Instant Pot Steamed Dumplings (Momo)

These instant pot steamed dumplings are Tibetan vegetable momos or dimsums often served with spicy tomato chutney. If you have ever been to a Nepali or Tibetan restaurant, these are one of the delicious appetizer or snack that you should try. Here is my vegetable instant pot steamed dumplings made under 30-minutes 

This recipe is very close to my heart. I grew up in eastern Indian states but spent most of my late teen and adult life in southern Indian cities, where eating out was a part of my weekend adventure. The common dish my sister and I always ordered were these steamed Tibetan momos in spicy Sichuan or Schezwan sauce.

What is instant pot steamed dumplings/momos?

These Tibetan momos are so popular in India that you almost find them in all street food stalls, restaurants, and mall food courts. Momos are not very different from dumplings. Just like Chinese dumplings, these are stuffed with a delicious mixture of cabbage, carrot, and green onion filling. I always add tofu and glass noodles and spice the mixture with minced garlic, ginger, cilantro, and a very generous amount of soy sauce and black pepper. Sometimes, I also add a spoonful of sriracha for a spicy punch. But that’s totally optional. The only difference between the traditional cooking and mine is the instant pot steaming process.

Once this crumbled tofu and veggie mixture gets wrapped up in the tiny dough balls or crescents, these are then steamed and served with spicy tomato chutney. Feel free to eat them with sweet soy sauce or spicy chili oil, or just make some of the popular tomato chutney to enjoy this momo as Nepalese and Tibetans do. 

This recipe is adapted from Curious Chickpea's Tibetan Vegetable Momos and Spicy Tomato Chutney.

I have no idea what’s the exact difference between steamed dumplings and momos, and how the latter received such a unique name, but they surely became a very popular snack in most Indian and Asian towns because of their delicious flavor. Here are some commonly asked questions.

What is the difference between dumpling and Momo?

Momos are veggie or meat-filled flour dumplings usually steamed and served with red chutney. Momos originated in Nepal and the Tibet region in Asia. Dimsum or steamed dumplings can be made with any rice or potato starch dough and even from a wheat-based dough. Steamed dumplings, which are from China, can be steamed or pan-fried. Steamed dumplings come in a variety of types: gyoza, bao, steam buns, pot-stickers, and dim sums are few of the most popular ones.

How do you steam dumplings without a bamboo steamer basket?

You can always use a steam basket or an instant pot to steam the dumplings without a bamboo steamer basket. Fill your instant pot with a few inches of water and bring it to a boil in the saute mode. Then switch the mode to "steam" and place the dumplings on the steam rack on a trivet. Steam for 12-minutes by covering the pot with a glass lid.

How long does it take to steam dumplings?

The cooking time of the instant pot steamed dumplings depends on the size and thickness of the dumpling wrappers. It usually takes from 10 to 15 minutes to cook them until tender and cooked through.

If my momo story has inspired you, here is how you can make them. 

How To Make Instant Pot Steamed Dumplings/Momos?

It’s pretty simple to make these instant pot steamed dumplings. Although there are multiple steps involved, momo are actually super easy to make. First you make the dough and while the dough rests, you mix all the filling ingredients to create well-seasoned filling. The next step is not difficult, but you certainly get this by practice. Dumpling making is an art in itself. You start by rolling out the dough, cut thin circles out of it and then fill the dough discs and fold and pleat the dough to give it a traditional or your desired dumpling shape. That’s it! Your dumplings are ready to get steamed.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or half whole wheat and half APF, more as needed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• ¾ cup warm water
• Salt taste

Veggie Filling:

• 2 cups shredded green cabbage or 1 cup shredded cabbage and 1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms
• ¾ cup shredded carrot
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, both white and green parts
• 2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
• 4 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled and drained (preferably pre-cooked but you can use raw)
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chili oil Or 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method of Making Instant Pot Steamed Dumplings:

Make the dumpling dough: 

Take a large mixing bowl, take the flour and salt. Mix well and add water slowly followed by oil and mix the dough until it comes together. Knead the dough well for a few minutes till the dough is stretchy and smooth. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the filling:

• Mix together all the veggies and add salt. Allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes, and then use a kitchen towel to squeeze the water out of veggies. You can also use a nut milk bag or muslin cloth for this. 
• Once squeezed, add the veggies to a bowl, season with pepper, chili oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. Your filling is ready. Taste and add salt if needed.

• If you want to make a sautéed filling, refer to the instructions under the notes section. 

Shape the dumplings:

• Start by working with the dough half an hour after the resting time. Divide the dough in to small pieces or Squeeze a ball sized dough out and leave the rest under the damp towel.
• Use a rolling pin and roll the ball sized dough on a lightly floured counter or rolling base until it is very thin disc like tortilla. 
• Try to make this as thin as you can. To make the rolling easier, flip and dust with more flour as you roll the dough ball into a thin disc. This helps the dough not to stick on the rolling base. 
• Use a cookie cutter to cut the disc into 3 ½ - 4 inch circles. Remove the scraps of dough and reuse it for making another disc.

• Take one piece of the small circle and place it on your palm or on the rolling board.
• Now add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Moisten the edges with little water and then fold and punch the circle edges to form a round dumpling. 

• Use the same process to make more dumplings and place the finished ones on a lightly greased plate.  

Steam in the instant pot:

• Prepare a steamer basket or rack and lightly brush it with oil.
• Add two cups of water in the inner pot and place the steamer basket or the rack on a trivet. Now place each dumpling or momo on it.

• Leave a little gap between them as they may stick to each other while cooking.
• Set the instant pot to steam mode and set 12 minutes on the timer.
• Cover the instant pot with a glass lid or secure the lid while the vent is open.
• Steam the dumplings for 12 minutes or until the dough is not sticky to touch.
• Use silicone tongs to remove the dumplings and transfer them to a plate. Repeat the same steaming process with the remaining dumplings.

Serve the instant pot steamed dumplings warm with dark sweet soy sauce or chutney. 

NOTES:

• The filling for these momos can be sautéed in oil too. Crush some garlic and add to a tablespoon of hot oil. Now add all the veggies and sauté everything till they are sweaty. Add all the sauces + seasoning and cook in high heat till the mixture is dry yet crunchy. 
• I prefer the raw filling over this sautéed one. But I often make this version whenever I make some schezwan momos. 
• Customize the filling as per your choice.  Tofu haters can always skip it, and add some cooked glass noodles, shredded seaweed, corn, and even pickled kimchi. 
• These dumplings store well in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I prefer to steam them again before serving than just reheating in a microwave. 
• Leftover dumplings also work perfectly in other recipes like saucy momos, dumpling soup, or even instant pot wonton soup.
• You can use whole-wheat flour to make the dough. However, the whole-wheat instant pot steamed dumplings are not as soft as the APF dough momos. 

📖 Recipe

Instant Pot Steamed Dumplings (Momos)

These instant pot steamed dumplings are Tibetan vegetable momos or dimsums often served with spicy tomato chutney. If you have ever been to a Nepali or Tibetan restaurant, these are one of the delicious appetizer or snack that you should try. Here is my vegetable instant pot steamed momos made in under 30-minutes 

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Snacks

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Indian, Tibetan

Keyword: Instant pot momos, Instant pot steamed dumplings, Spicy dimsums, Spicy momos, Tibetan momos, vegan dumplings, vegan instant pot steamed dumplings

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

30 minutes minutes

Servings: 5

Calories: 310kcal

Author: Sophie

Cost: $7

Equipment

• Instant pot

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or half whole wheat and half apf
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• ¾ cup warm water
• Salt to taste

Veggie Filling

• 2 cups shredded green cabbage or 1 cup shredded cabbage and 1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms
• ¾ cup shredded carrot
• ½ cup finely chopped green onions, both white and green parts
• 2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
• 4 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled and drained (preferably pre-cooked but you can use raw)

Spices and Sauce

• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, optional
• 1 teaspoon chili oil Or 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the dumpling dough

• Take a large mixing bowl, take the flour and salt. Mix well and add water slowly followed by oil and mix the dough until it comes together.
  
• Knead the dough well for a few minutes till the dough is stretchy and smooth. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the filling

• Mix together all the veggies and add salt. Allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes, and then use a kitchen towel to squeeze the water out of veggies. You can also use a nut milk bag or muslin cloth for this.
  
• Once squeezed, add the veggies to a bowl, season with pepper, chili oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. Your filling is ready. Taste and add salt if needed.
  
• If you want to make a sautéed filling, refer to the instructions under the notes section.

Shape the dumplings

• Start by working with the dough half an hour after the resting time. Divide the dough into small pieces or Squeeze a ball sized dough out and leave the rest under the damp towel.
• Use a rolling pin and roll the ball sized dough on a lightly floured counter or rolling base until it is a very thin disc-like tortilla.
• Try to make this as thin as you can. To make the rolling easier, flip and dust with more flour as you roll the dough ball into a thin disc. This helps the dough not to stick on the rolling base.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut the disc into 3 ½ - 4-inch circles. Remove the scraps of dough and reuse it for making another disc.
  
• Take one piece of the small circle and place it on your palm or on the rolling board. Now add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Moisten the edges with little water and then fold and punch the circle edges to form a round dumpling.
  
• Use the same process to make more dumplings and place the finished ones on a lightly greased plate.
  

Steam in the instant pot

• Prepare a steamer basket or rack and lightly brush it with oil. Add two cups of water in the inner pot and place the steamer basket or the rack on a trivet. Now place each dumpling or momo on it. Leave a little gap between them as they may stick to each other while cooking.
  
• Set the instant pot to steam mode and set 12 minutes on the timer. Cover the instant pot with a glass lid or secure the lid while the vent is open. Steam the dumplings for 12 minutes or until the dough is not sticky to touch.
• Use silicone tongs to remove the dumplings and transfer them to a plate. Repeat the same steaming process with the remaining dumplings.
• Serve the instant pot steamed dumplings warm with dark sweet soy sauce or chutney.
  

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Notes

• This recipe makes around 32 small dumplings. Serving size is 6 dumplings per serving. 
• The filling for these momos can be sautéed in oil too. Crush some garlic and add to a tablespoon of hot oil. Now add all the veggies and sauté everything till they are sweaty. Add all the sauces + seasoning and cook in high heat till the mixture is dry yet crunchy.
• I prefer the raw filling over this sautéed one. But I often make this version whenever I make schezwan momos.
• Customize the filling as per your choice.  Tofu haters can always skip it, and add some cooked glass noodles, shredded seaweed, corn, and even pickled kimchi.
• These dumplings store well in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I prefer to steam them again before serving than just reheating in a microwave.
• Leftover dumplings also work perfectly in other recipes like saucy momos, dumpling soup, or even instant pot wonton soup.
• You can use whole-wheat flour to make the dough. However, the whole-wheat instant pot steamed dumplings are not as soft as the APF dough momos. 

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Nutrition

Serving: 265g | Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g

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