumbles and gives the filling the perfect consistency. We strongly recommend using firm tofu as it contains less water. Before crumbling, remove any excess water.

Garlic and ginger. Basic ingredients for your gyoza filling. They will add umami.

Soy sauce. We use light soy sauce for this recipe.

Sesame oil. We use toasted sesame oil. If you like your gyozas spicy, you can use chili sesame oil.

Salt and pepper.

Step by Step Method

How to prepare the filling for vegan gyozas

The first thing you need to do when making your vegan dumplings is the filling. You can find many different ingredients that people use in their gyoza or dumplings, different seasonings and even cooking methods. We wanted to keep our filling simple so you focus your time on folding all those yummy potstickers.

Our filling is made with crumbled firm tofu, minced garlic and ginger, finely chopped Napa or Chinese cabbage, finely chopped carrot, finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, and finely chopped spring onions.

To get remove the excess water from the cabbage, we add the shredded or finely chopped cabbage to a bowl with some salt. Leave for 15 minutes and then put it inside a cheesecloth and squeeze out all the water making pressure with your hands. You can simply use your hands instead of a cheesecloth.

For seasoning, we use soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.

We leave the filling uncooked as it will be steamed later when making the gyozas. You can choose to cook your filling first, but then you will need to leave it to cool completely until you start making the gyozas.

How to fold gyozas

1. Place one gyoza wrapper on your hand and add some filling mixture to the center of the wrapper. We use a ½ tablespoon spoon and it works perfectly in terms of portion size.
2. Using one finger, wet the edges of the wrapper with water.
3. Fold your gyoza in half
4. Crimp one edge
5. Repeat until you reach the end of one side
6. Press with the other side and shape

All you need to do in order for your gyozas to be prettier every time is to keep making them! If you prefer to have some help when folding gyozas, you can get a little dumpling maker.

How to cook vegan gyozas

The method we use to cook our vegan gyozas is frying-steaming-frying. This will ensure your gyozas are fully cooked inside and crispy on the outside.

1. Add some oil to a frying pan and place your gyozas. Space them out so they don't stick to each other.
2. Once the bottom has browned, add the water-cornflour mixture.
3. Place a lid on and leave cooking at medium temperature.
4. Cook until the water has fully evaporated.

To cook your gyozas, we recommend using a non-stick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron pan.

The best gyoza dipping sauce

Every time we order veggie gyozas in a restaurant, I look forward to trying their dipping sauce. You can make such a simple but delicious dipping sauce for your vegan gyozas with just a couple of ingredients.

Making the perfect sauce will make your dumplings extra enjoyable.

Our dipping sauce is made with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and sesame seeds. You can add some chili flakes or chili sesame oil to make your potsticker dipping sauce spicy. Learn how to make it here!

Serving Suggestion

Our vegan gyozas are perfect to enjoy as an appetizer with your Asian-style meals. We highly recommend serving our Miso-glazed aubergine, Vegan Katsu Curry, or this Vegan Unagi Don with these yummy dumplings. If you are looking for a side dish to serve with gyozas, we strongly recommend trying this delicious Korean cucumber salad.

You can as well prepare vegan gyozas for a finger-food style party, a game day or as a snack. If you need more inspiration, you can check our Best Vegan Appetizers List.

This recipe is family-friendly and can be served to toddlers and kids. Our toddler Luca loves gyoza nights and he normally has them as a main dish.

FAQ & Tips

• To be able to make perfect gyozas, your filling needs quite dry. Having a wet mixture will break the gyozas when trying to fold them. The only liquid that goes inside our filling is soy sauce and sesame oil. We remove the excess water from the tofu and the cabbage.
• Once you open your gyoza wrappers, they will dry fast. It is important to keep the wrappers moist as they will break otherwise. Place a damp kitchen cloth on your wrapper pile and once the gyozas have been folded, if you are cooking them straight away, keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge.
• Can you cook Potstickers in an air fryer? You need to freeze the potstickers or gyozas before adding them to the air fryer. Spray the frozen gyozas or dumplings with vegetable oil. Set the air fryer to 200C and cook the potstickers for about 10-12 minutes.
• You can freeze your vegan gyozas before cooking them. Once shaped, place them on a plate, freeze for 2 hours and then transfer them into a freezer bag.
• How can I make crispy gyozas? The secret to making crispy gyozas, dumplings, or potstickers is the water-corn flour mixture added to steam the gyozas. Once the water has reduced, the cornflour sticks to the pan leaving your dumplings nice and crispy.
• What can I make with the leftover filling? You may end up with some filling mixture left over. Don't worry, you can make some delicious stir-fried rice with it!
• Can I use dried shiitake mushrooms? Yes, simply hydrate them before using them in warm water, and make sure you remove any excess water before chopping and adding to the mixture.

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5 from 14 votes

Vegan Gyozas

Our Vegan Gyozas are a Japanese-style appetizer or side dish to enjoy with your favorite Asian-style meals. These vegetable dumplings or potstickers are filled with tofu and fresh vegetables and served with a delicious homemade dipping sauce.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Vegan Gyozas

Servings: 24 gyozas

Calories: 42kcal

Ingredients

• 24 gyoza wrapper

Gyoza filling

• 150 g firm tofu
• 60 g Napa cabbage
• 1 spring onions
• 1 small carrot
• 4-5 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• ginger and garlic
• salt and pepper

To cook the gyozas

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon corn flour

Dipping Sauce

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• ½ tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon maple syrup

Instructions

Gyoza Filling

• If you are using frozen gyoza wrappers, leave the wrappers in the fridge overnight, or at least an hour on the counter, depending on the room temperature.
• To prepare the filling, remove any excess water from the tofu by pressing it with a paper towel. Crumble the tofu with your hands and add into a mixing bowl.
• Finely chop the cabbage, place the cabbage on a bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and leave while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This will help the cabbage to release the water.
• Add into the bowl with the tofu the minced garlic and ginger, finely chopped spring onion, finely chopped carrot and finely chopped shiitake mushrooms.
• Transfer the cabbage to a cheesecloth and squeeze out all the water making pressure with your hands. You can simply use your hands instead of a cheesecloth.
• Add the cabbage to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and add the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Gyoza Making

• Place one gyoza wrapped on your hand and add some filling mixture to the center of the wrapper. We use a ½ tablespoon spoon and it works perfectly in terms of portion size.
• Using one finger, wet the edges of the wrapper with water.
• Fold your gyoza in half and crimp one edge.
• Repeat until you reach the end of one side and press with the other side. Shape and leave on a plate.
• Repeat with the rest of the gyoza wrappers.

Gyoza Cooking

• Add some oil to a frying pan and place your gyozas. Space them out so they don't stick to each other.
• Mix room temperature water with the corn flour. Once the bottom has browned, add the water-cornflour mixture.
• Place a lid on and leave cooking at medium temperature and cook until the water has fully evaporated.

Dipping Sauce

• To prepare the dumpling dipping sauce, simply combine in a pinch bowl the soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, rice vinegar and maple syrup. Mix well and serve.

Notes

• To make your gyozas spicy, simply change the sesame oil from the mixture and the dipping sauce for chili sesame oil. 

Nutrition

Calories: 42kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 439IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.4mg

More Asian-style Recipes:

• Vegan Soba Noodle Salad
• Miso-glazed Aubergine
• Spicy Miso Ramen
• Vegan Japchae
• Teriyaki Tofu
• Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls