These keto rice dumplings with riced cauliflower are gold for me! They’re low-carb and vegetarian-friendly. I guess you will love this traditional delicious food with a twist!

Before I go keto, I love eating all kinds of traditional Cantonese food. Rice dumplings are one of my favorites. This traditional food is for Dragon Boat Festival but sometimes I ate for breakfast with a bowl of congee. I love the texture, the taste and the aroma of rice dumplings SO MUCH, but now it’s too crazy for me to eat so many carbs!

So here comes the keto version of rice dumplings! The sticky rice is made with riced cauliflower and psyllium husk powder. Just two simple ingredients and it can imitate the texture and the taste of glutinous rice!

Ingredients for Vegetarian Keto Rice Dumplings

Traditional VS Vegetarian-Keto Rice Dumplings

Rice dumplings are originally food or worship offerings for the Double Fifth Festival (Dragon Boat Festival), which is on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar calendar. That month is considered as an unlucky month because natural disasters and illnesses always fall on the month, so there are various rituals on the fifth day to get rid of misfortune. Wrapping rice dumplings is one of the important traditions, for both eating and the worship ceremonies.

I love this traditional festival food but I’m not going to make it traditionally. I want to enjoy it in a healthier way! So let’s see the differences between the conventional version and my low-carb version.

1. Glutinous rice VS Sticky cauliflower rice

Glutinous rice (sticky rice) is the main ingredient for rice dumplings. So in this keto rice dumpling recipe we focus on how to imitate the taste and texture of glutinous rice by using riced cauliflower and psyllium husk powder. I promise, this sticky cauliflower rice closely resembles real glutinous rice!

2. Mung beans VS Tempeh

Many people eat rice dumplings for the mung beans, which add a smooth and creamy texture with slight graininess to the dumplings. Bad news is, mung beans are high-carb ingredients that are not suitable for keto.

Made from fermented soybeans, tempeh is a high protein, nutritious but keto-friendly plant-based ingredient. In this recipe we are going to stir fry our tempeh to remove its unpleasant taste, while resembling the taste and texture of mung beans for our low-carb rice dumplings!

3. Meat VS Mushrooms

Mushrooms are commonly used in plant-based cooking to replace meat. It is not surprising that we are going to do so in this recipe too! Stir-frying the mushrooms with five spice powder will make them as tasty as the classic five-spice pork belly but with the pleasant aroma of mushrooms!

How to Make Vegetarian Keto Rice Dumplings

Leaf preparation for wrapping

1. If using dried reed leaves, soak them overnight. Skip this step if you use the fresh one.
2. Rinse and rub the leaves very gently to clean them. Put them inside a deep pot and add water to cover the leaves.
3. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the water. It will make the leaves more flexible and less likely to crack.
4. Put on the pot lid and heat the pot of leaves over high heat until it boils, then turn off the heat immediately. Keep the lid on and let the leaves soak overnight or until the water is warm enough to touch (if you don’t have enough time).

Filling preparation – Shiitake mushrooms

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms for at least 6 hours. They will become soft and bigger after being soaked.
2. Cut and discard the stems. In a medium heat proof bowl stir together olive oil, keto soy sauce, minced garlic and monk fruit sweetener to make sauce, then put the shiitake mushrooms in and massage them with the sauce.
3. Steam the shiitake mushrooms for 30 minutes.
4. Cut them into half and set aside.

Filling preparation – Mushrooms & Tempeh

1. Break the tempeh into small pieces with your hands. In a small bowl stir together the remaining ingredients for tempeh.
2. In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, sauté mushroom slices until golden brown and soft, then season with sea salt and five spice powder and stir to combine. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Plate up the mushrooms and set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat a tablespoon more olive oil, add tempeh pieces to the same pan and stir fry until they become golden brown, then pour the bowl of sauce into the pan and fry until the tempeh pieces are coated with sauce. Plate them up and set aside.

Filling preparation – Sticky cauliflower rice

1. Cut the cauliflowers into small florets. Chop the stems and leaves into smaller pieces. You may discard them if you do not want them.
2. Rinse them with running water. Drain and pat them as dry as you can with a clean towel.
3. Put the cauliflower pieces in a food processor or blender. Pulse until they become rice-sized. Process them in batches if necessary and don’t over blend them or else they will get mushy. Place the cauliflower rice into a large container and set aside.
4. Process the garlic cloves and shallots to the size of rice or smaller.
5. Divide the garlic cloves, shallots, cauliflower rice and psyllium husk powder separately into three batches.
6. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan (about 12” diameter) over medium high heat. Sauté a batch of garlic and shallots until fragrant, then turn to high heat and add the cauliflower rice to stir fry until it turns pale yellow, for about 3 minutes.
7. Season with sea salt and white pepper. Taste and add more if necessary. Dust a batch of psyllium husk powder onto the rice evenly and stir fry until combined and the rice sticks together. It will finally become sticky that a dough ball can be formed.
8. Repeat the steps to finish the remaining two batches.

Filling preparation – Salted duck egg yolks

1. Separate the salted duck egg whites and yolks. The egg yolks will be used in this recipe and you can reserve the whites for other dishes.

2. Put the egg yolks on a plate or inside a medium bowl. Drizzle sake or rose wine over them and steam for about 20 minutes.

Wrapping rice dumplings

1. The leaves should be soaked in water right now. For 10 dumplings, take 40 leaves out and roughly pat them dry. Cut the stems with scissors and it will make the wrapping easier. Soak the twines inside water to prevent them from breaking.
2. Use four leaves for a dumpling. Pick two pieces of leaves first, put a piece of leaf on another one like a cross, smooth side up. Fold the overlapped part to form a cone and hold the tip of the cone with your hand.

3. Fill the bottom with sticky cauliflower rice (around 60 grams). This will be the top of your dumpling so make sure you spread the rice enough to cover the surface, or the filling may not be held together and the shape of the dumpling will not be pretty. Then add tempeh (about 15 grams), an egg yolk, mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. Cover the filling carefully with tempeh (about 15 grams) and cauliflower sticky rice (60 grams).

4. Use one hand each time to place the remaining two pieces of leaves separately on the left and right side of the cone. Be careful to hold the shape of the cone. Use your thumbs to close the dumpling by making an inward fold. Then press the dumpling firmly, and fold the upper bunch of leaves down, the lower bunch of leaves up to close the dumpling completely.

5. Tight the dumpling with a twine. Cut the redundant part of leaves. Repeat the steps until all ingredients are used.

Cooking rice dumplings

1. In a wok or pot bring plenty of water to a boil, then place a steamer rack in the wok or pot. The water level should be below the steamer rack.
2. Put dumplings inside a bamboo steamer or on a plate and place them on the steamer rack. Put on the bamboo lid if you use a bamboo steamer. Cover the wok or pot with a lid to steam for 15 minutes over medium heat.
3. Take the dumplings out immediately. Unfold the leaves gently and serve hot.

Which Soy Sauce to Use for Keto?

If you have been following me along, you may know that I have gluten intolerance. I have been using this gluten-free soy sauce (the right one) since I began my gluten-free journey. Though it does have added glucose, it has lower carbs than the regular soy sauce. I only add a very small amount every time, so I’m still using it for cooking right now.

The left one is soy sauce specifically for a keto diet. It contains no added sugar but erythritol. However, beware that it consists of wheat flour and it’s not gluten-free.

Tips

Add oil to cook the leaves: the leaves will be folded in wrapping steps. After they absorb the oil, they will become more flexible and less fragile. It will make the wrapping much easier.
Do not overblend the cauliflower: the cauliflower should resemble the appearance and texture of rice. If it is blended too small, it would get mushy easily during the cooking process. The texture of sticky rice would then become less chewy too.
Stir fry the cauliflower rice over high heat: vegetables release stored water when they are heated and we add salt to them. Stir frying the cauliflower rice over high heat will help the water evaporate quickly. Adding salt when the cauliflower rice is almost done will reduce the amount of water coming out as well.
Do not overcook the cauliflower rice: as mentioned above, if the cauliflower rice is too tender, our rice dumplings will lose their chewy texture.
Cover the dumplings when steaming: water may get into the dumplings during the steaming process if they are not covered. When the psyllium husk powder absorbs too much water, it will make the sticky cauliflower rice gooey.

Storage

These keto rice dumplings can stay in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Cover them with a piece of kitchen towel to prevent water vapor. You may put the dumplings in a ziploc bag and freeze them. They can be kept for up to a month. Either way you use, defrost them to room temperature before serving and steam them over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Note: Net carb count excludes fiber, erythritol, and allulose, as they do not affect blood sugar in most people. The numbers are calculated by ourselves manually and the information is just for your reference. The figures may vary depending on the brand of the ingredients, so feel free to make your own calculations.

Total serving in this recipe: 10 dumplings
Net carb per serving: 12g
Sugar Alcohols per serving: 3.9g

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Planning your keto/low-carb diet? Here are more vegetarain keto meal ideas on Lokyi’s Food Studio:

Vegetarian Keto Full English Breakfast (takes 30 minutes only!)
Vegan Keto Bread Buns With Black Sesame Powder
Vegan Keto Cauliflower Soup with Mushrooms
Keto Tortillas with Flaxseed Meal (Vegan)
Veggie Shirataki Noodle Stir-Fry (Japchae)

Vegetarian Keto Cauliflower Rice Dumplings with Tempeh

lokyisfoodstudio

These keto rice dumplings with riced cauliflower are gold for me! They’re low-carb and vegetarian-friendly. I guess you will love this traditional delicious food with a twist!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 4 hours hrs

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Wrapping time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cantonese

Servings 10 dumplings

Calories 275 kcal

Equipment

• Wok or pot
• Bamboo steamer (optional)

Ingredients

  

For leaf preparation

• 40 pieces dried or fresh reed leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10-15 dried salt water grass as twine

For filling – shiitake mushrooms

• 50 grams dried shiitake mushrooms soaked for at least 6 hours
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon keto soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener

For filling – mushrooms

• 500 grams mushrooms sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 grams sea salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

For filling – tempeh

• 300 grams tempeh
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/3 tablespoons keto soy sauce
• 2/3 tablespoon sake
• 1 tablespoon five spice powder
• 1 teaspoon monk fruit sweetener

For filling- salted duck egg yolks

• 10 salted duck egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon sake or rose wine

For sticky cauliflower rice

• 3 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1.8 kilograms riced cauliflower about 3 1/2 heads
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 14 grams sea salt
• 2-3 grams white pepper
• 45 grams psyllium husk powder

Instructions

 

For leaf preparation

• If using dried reed leaves, soak them overnight. Skip this step if you use the fresh one.
• Rinse and rub the leaves very gently to clean them. Put them inside a deep pot and add water to cover the leaves.
• Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the water. It will make the leaves more flexible and less likely to crack.
• Put on the pot lid and heat the pot of leaves over high heat until it boils, then turn off the heat immediately. Keep the lid on and let the leaves soak overnight or until the water is warm enough to touch (if you don’t have enough time).

For filling – dried shiitake mushrooms

• Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms for at least 6 hours. They will become soft and bigger after that.
• Cut and discard the stems. In a medium heat proof bowl stir together olive oil, keto soy sauce, minced garlic and monk fruit sweetener to make sauce, then put the shiitake mushrooms in and massage them with the sauce.
• Steam the shiitake mushrooms for 30 minutes.
• Cut them into half and set aside.

For filling – salted duck egg yolks

• Separate the salted duck egg whites and yolks. The egg yolks will be used in this recipe and you can reserve the whites for other dishes.
• Put the egg yolks on a plate or inside a medium bowl. Drizzle sake or rose wine over them and steam for about 20 minutes.

For filling – mushrooms & tempeh

• Break the tempeh into small pieces with your hands. In a small bowl stir together the remaining ingredients for tempeh (except a tablespoon olive oil).
• In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, sauté mushroom slices until golden brown and soft, then season with sea salt and five spice powder and stir to combine. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Plate up the mushrooms and set aside.
• In the same pan, heat a tablespoon more olive oil, add tempeh pieces to stir fry until golden brown, then pour the bowl of sauce into the pan and fry until the tempeh pieces are coated with sauce. Plate them up and set aside.

For sticky cauliflower rice

• Cut the cauliflowers into small florets. Chop the stems and leaves into smaller pieces. You may discard them if you do not want them.
• Rinse them with running water. Drain and pat them as dry as you can with a clean towel.
• Put the cauliflower pieces in a food processor or blender. Pulse until they become rice-sized. Process them in batches if necessary and don’t over blend them or else they will get mushy. Place the cauliflower rice into a large container and set aside.
• Process the garlic cloves and shallots to the size of rice or smaller.
• Divide the garlic cloves, shallots, cauliflower rice and psyllium husk powder separately into three batches.
• Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan (about 12” diameter) over medium high heat. Sauté a batch of garlic and shallots until fragrant, then turn to high heat and add a batch of cauliflower rice to stir fry until it turns pale yellow, for about 3 minutes.
• Season with sea salt and white pepper. Taste and add more if necessary. Dust a batch of psyllium husk powder onto the rice evenly. Stir fry until combined and the rice sticks together. It will finally become sticky that a dough ball can be formed.
• Repeat the steps to finish the remaining two batches.

Assembling

• The leaves should be soaked in water right now. For 10 dumplings, take 40 leaves out and roughly pat them dry. Cut the stems with scissors and it will make the wrapping easier. Soak the twines inside water to prevent them from breaking.
• Use four leaves for a dumpling. Pick two pieces of leaves first, put a piece of leaf on another one like a cross, smooth side up. Fold the overlapped part to form a cone (see photo reference above in the post) and hold the tip of the cone with your hand.
• Fill the bottom with sticky cauliflower rice (around 60 grams). This will be the top of your dumpling so make sure you spread the rice enough to cover the surface, or else the filling may not be held together and the shape of the dumpling will not be pretty. Then add tempeh (about 15 grams), an egg yolk, mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. Cover the filling carefully with more tempeh (about 15 grams) and sticky cauliflower rice (60 grams).
• Use one hand each time to place the remaining two pieces of leaves separately on the left and right side of the cone. Be careful to hold the shape of the cone. Use your thumbs to close the dumpling by making an inward fold. Then press the dumpling firmly, and fold the upper bunch of leaves down, the lower bunch of leaves up to close the dumpling completely.
• Tight the dumpling with a twine (see pictures above in the post). Cut the redundant part of leaves. Repeat the steps until all ingredients are used.

Cooking

• In a wok or pot bring plenty of water to a boil, then place a steamer rack in the wok or pot. The water level should be below the steamer rack.
• Put dumplings inside a bamboo steamer or on a plate and place them on the steamer rack. Put on the bamboo lid if you use a bamboo steamer. Cover the wok or pot with a lid to steam for 15 minutes over medium heat.
• Take the dumplings out immediately. Unfold the leaves gently and serve hot.

Keyword Dragon Boat Festival, Gluten-free, Keto, Low-carb, Rice Dumplings, Vegetarian