These Vegan Japanese Oyaki dumplings are some of my favourite go to plant-based dumplings. This recipe uses leeks and sweet potato as the filling, and they're absolutely delicious!
About This Recipe
These are Japanese dumplings called Oyaki. They're generally stuffed with a variety of cooked vegetables ranging from aubergine to pumpkins. In this recipe, I'll be combining boiled sweet potato, fried leeks, and some seasoning for the filling.
Ingredients for Vegan Japanese Oyaki
The ingredients list for this recipe is really quite short. You only need a handful of ingredients that you'll most likely be able to find in your kitchen!
For The Dough:
- Plain flour
- Salt
- Vegetable Oil
- Boiling water
For The Filling:
- Leeks - if you're not a fan of leeks, here's my blog where I share 15 substitutes for leeks!
- Sweet potato
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Sugar
Extra:
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Variations & Substitutions for Vegan Japanese Oyaki
The wonderful thing about this recipe, is that you can really just go through your fridge and look for any old vegetable, boil it or fry it, and wack it in as the filling. So, I love the leek and sweet potato combo, but here are some suggestions for those who don't have them in their fridge:
- mushrooms, fried with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
- aubergine, finely chopped and fried with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
- pumpkin, squash, or any other orange vegetable (yes, you could use carrot), boiled and then mixed with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
- grated courgette, fried with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
- ...I think you get the idea! 🙂
Vegan Japanese Oyaki
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 150g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 100ml boiling water
For The Filling
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped into little cubes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon sugar
Other
- 30ml water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Veggie oil, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- First, add your peeled and cubed sweet potato into a pot of water. Place on high heat and boil for 8 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make your dough by combining the flour, oil, salt, and boiling water in a bowl. Stir with chopsticks while you pour the boiling water into the bowl. You should end up with shaggy dough. Pour it onto a clean surface and then knead for 3 minutes. Set aside covered in cling film.
- Grab your sliced leek and add it to a frying pan with a glug of vegetable oil. Add in your cooked sweet potato, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ tablespoon sesame oil, and ½ tablespoon sugar. Combine thoroughly until a chunky paste has formed. Turn off the heat and set it aside.
- Knead your dough again for 1 minute and then cut into 8 equal chunks.
- Roll out each piece into a thin circular wrapper, around 3 inches in diameter.
- Place a spoonful of the filling into the centre of a wrapper and crimp up in a circular motion. Make sure the dumpling is sealed so none of the filling can come out. Pat the dumpling down slightly to resemble a fat, disc-like parcel. Repeat this step until you have no dumpling wrappers left.
- Pour some vegetable oil onto one plate, and some sesame seeds onto another. Place the smooth side of the oyaki down into vegetable oil, and then in sesame seeds. This is optional, but it makes the dumplings look cute!
- Grab a frying pan, place it on medium heat, and drizzle with a bit of oil. Gently add the dumplings sesame seed side down into the pan. Fry for 3 minutes or until slightly golden, and then flip onto the other side. Pour in 30ml of boiling water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar, then place the lid onto the pan and leave to steam for 8 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan, to make sure that the dumplings don't burn. If the liquid has evaporated before the time is up, simply add a bit more water.
- Once cooked, remove from the pan, serve up and enjoy!
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