The vegetable dumpling is the hardest of the three to get right. With pork or chicken, the protein does the heavy lifting. Take the meat out, and the dumpling has nowhere to hide. The filling has to stand on its own, the texture has to do work, the seasoning has to be precise, and it still has to travel.

This one does. The filling is classic Northern Chinese style jiǎozi: cabbage, carrot, wood ear (黑木耳), and bean noodle (粉丝). Cabbage for sweetness and bulk, carrot for bite, wood ear for that springy chew vegetable dumplings without it are always missing, bean noodle to bind it all and carry the seasoning. Packed thick. It has body. It eats like a Rice Box dumpling, and it holds up both steamed and fried.

The wrapper is where we made the biggest move. The chicken dumpling has a spinach-infused skin for visual differentiation and to echo the vegetable-forward filling. For this one, we infused the wrapper with red rice. It locks in the lineup at a glance: plain pork, green chicken, red vegetable. It puts rice in the wrapper of a Rice Box dumpling, and the color is just beautiful.

Same jiǎozi format as the rest. Wrapper rolled in-house, filling built in-house, served steamed or fried, both formats hold great in store and in travel.

We finally have one that earns its place next to the pork and the chicken. Red, green, and white, lined up next to each other, the trifecta is complete. And it looks (and tastes) incredible.

As always, we’re open to feedback! Email us at info@riceboxed.com.

— John

#TheRiceBox