Try these delicious, crispy vegan dumplings where we used shredded king oyster mushrooms as a perfect alternative to vegan duck. These cute rice paper dumplings are the easiest way to enjoy Chinese potstickers gluten-free even if it is not folded but rolled.
This recipe is not the only Asian-inspired recipe and also not the only one using rice paper. Have you seen our crispy rice paper spring rolls or our spicy vegan samosa rolls? We are working on even more delicious rice paper recipes as we just love using this ingredient.
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What to expect from this recipe?
This recipe was inspired by Chinese dumplings aka potstickers and hoisin duck pancakes. We kind of put the two together and created a truly delicious dish, which is not only vegan but gluten-free as well.
Chinese dumplings are also known as “jiaozi” and they are filled with pork, cabbage, scallions, and mushrooms. Traditionally, potstickers are boiled or steamed then pan-fried, and were eaten on New Year’s Eve. Japanese gyozas are quite similar but they are smaller in size and are wrapped in thinner skin. What we took from these recipes is the veggie filling and the fact that they are wrapped up and fried.
Hoisin duck pancakes are shredded duck fried in hoisin sauce and Chinese 5 spice. It is served with julienned cucumber and spring onion on top of thin wheat-based pancakes. What we took from this recipe is the yummy Hoisin sauce marinade.
Ingredients
How can you make vegan duck you ask? There is this amazing shredded meat substitute, which is the meatiest plant-based alternative ever. I hope you heard of king oyster mushrooms. They are an amazing ingredient for anyone following a meatless diet. See how using a fork creates a shredded meat-like texture in the below picture. There are many other types of oyster mushrooms, but this one is the easiest to shred.
Hoisin sauce marinade
We prepared a quick marinade to turn shredded king oyster mushrooms into shredded Hoisin duck using these 9 ingredients:
- Hoisin sauce
- Chinese five spice
- Ginger powder
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Soy sauce or use any of these gluten-free soy sauce substitutes
- Toasted sesame oil
- Vegetable oil
Veggie filling
What else did we add to these vegan dumplings?
- Carrots – young vibrant orange carrots are usually sweeter than baby carrots
- Cabbage – we recommend using napa, green or savoy cabbage
- Spring onion
- Mung bean sprouts – any other sprouts will do
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make vegan dumplings?
Preparing king oyster mushrooms
King oyster mushrooms are grown on trees, so they are usually not dirty at all. You can clean it with a dry paper towel. No need to wash them. Cut the last bit of the stem if that feels too hard and dry. Here you can find even more information on how to prepare oyster mushrooms.
Baking the vegan duck filling
- Pre-heat the oven at 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
- Shred king oyster mushrooms with a fork into tiny pieces.
- Take a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.
- Spread the shredded mushroom evenly in one layer.
- Mix the hoisin sauce marinade in a small bowl and pour it over the mushrooms.
- Use a spatula to cover all pieces with the sauce (picture on the left).
- Bake for 25 minutes until dark brown (picture on the right).
- When they are ready, we added some more hoisin sauce to make them juicy again.
Preparing the vegetables
- Wash, peel and shred carrots with a large hole cheese grater.
- Wash and cut spring onion into thin matchsticks.
- Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Use a mandolin to shred it.
- Peel and finely chop garlic and ginger.
- Sprouts are usually sold washed, so you don’t need to prepare them.
Pre-cooking the veggie filling
- Pre-heat a frying pan or wok over low/medium heat. Add vegetable oil.
- Add minced garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for approx. 2 minutes.
- Add carrots, spring onion, cabbage and mung bean sprouts. Stir to mix them.
- Increase the heat to medium/high, season it with salt and black pepper. Cook for approx. 4-5 minutes while stirring time to time.
How to make them gluten-free?
Since neither dumpling wrappers, wonton wrappers, nor spring rolls wrappers are gluten-free, we needed a gluten-free alternative. And here comes rice paper to the rescue. Since it is widely available, cheap, easy to work with, and yummy, it is the perfect gluten-free substitute.
You can read more about why these other wrappers are a no-go on a gluten-free diet in our article titled “Are spring rolls gluten-free?“.
How to make rice paper dumplings?
I know Chinese potstickers have a special folding technique which you can exactly do with rice paper. Since the classic wrappers are a bit thicker and dough-based it is easier to shape and stick together.
There are some limitations to rice papers as in spite of the common belief they don’t stick everywhere. You can form a gyoza-like packet, but we developed an easy folding technique to shape filled rice papers into dumpling packets.
You’ll see it is pretty easy to work with. There are only a couple of things you need to pay attention to. We will walk you through it step by step. You can also watch it in our short video. If you want perfect results, be sure to check out our “Top tips on using rice papers” section right below the step photos!
Preparation
- Let the filling cool before using. We really don’t recommend starting while it is hot or too warm.
- Pour water in a large shallow bowl. You should use a large enough bowl so you can submerge the rice paper in one go.
- Soft rice paper can get quite sticky so I recommend preparing a non-stick parchment paper nearby to place the rolled dumplings on.
Forming the dumplings
- Gently submerge the rice paper. (See top tips section on how to know the duration right below the step photos.)
- Once submerged, transfer it to a dry and smooth surface. (I wipe my surface more or less dry after each roll.)
- Place the filling in the middle around the lower third of the rice paper. We used a small rice paper with a diameter of 6 inches (approx. 16 cm).
- Roll it up like a cigar. Use your fingers to tuck it tightly.
- Then roll up sidewise to form a snail-shaped packet.
Top tips on using rice paper
We have written a Complete Guide to Rice Paper Wrappers where we share detailed information about how they are made, what is the difference between them and why is that difference important in terms of how to handle them, or how to roll them. However, the 3 most important tips to know about is here below:
- Use dry hands -> Always dry your hands before taking a rice paper from the package. Wet hands will activate them and they will stick together.
- Damp towel or submerging in water? -> The short answer is “it depends on the tapioca starch content of your rice paper”. You would think rice paper is just rice. But that is not always true. If you check your packaging you will see that there is tapioca starch. The ratio of tapioca dictates how you need to handle your rice paper. If you see tapioca starch only (it can happen) then a damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only (it can also happen), then you need to submerge it in water to get them soft. The larger the ratio of the tapioca (it means the thinner your rice paper) the less time you need to submerge it. In short, keep it shorter and double up if needed.
- How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? -> The rice paper your see on the video is 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. If you have rice paper with tapioca starch you might need less time. So how I test it? I submerge the rice paper and gently pet it with my hands in the water. I take it out while I still feel it hard. I usually start with 3-4 seconds. I place it on the surface I want to work on and wait for 2-3 seconds and gently pet it again and see whether they became soft or not. If yes, I add the filling. If no, I submerge it again for 2-3 seconds.
Frying
Traditional Chinese potstickers are steamed and then fried to ensure that they are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Since rice paper has already been softened in water, you don’t need to steam rice paper dumplings. See they are easy to work with and you can save so much time.
Just pre-heat your frying pan or cast-iron skillet. Use sesame oil to give it a bit more flavor and fry them until crispy, golden brown, and bubbly.
A quick tip: Make sure to fry that side first where the folding ends so it sticks together and won’t open up later.
What to serve with them?
Here are a couple of ideas if you want to make your own:
- Classic Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce from The Wooden Skillet
- Tomato Chili and Ginger Jam from Plant Food At Home
- Yum Yum Sauce from Yum Vegan Lunch Ideas
- Raw Mango Chutney from Veg Buffet
- Easy Peanut Sauce from Veggie Inspired
- Sweet Chili Sauce from It’s Not Complicated
- Carrot Ginger Miso Sauce from Cook Eat Live Love
- Benihana Ginger Sauce from Recipes From A Pantry
FAQs and substitutions
Can you use other mushrooms?
King oyster mushrooms are the easiest to shred, but you can use any other mushroom at hand. These ones are the closest oyster mushroom substitutes.
If you have button or portobello mushrooms, pre-cook them properly until they release all moisture. Otherwise, they may release the moisture inside the dumplings making the filling wet, which can cause tears or bursts.
You can also use dried wood ear mushrooms. You need to soak them first, then boil them in water to be used as filling.
What other veggies can you add?
If you don’t like mushrooms, we made a shredded hoisin duck with tofu in this crispy rice paper spring rolls recipe.
We used green cabbage, but you can add any other types of cabbage for example napa, savory, or wombok (Chinese cabbage). Or try adding other veggies like green beans, bok choi, red bell pepper, scallion, or leek.
How to store them?
You can store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days without a problem. They may lose some of their crispiness as the days go by. I haven’t tried freezing them though. We always eat it in one go. Let me know if you do.
This Vegan Rice Paper Dumplings recipe is meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. It is suitable for a vegan, vegetarian diet. It is nut-free, and gluten-free, but not WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) as you would need a bit of oil even for air frying. It is soy-free if you use liquid aminos instead of soy sauce.
⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL OF THE VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES HERE! ⇐
More Asian-inspired recipes
- Crispy Rice Paper Spring Rolls
- Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls
- Gluten-free Samosas
- Crispy Teriyaki Fried Tofu
- Chickpea Mushroom Curry
- Easy Thai Red Curry Tofu
- Chinese BBQ Tofu Burger
Vegan Hoisin Duck Dumplings in Rice Paper
Ingredients
Veggie filling
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
- 2.8 oz Cabbage shredded
- 2 Spring onion
- 1 Carrot
- 1.7 oz Mung bean sprouts
- ½ tsp Ginger minced
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Salt
- Black pepper
Vegan duck
- 1 Tbsp Sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
- 8.8 oz King oyster mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce -> 5 gluten-free soy sauce substitutes
- 3 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
- ¼ tsp Ginger powder
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
Instructions
Preparing king oyster mushrooms
- King oyster mushrooms are grown on trees, so they are usually not dirty at all. You can clean it with a dry paper towel. No need to wash them. Cut the last bit of the stem if that feels too hard and dry.
Baking the vegan duck filling
- Pre-heat the oven at 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
- Shred king oyster mushrooms with a fork into tiny pieces.
- Take a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.
- Spread the shredded mushroom evenly in one layer.
- Mix the hoisin sauce marinade in a small bowl and pour it over the mushrooms.
- Use a spatula to cover all pieces with the sauce. Bake for 25 minutes until dark brown.
- When they are ready, we added some more hoisin sauce to make them juicy again.
Preparing the vegetables
- Wash, peel and shred carrots with a large hole cheese grater.
- Wash and cut spring onion into thin matchsticks.
- Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Use a mandolin to shred it.
- Peel and finely chop garlic and ginger.
- Sprouts are usually sold washed, so you don’t need to prepare them.
Pre-cooking the veggie filling
- Pre-heat a frying pan or wok over low/medium heat. Add vegetable oil.
- Add minced garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for approx. 2 minutes.
- Add carrots, spring onion, cabbage and mung bean sprouts. Stir to mix them.
- Increase the heat to medium/high, season it with salt and black pepper. Cook for approx. 4-5 minutes while stirring time to time.
Forming the dumplings
- Gently submerge the rice paper. (See top tips section on how to know the duration right below the step photos.)
- Once submerged, transfer it to a dry and smooth surface. (I wipe my surface more or less dry after each roll.)
- Place the filling in the middle around the lower third of the rice paper. We used a small rice paper with a diameter of 6 inches (approx. 16 cm).
- Roll it up like a cigar. Use your fingers to tuck it tightly.
- Then roll up sidewise to form a snail-shaped packet.
Frying
- Just pre-heat your frying pan or cast-iron skillet. Use sesame oil to give it a bit more flavor and fry them until crispy, golden brown, and bubbly.
Notes
- Use dry hands -> Always dry your hands before taking a rice paper from the package. Wet hands will activate them and they will stick together.
- A damp towel or submerging in water? -> The short answer is “it depends on the tapioca starch content of your rice paper”. You would think rice paper is just rice. But that is not always true. If you check your packaging you will see that there is tapioca starch. The ratio of tapioca dictates how you need to handle your rice paper. If you see tapioca starch only (it can happen) then a damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only (it can also happen), then you need to submerge it in water to get them soft. The larger the ratio of the tapioca (it means the thinner your rice paper) the less time you need to submerge it. In short, keep it shorter and double up if needed.
- How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? -> The rice paper you see on the video is 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. If you have rice paper with tapioca starch you might need less time. So how do I test it? I submerge the rice paper and gently pet it with my hands in the water. I take it out while I still feel it hard. I usually start with 3-4 seconds. I place it on the surface I want to work on and wait for 2-3 seconds and gently pet it again and see whether they become soft or not. If yes, I add the filling. If not, I submerge it again for 2-3 seconds.
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- In this recipe, we use very little oil and sauce to make sure that the filling is not too wet. If you use more sauce or oil, the filling will keep the rice paper moist. Which means longer baking time or goodbye to crispiness altogether.
- You only have a chance to make them crispy if you keep your rice paper dumplings as dry as possible and as tightly rolled as possible. If you feel that the rolls is still too wet, pet them with a dry paper towel or put them in the fridge before baking, deep-frying or air frying.
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