My Favorite Restaurant-Grade Soup Dumplings Are Finally Back In Stock — and I’m Loading Up My Freezer

Generally, being vegetarian is pretty easy. Even when I do crave a meat-based dish, I can usually recreate it using a convincing alternative, so it never feels like I’m missing out on any must-try recipes. But then, one of my colleagues tested and reviewed MìLà’s frozen soup dumplings, which, at the time, were only available with various meat fillings. I don’t consider myself skilled (or patient) enough to make soup dumplings from scratch, and many of the restaurants that serve them also don’t offer vegetarian versions. So I just resigned myself to the fact that I’d have to miss out this time. But then last spring, MìLà released vegan soup dumplings and, as you can imagine, I was thrilled! 

I opted to try the vegan dumplings, and they were every bit as delicious and easy to prepare as I’d anticipated, but they went out of stock at some point during the summer. Not only was I sad that I couldn’t restock, but I was also disappointed that I couldn’t share them with any fellow vegetarians or vegan readers — until now. I’m happy to report that MìLà’s vegan soup dumplings are finally back in stock, and I’m grabbing multiple bags.

Most foodies are likely already familiar with MìLà, which offers direct-to-consumer frozen Chinese food nationwide, including, of course, soup dumplings. The bite-size vegan dumplings come in a bundle of three bags, which contain 40 dumplings each, or 120 dumplings total. Available for a limited time, the dumplings contain a vegan gelatin and a jackfruit filling that mimics the taste of the brand’s popular meat-based dumplings. They’re also flavored with scallions, garlic, sesame oil, and other ingredients you’d expect to find in traditional soup dumplings. The dumplings are stored in the freezer, and no defrosting is required when you want to whip up a batch. After only 11 minutes of steaming, they’re ready to go. 

If you want to make your next soup dumpling meal that much more flavorful, you can also try the vegan starter pack, which is what I initially got. It comes with two 40-count bags of dumplings and MìLà’s spicy chili crunch, dumpling dipping sauce, and ginger and scallion umami.

You can buy the soup dumplings at grocery stores like Whole Foods, but mine were shipped to my apartment. I was initially a bit apprehensive as to how this would work, but the process was seamless. The dumplings arrived packed in dry ice, so they were still relatively frozen by the time I got home and unpacked them. I put them in the freezer, where they stayed for a couple of days until I was ready to cook them. One mistake I made was letting the dumplings thaw out a bit on the counter. Ideally, you should start steaming them while they’re still frozen so that they retain their shape. A few of the dumplings thawed out too much after I left them out, and they became misshapen, so I learned my lesson. Luckily, the actual steaming part was easy.

There are a few ways you can steam your dumplings. The most obvious one is to use a steamer basket (steamer liners are included in every bag), but I don’t have one. So, I used the aluminum foil method, which is detailed on the brand’s website. After boiling for about 11 minutes in a wide stainless steel pan, the dumplings were ready to eat. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they were so good. The plant-based filling tasted so similar to pork, I actually looked at the bag again to confirm that I did, in fact, receive the vegan dumplings. They tasted even better coated in the dipping sauce, and they were so filling and packed with flavor.

I’m not sure how long the vegan soup dumplings will stay in stock; I have a feeling they’ll sell out again quickly, so I recommend stocking up while you can. I definitely will be — and I might also add a steamer basket to my purchase this time.

Buy: Vegan Soup Dumpling Trio, $134.99