This Rice Paper Dumpling recipe is quick, easy and made with simple ingredients. They’re crispy on the outside and stuffed with a flavourful filling of tofu and vegetables. Vegan + gluten free.
After testing several rounds of my vegan chicken drumsticks and vegan shrimp recipe that call for rice paper, I had a ton left over. We made fresh summer rolls stuffed with vermicelli, tofu and vegetables but wanted to switch it up one night and decided to try pan frying them instead.
To be honest, the first time pan fried them it didn’t work. The wrapper broke… so I threw it all into a bowl and served it for dinner anyways. Despite the messy look, it was SO GOOD. Think… deconstructed dumplings. Delicious dumping filling with bites of crispy yet chewy rice paper (kinda like noodles?). While I didn’t mind eating it straight out of the bowl like that, I decided to try again but this time wrapping it twice so it holds better… and it worked!! Beautifully golden crispy on the outside while not breaking apart. The best part? These dumplings literally take me less than 20 minutes to make which is pretty quick for dumplings. Let’s make them, shall we?
Ingredients for Rice Paper Dumplings
- Rice paper: These can be found in the international section of grocery stores.
- Tofu: Medium firm, firm or extra firm all work for this recipe. Just be sure to cook off or press out the excess liquid.
- Vegetables: The recipe for the filling is my go-to, simple filling I typically use for vegan gyoza. It has carrots and cabbage but you can use any (un-juicy) vegetables of your choice.
- Sesame oil: Gives a really nice fragrant flavour that compliments the other ingredients.
- Soy sauce: The main seasoning and flavour! Use tamari for gluten free.
- Garlic
- Ginger
This recipe is really customizable though, so feel free to experiment with the aromatics, spices, sauces and vegetables! If you’re not vegan, you can also change up the protein as well.
How to Make Rice Paper Dumplings
- Make the filling: add the shredded vegetables, tofu, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper to a bowl. Use your hands to mash the mixture together until well combined.
- Soak the rice paper: Fill a shallow dish with warm water and dip the rice papers for 3-5 seconds or until pliable (they will continue to soften after taking it out of the water), and then place it onto your lightly dampen working surface.
- Wrap: Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling into the middle of the rice paper. Fold the top of the rice paper down, fold the left side over to the right, the right side over to the left and then bring the bottom portion of the rice paper up to seal. Repeat one more time for a double layer to ensure it does not break when cooking. TIP: place the first wrapped dumpling folded side down so that the thickness of the wrapper is the same on both sides.
- Cook: Heat a pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the pan. Place the dumpling in the pan and cook until golden brown (you can cover the pan if you wish). Flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove from pan and enjoy!
Lisa’s Recipe Tips
- Do not over soak: Dip the rice paper in water for about 5 seconds, or until they’re pliable but not too soft. They continue to soften out of the water. Over soaking the rice papers will cause them to break when pan frying them and cause them to be soggy.
- Soak rice paper in cold water: Warm or hot water causes them to get too soft and tear.
- Use a wooden cutting board to wrap: When wrapping, I find it easier to do it on a wooden cutting board because they do tend to stick on glass and plastic, causing them to tear.
- Use two rice papers to wrap one dumpling: Especially if you are new to using rice paper or it’s your first time making them, this prevents them from tearing when cooking.
- Second layer: When wrapping the second layer, keep the folded side down so that the thickness of the skin it same on both sides.
- Cover dumplings with a slightly damp lint-free towel or paper towel: this prevents the dumplings from drying before cooking.
- Brush and cook with oil: Ensure to either brush the dumplings with oil or add oil to the pan. The most common cause of the dumplings tearing is because they stick to the pan.
- Use a non-stick skillet: This makes them easier to flip and cook without tears because they won’t stick to the pan.
- Don’t over-crowd the pan: Rice papers tend to ‘stick’ when they touch each other so when pan frying, do not let the edges of the dumplings touch one another or they may cause tearing. Brushing them with oil also helps with this.
- Serve & eat them immediately! These rice paper dumplings don’t stay crispy for a long time so they are truly best consumed as soon as they’re done cooking.
Yes! Once you wrap them all up, spray with a little oil and then air fry at 385 F (196 C) for 12-15 minutes, flipping half way.
While I haven’t tried baking them myself, I have had feed back that you can bake them by brushing them with oil and then cooking them in the oven at 375 F (190 C) for about 15-20 minutes, flipping half way.
Dip the rice papers in cold water for a few seconds. Warm or hot water makes the rice papers too soft and causes tearing.
You can prepare the fillings ahead of time but you must wrap them before serving.
No. The rice papers do not freeze well and the texture really changes when defrosted.
These rice paper dumplings have been on REPEAT. It’s perfect for using up left over ingredients in the fridge and I love that it comes out slightly different each time for some variation.
Plus, if you’ve been looking for gluten free dumpling wrappers these are a great option. Rice papers are inexpensive and can be found at just about any grocery store.
I haven’t tried baking or air frying them, but if you do please share how it goes in the comment section below! I think if you spray and brush them with a little oil they will crisp up pretty nicely 🙂
More delicious vegan dumplings to love:
- Steamed Rose Dumplings
- Cheats Soup Dumplings
- Gyoza (Japanese pan fried dumplings)
- Vegan Sheng Jian Bao
- Zongzi Rice Dumplings
If you recreate this Rice Paper Dumplings recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Rice Paper Dumplings
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
Quick and easy pan fried dumplings made with rice paper! These vegan gluten free dumplings are crispy on the outside and stuffed with a simple yet flavourful tofu vegetable filling.
Ingredients
Dumplings
- 1/2 block soft or medium firm tofu (80g)
- 1/8 cabbage, shredded (100g)
- 1/4 carrot, shredded (25g)
- 1 green onion, chopped (8g)
- 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil (7ml)
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (7ml)
- 1 tsp grated garlic (5g)
- 1 tsp grated ginger (5g)
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 12 rice paper (I used 18cm rounds)
Dipping Sauce (1:1 soy sauce to rice vinegar ratio)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (15ml)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (15ml)
- few drops of layu or chili oil
Instructions
Make the Dumplings
- Pat the tofu dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Add the tofu to a large bowl and mash until crumbled. Add the cabbage, carrot, green onion, garlic and ginger and give it a rough toss. Drizzle in the sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Dip the rice papers in cool water for 3-5 seconds or until pliable. Lightly moisten your work surface to prevent the rice papers from sticking. Place 2 tbsp of filling in the middle. Bring the top flap down, then the right and left side. Then bring the top flap upward to seal. Do one more layer to ensure it does not break when cooking.
To Pan Fry
- Over medium high heat, add enough oil to coat the pan. Cook on each side until golden brown (about 2 minutes each) and crispy.
To Air Fry
-
Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Add the dumplings in, leaving space between each one. Spray more oil on top of the dumplings. Air fry at 385F (196C) for 12-14 minutes, flipping half way.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dipping sauce.
- Serve the dumplings with the dipping sauce on the side and enjoy!
Notes
- Helpful equipment: grater
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: entree
- Method: pan frying
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 445
- Sugar: 5.9
- Sodium: 605mg
- Fat: 9.8
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 80.8
- Fiber: 4.5
- Protein: 8.6
- Cholesterol: 0
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Sooo yummy, definitely implementing this weekly in my meals. I have so much rice paper in the house so I’m happy to have found another use for it. I recommend!
These were so easy and delicious!
WOW! Just WOW! I wanted to try shredding tofu, and I selected this recipe due to the highly rated reviews. It completely exceeded expectations not only in taste and texture, but ease of making it. For a sauce, I just made a soy chili garlic sauce because I didn’t have any rayu.
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. I love to cook, but Chinese cuisine is one of which I have the least knowledge and experience in making/tasting. I look forward to enjoying more delicious recipes of yours.
Wow!! I was browsing for something tasty and a bit creative for lunch and this was perfect. Double-wrapping gave a great crunchy-into-chewy texture, and sprinkling the top with sesame seeds really goes a long way. I totally forgot about the cabbage and just made it with carrot, ginger, garlic, seasonings, and leftover marinated tofu. Thank you for this recipe!
In one part of your recipe for ‘Rice Paper Dumplings’ you say to dip the rice paper rounds for 3 seconds and in another part of the recipe you say to dip them for 5 seconds … which one is correct?
And, in one part of your recipe you say to soak the rice paper rounds in warm water and in another place you say that you must dip them in cold water?? … so which is it … warm or cold water?
So sorry, it’s been updated! It’s 3-5 seconds in cold water 🙂
I made these and fried them for extra long so they were super crunchy and caramelised. For adventurous types I would recommend adding a pinch of msg or diced and rehydrated wood ear mushrooms for extra crunch and umami
Dumplings are scary…any chance you’ll do a video?
Looks great!!
Yes they’re on my socials! 🙂