No one likes wasting food.

Spending cash on something you needed at the store, but you don’t use ALL of? Well, that stuff just sits in the fridge, takes up space and ends up 1. rotting, 2. gets pushed to the back and takes up space for NO good reason (screaming “EXPIRED” over and over again for 6 straight minutes while cleaning the fridge is never fun…) or 3. it gets freezer burn thrown into the trash (usually the day AFTER trash day so you’re stuck with stinky, rotten stuff… UGH.)

Well, one things I committed to doing this year (the year of tightening expenses and chasing dreams) was to waste LESS and use MORE.

I had picked up some Nasoya Vegan Won Ton wrappers at the store a while back and was itching to make some dumps… not a traditional wrapper for a dumpling, but again… WASTE NOT! I wanted to use what I had without trekking to the store for a special run in the hopes of making some unique, complicated dumpling.

Enter the ‘Remnants’.

–>8 lonely extra large frozen raw shrimp (leftover from last week’s shrimp cocktail and caprese dinner night.)

–>1/2 of a tub of baby bella mushrooms (leftover from… a yummy stir fry a bit ago from hub’s parent’s visit.)

–>2 nice sized carrots (left in the pack after steaming the toddler’s veggies for the week.)

–>1/2 a savoy cabbage (leftover from when said in-laws were in town and we made pulled pork tacos.)

THOSE sound like some pretty yummy dumpling ingredients right there!

Add in some green onions (in a mason jar on the kitchen windowsill), some garlic, some soy and vinegar and sesame?

Let’s do this!!! *warcry**hubby rolls eyes*

What I love about this WASTE NOT mentality is that it forces your creativity to come forward as well as teaches you to work with what you have to make something you will enjoy.

(psst: on the super secret low low –> this is a PERFECT veggie mix base and seasoning for ANY dumpling… be it turkey, chicken, pork or even tofu. Double up on mushrooms or carrot and make it all veggie… it’s THAT good. I’m making turkey dumps soon since these were amazing!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 tub (8-10 oz -ish?) of baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 8 extra large shrimp, if frozen THAW them (more or less for your liking.. you could use up to a pound for this mix and it’d be great.) You will be smashing and chopping these up.
• 1/2 head of small cabbage, shaved/cut small (I had savoy which was perfect for this…. you want about 1-1.5 cups of cabbage when all is said and done.)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 medium sized carrots, grated
• 2 green onions, sliced, excluding the white parts (save to regrow though!)
• 2 tbsp butter (salted is easiest)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tsp sesame oil
• 2-3 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 pack of Nasoya Vegan Wrappers (these right HERE were what I used.)
• Serve with soy, black vinegar with garlic chili oil, or spicy mayo (oooh, it’s so good.) These are good with a ton of different condiments.

Instructions:

1. first pre-cook mushrooms. Melt butter in a pan and add in soy sauce. Sauté mushrooms on medium high for 5-7 minutes or until they not watery anymore (but not crispy). Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Take all veggies (including mushrooms) and place in a large bowl.
3. Remove all shell from shrimps and crush each shrimp under the flat of a large chef knife. Chop the shrimps into a fine mush. (It sounds silly but it helps it cook quickly AND spreads the shrimp evenly through the filling.)
4. Add shrimp to veggies and mix thoroughly.
5. Add in sesame oil and rice vinegar, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly to combine.
6. Using a small bowl of water (for wetting your wrappers) and a parchment lined baking sheet (to keep them separated AND as an easy means to pop right into the freezer to freeze individually before storing), take your wrappers and begin to fill.
7. If your wrappers are round or square, the amounts are the same, the folding methods are slightly different. HERE is a great quick link to a few different methods. I used square wrappers.
8. Take your wrapper, and with a wet fingertip, trace the outside of the wrapper. This will be your seal.
9. Add one tsp of filling to the center. You can use more, but folding will be challenging and if too full, they will break. I use about 1-1.5tsp of filling.
10. Fold and seal. With mine, I used a square wrapper, wet along each edge, placed filling in the center then drew two opposite side corners together, and repeated again with the other two corners, pressing the edges together into what is called a Cross or Square fold (can be done with a round wrapper too!)
11. Steam or pan fry as desired (they cook quick…. hence the minced and shredded filling!) OR freeze on your tray to enjoy later.
12. Serve with condiment of choice. We used black vinegar and garlic chili oil. YUM.

I used pre-made wrappers for a reason. I have a toddler and I had a TON of other things on my plate that day. REAL TALK.

While the end result isn’t 100% from scratch… I will say, I still enjoyed the same moments of mindfulness and stillness of thought in filling them and folding (and freezing cuz, yes, this makes approximately 40-50 dumplings if filled properly so you have plenty to sock away into the freezer for a quick meal whenever you desire.)

What I love about making dumplings is that you really just zone out and go inward and whip a TON out in a short amount of time.

You can also challenge yourself by learning a new fold… I made these late so I opted for a quick fold and whipped out about 50 of them. Our serving size is about 8 dumps. 🙂

Enjoy!