Dear Vegans,
God bless you, every one. How do you manage to find things to eat every day?
I’m sure things have gotten slightly easier for you (as more and more people make the choice), but it certainly is a challenge to find food that is completely free from animal products.
Eddie and I are hosting friends next month, one of whom is one of you. I’ve been road-testing recipes: shepherd’s pie, chickpea and avocado wraps, tamales, etc.
Japanese gyoza nearly was the death of me, though.
It’s one of my favorite things to make, thanks to the excellent tutelage of my friend Miwa.
However, I usually buy the pre-made skins from the Asian market down the road. It makes life so much easier.
But said skins have eggs.
So I went to the vegan section of Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck). I found wonton skins, which will do in a pinch. Checked ingredients list to be safe.
So those wouldn’t work. I went to two other granola-people stores. No luck. In fact, one helpful cashier checked his supplier’s site to see if vegan wonton/gyoza/dumpling/potsticker wrappers existed. They don’t, apparently.
Back at home, I decided to make my own.
Oh yes, I did.
And that’s how I found myself up to my eyebrows in brown rice and tapioca flour yesterday afternoon.
I don’t have photos of the process because my hands were covered in flour for hours. I do have an image of the (uncooked) finished product:
As for the taste, I’d say they closely resembled my usual recipe. A little off, but not by much.
If anything, this little experiment has made me aware of just how many animal products we consume daily — even when we don’t think we are consuming any.
Wishing you all the best, and hoping you continue to have more and better options,
Beth
Observe and report 
What a mighty task to undertake. You, Beth, are awesome!
LikeLike
It is the least I can do to support someone who has taken on the mighty task of being vegan.
LikeLike