The Mid-Autumn Festival (or moon festival) is coming up next week and I thought I’d share these delicious vegan Chinese chive pockets. They are big, flat, pan-fried chive dumplings that typically consists of Chinese chives and eggs.

To make these vegan, I used tofu and honestly, I could not tell a difference. Chinese chives are different than regular chives you would usually see as a garnish. They are much longer and larger and have a garlicky taste. It adds a lot of flavor and is used as a main ingredient in Chinese stir-frys or dumplings.

I grew up eating these chive pockets and it is one of my all time favorite dumplings. I remember my grandma making the BEST Chinese chive pockets and we would always eat them at her house. When she passed, my mom made them and we loved keeping a stash in our freezer for quick meals. It reminds me of home and my childhood.

This is what I consider my type of comfort food and the crispy outer crust with the flavorful filling is just amazing! We like to dip it in a soy sauce black vinegar sauce. I hope you enjoy these vegan Chinese chive pockets and I will try and share more Asian dishes that I grew up eating!

Ingredients

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring surface
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp avocado oil (or any oil)
1/4 tsp salt

Filling

1/2 lb (230 g) Chinese chives, hard ends removed and chopped thinly
340 g or 12 oz extra firm tofu (1 block)
6-7 big dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted
50 g bundle of mung bean thread noodles
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp white pepper

Instructions

Soak mung bean thread noodles in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain and chop into small pieces.
If you haven’t already soaked your dried shiitake mushrooms, do so now. Place in a large bowl and soak in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain and squeeze out any excess water. Remove the hard stems and chop the mushrooms in small pieces.
Drain and press the tofu for 20 minutes. You can do this by wrapping a towel or paper towels around the tofu block and place something heavy on top.
While everything is soaking and pressing, prepare the dough. In a large bowl, add the flour and salt. mix until combined. Form a well in the middle and add the water and oil. Stir with a spatula until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Knead the dough in the bowl for a few minutes, adding more flour if it’s too sticky or more water if it’s too dry. Form the dough into a ball and cover with a towel. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
When the tofu is done being pressed, heat a large pan on medium high and drizzle or spray some oil on it. Crumble the tofu into the pan with your hands. Sprinkle some salt on top and and saute until golden brown. Set aside while you finish prepping the rest of the filling.
In a large bowl, add the chopped chives, chopped shiitake mushrooms, chopped mung bean thread noodles, and the cooked tofu. Then add the sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. Stir until everything is well combined.
Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough ball a few times. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Cover with a towel as you work with one dough ball at a time. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough ball and the rolling pin. Roll the ball out into a circle, roughly about 5 inches in diameter. It doesn’t have to be perfectly round! Place about 3-4 tablespoons of filling in the center or the rolled out dough. Fold the dough in half and seal the edges together. You can make small pleats on the edges if you’d like. Place on a well floured lined baking sheet (I line it with foil or parchment paper), flatten slightly with your fingers, and cover with a towel. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
When you are ready to cook them, heat a large pan on medium high with about 1 tablespoon of oil (I used avocado oil). Then place about 3-4 chive pockets on the pan. Cook on one side for 3-5 minutes or until golden on that side. Flip and cover the pan. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until golden on the other side. Remove the chive pockets and repeat the cooking process for the rest of them. Serve with a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Servings: 12 pockets

Author: valeria.chao

Vegan Chinese Chive Pockets (韭菜盒子)