Vegan Sweet Potato and Edamame Gyoza

What do you get when you mix pureed sweet potatoes, chopped edamame and some Asian spices folded in wonton wrappers and cooked to perfection?  Um, you get perfection!  If some restaurant out there does not carry some sort of variation of these gyozas, they need to do some menu changes!

Appetizers are always my favorite.  That, or tapas.  Mainly because I never want to order an entree.  I prefer enjoying an array of bites to taste and share.  It makes it a more intimate setting to share with loved ones.  Dim sum is the perfect way to create that setting.

The perfect way to cook these are to steam them or quickly pan fry them, then add water, cover and steam.  I chose the ladder option because I prefer the slightly crisp texture they get from pan frying.

Sweet Potato and Edamame Gyoza

Ingredients: (makes roughly 20-25 dumplings)
1 sweet potato, peeled
1 tbsp evoo
1 cup shelled frozen edamame
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic chili sauce
20-25 wonton wrappers
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 flax seed egg, mixed with 3 tbsp water (or  your choice of vegan egg replacer)

Directions
Heat oven to 400.  Peel your sweet potato first, then with a fork, poke a few holes around the sweet potato.  Lightly brush with evoo and lightly salt.  Cover with foil and bake for about 45-50 minutes.   

In the meantime, boil water and cook edamame for about 4-5 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a cutting board.  Chop edamame into small pieces and set aside.  With a small saute pan, heat evoo and saute garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add to the chopped edamame.

Once the sweet potato is done baking, cut into a few pieces and transfer to a blender.  Add in sesame oil, tamari and chili sauce and blend until smooth.  Mix the chopped edamame to the sweet potato mixture.

Mix together your flax seed egg with water and place out the wonton wrappers on a lightly floured surface.  With a brush, brush the sides of the wonton wrapper with the "egg".  Spoon in about 1 tbsp of the mixture into each wonton and and seal tightly with fingers.

In a large saute pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and saute wontons for 2 minutes on each sides.  Then add in 2-3 tbsp of water, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.  The final result should look shiny.

Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce!