25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture

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Christine Wong, the creator of the popular Instagram account @conscious_cooking,is a NYC-based certified health coach, blogger, author of two books on vegan food and plastic-free low waste living, and host of regular vegan dumpling workshops.In today’s article, she explores the relationship between food, culture, race, and authenticity, and shares her selection of recipes for vegan dumplings from different Asian cultures.

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (2)

With globalization and easy access to recipes and ingredients, anyone can cook and “eat the world” in the comfort of their own kitchen! Unfortunately, this comes at a cost with the dilution and culinary appropriation of recipes. A cook’s interpretations and adjustments are perfectly acceptable, but when sharing a modified version of an ethnic dish, one needs to be cognizant and respectful of its culture and history – and not claim it is “authentic”, or boast that your whitewashed version is “better” than a dish that has existed for centuries in its country of origin.

That’s not to say that Westerners can’t be experts in Asian food, or an Asian chef can’t excel as a pastry chef in a Michelin-starred French restaurant. Food is culture. Food is identity. So it’s important to have respect for it and to use language that is accurate to describe the dish and towards the people who grew up in that culture – to support them when they need solidarity.

When sharing a modified version of an ethnic dish, one needs to be cognizant and respectful of its culture and history – and not claim it is “authentic”.

The melting pot of cultures, along with food trends that circle the globe, keeps what we eat continuously evolving. We certainly aren’t eating exactly the same dishes our ancestors did. We adapt with every migration to a new country with traditional dishes improvised by the availability of ingredients and local tastes. The birth of American-Chinese food is one example. Although some may not regard these adaptations as “authentic”, the reality is that this cuisine, and foods like the fortune cookie, General Tso’s, and Crab Rangoon, are here to stay.

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (3)

Is race an issue when it comes to food?

It is when:

Any kids of different cultures have been made to feel ashamed of their “stinky” homemade packed lunch.
Anyone who passes judgment on another culture’s cuisine because it’s unfamiliar, without the willingness to even try the food.
People fear they can catch a virus just by eating at a Chinese restaurant (the way they did when the pandemic first hit) along with the assumption that all Chinese people eat bats (Read: What You Know About Veganism and China is Wrong). Misnomers like these have been devastating to the Asian community resulting in the decline of support to small businesses, and the increase in hate crimes against Asians across the globe.
Food bloggers profit off of culturally-appropriated recipes without respect or support to the culture and community they are profiting from.

This article is in response to a PureWow article highlighting 25 Dumpling Recipes to Make at Home with the smallest nod to Lunar New Year. More than half of these recipes were by non-Asian food bloggers, who use the “better than takeout” message, and not a single nod was made to the true history and culture of the dish. One popular non-Asian food blogger was featured 6 times with pretty much the same potstickers (but with different fillings.) Dumplings are so much more than this white-washed list.

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (4)

A brief history of dumplings

The dictionary defines the word dumpling [duhmp•ling] as small lumps of dough that are cooked and eaten, either [stuffed] with vegetables/meat or as a fruit-filleddessert. Beyond this simple definition, there’s a rich culinary and cultural history behind the creation of each variation of these beloved morsels.

Stuffed dumplings, jiaozi 饺子, originated in China over 1,800 years ago. It was introduced by a healer named Zhang Zhongjing to cure his hometown community of frostbitten ears. Filled with medicinal herbs (and meat) they were boiled and served with a broth to promote circulation and were a tasty cure.

With Chinese origins and use of local ingredients, dumplings have been reinvented and evolved to adapt to local tastes.

Since then, dumplings have made their way throughout Asia, and the world, through immigrants who settled in other countries. With Chinese origins and use of local ingredients, dumplings have been reinvented and evolved to adapt to local tastes andavailabilityof ingredients, and are now commonly known throughout the world asgyoza, momo, mandu, dim sum, shumai, wonton, mantu, xlb, tangyuan, siopao, modak,bánh ít trần, fun guo, bao, or potstickers, etc. With a plethora of regional nuances and flavors, they’re bite-sized parcels of bliss that can be boiled, steamed, pan-fried, and deep-fried.

Dumplings are also a way of using up leftovers and transforming a few ingredients into a substantial meal, which was ideal in times of hardship and for feeding provincial communities and large families.

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (5)

A wide variety of dumplings can be found in Cantonese dim sum (translated as “touch the heart”) Traditionally, it is a daytime meal (breakfast/lunch), eaten whilst sipping tea “yum cha”. In ancient China, travelers and merchants would stop at tea houses along the Silk Road to break up their journey. Small bite-sized dumplings, typically served in a three-piece portion, allowed for customers to enjoy a good variety of dishes to accompany the tea.

Dumplings are also enjoyed during festivals. They symbolize wealth during Lunar New Year due to their ingot shape. Mandu Guk (Dumpling Soup) is traditionally eaten for Seollal 설날, Korean New Year’s Day symbolizing growing a year older, along with good health and a good fortune for the new year. On the 15th day of the new year for the Spring Lantern Festival, Tāng Yuán, sweet glutinous rice balls, are eaten to symbolize reunion and togetherness. Hanami Dango is a skewered sweet Japanese rice flour dumpling, enjoyed during Hanami – cherry blossom viewing. The name literally translates to “flower looking.”

Here’s a collection of 25 delicious vegan parcels selected to sustainably celebrate Asian culture for special occasions and any day.

25 Ways to Make Vegan Dumplings & Sustainably Celebrate Asian Culture

CHINA

Gingery Carrot and Bok Choy Vegan Dumplings with Crispy Skirt by Eat Cho Food

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (6)

Pan-fried dumplings or potstickers, originated when a chef in China’s Imperial Court during the Song Dynasty was boiling dumplings in a wok (guo), Chinese cooking pot, and accidentally forgot about them. After the water had evaporated, the dumplings stuck (tie). The dumplings were crispy on the bottom, but soft on the top. With no time to prepare another batch, he served this special creation to the members of the court, who instantly fell in love with them. The name for these dumplings, guotie, “wok stick” literally stuck, and was translated into English as “potsticker”.

25+ Delicious Vegan Dumplings Recipes to Celebrate Asian Culture - Best of Vegan (2024)

Table of Contents

Is race an issue when it comes to food?

A brief history of dumplings

25 Ways to Make Vegan Dumplings & Sustainably Celebrate Asian Culture

Shogo Momo (Fluffy Potato Dumplings) by Himalayan Dumplings

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