If there’s one occasion to prepare dumplings from scratch, wrappers and all, it’s the Lunar New Year. Everyday dumplings take on special significance for the holiday: Eating the savory pleated pouches, which symbolize wealth, means good fortune for the year ahead, and slurping dessert dumplings is supposed to assure family unity.

But the more immediate reward is the process of making them: Kneading and rolling the dough, filling and wrapping, pinching and sealing. It’s the sort of therapeutic project that lulls like rowing on a still lake. It takes a little physical effort, but the motions become as relaxing as rocking in a canoe.

This is especially true for the pot sticker wrappers here, which employ a softer, easy-to-work dough made with hot water. When rolled, it doesn’t spring back like cold-water dough for boiled dumplings, which is tougher and more elastic. Using hot water ensures thin wrappers that are simple to pleat, whether the dough is rolled into individual rounds or into a sheet for cutting out circles. When the pot stickers are simultaneously fried and steamed, these wrappers cook to the ideal delicate tenderness.

What goes in the dough can vary endlessly, but every combination requires balance.

Savory flavors should border on salty because the wrapper subdues the mix, and the heat from ginger, pepper or chiles should tingle but not overpower. As for texture, the mix should be juicy but not watery and hold together without being dense.

This vegetable and tofu filling (which, yes, happens to be vegan) hits all the marks. Aromatic fresh greens are tossed with salt for seasoning and also to draw out their water. Liquid is wrung from tofu, too, so that it can soak up soy sauce and chile crisp and serve as a big-flavored binder for the greens and crunchy bits of celery.

Great dumplings are as much about texture as taste, and these double the welcome contrast of tenderness and crunch. Simultaneously fried and steamed in a covered skillet, the wrappers develop crackling brown bases, while the tops become delicately chewy. Inside, the crunch of spicy chile crisp punctuates soft tofu and greens. Wringing water out of both fillings first allows them to soak in the soy sauce and chile crisp and ensures the filling doesn’t end up watery or bland. Another benefit to this vegan filling is the ability to taste it raw and adjust the seasonings before wrapping.

Chile Crisp Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch slices

• 6 ounces spinach, watercress or baby bok choy, finely chopped (3 cups)

• 3 ounces garlic chives or scallions, thinly sliced (1 cup)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for serving

• 1 tablespoon chile crisp, plus more for serving

• 35 homemade dumpling wrappers or store-bought round wrappers

• Grapeseed or other neutral oil, for frying

• Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar and sesame oil, for serving

Directions:

Arrange the tofu slices in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel or between double layers of paper towels. Roll tightly in the towel as if rolling a sleeping bag, then squeeze it over the sink to remove as much liquid as pos sible. Let stand 10 minutes for the tofu to continue releasing liquid. If the towel gets soaked, transfer the tofu to another dry towel.

Toss the spinach, chives and salt in a colander. Let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze the greens in the colander over the sink to release as much liquid as possible. Transfer the greens mixture to a large bowl. Add the drained tofu, squeezing it to crumble into bits as you add it, then mix evenly with the greens. Add the celery, soy sauce and chile crisp, and stir until evenly mixed. Taste, and add more soy sauce and chile crisp, if you’d like. The filling on its own should be very flavorful because the wrappers are not seasoned at all.

Set up a dumpling assembly line with the bowl of filling, wrappers and a small bowl of water. Using a dessert spoon or other small spoon, scoop a mound of filling, then press it against the side of the bowl into a tiny football.

Set the filling in the center of one wrapper. Use your fingertip to dampen the edges with water. Bring together the sides over the filling to enclose in a half-moon. Pinch the center together, then press the edges together to seal, pleating decoratively if you’d like. Sit the dumpling upright on your work surface. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.

Cook immediately or freeze in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until hard, then transfer to airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

You can cook as many or as few dumplings at a time as you’d like. Choose your pan size accordingly: An 8-inch skillet will fit 8 to 10; a 10-inch will fit 14-16. When ready to cook, coat a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or nonstick skillet with a thin, even layer of oil. Arrange the dumplings in the pan, pleated side up, spacing 1/3 inch apart, and filling the pan. Add enough cold water to the pan to come 1/3 inch up the sides.

Cover the skillet and cook over medium until the rapid firecracker popping diminishes to a steady, low crackle, indicating that all the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Uncover and check to see if the bottoms are browned and the dough is slightly translucent all the way to the top. If so, remove from the heat. If not, cook uncovered 1-2 minutes longer. Let stand for a minute so the dumplings release from the skillet naturally.

Transfer to a plate, browned side up. Make your own dipping sauce with any combination of soy sauce, chile crisp, vinegar and sesame oil, and enjoy with the hot dumplings.

Total time: 1 hour, makes about 35 dumplings.

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