In a large pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and diced onion, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the meat substitute (I used Lightlife ground), and use a wooden spoon to break up the "meat" and stir well to cook evenly, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the rehydrated and chopped wood ear fungus and diced jicama. Stir to incorporate.

Season with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp black pepper (feel free to up to 1/2 tsp if you like it peppery) Stir until the jicama has heated through and isn't too crunchy.

Stir in the finely diced green onions, remove from heat, and set aside.

In a small pot over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add in the green onions and stir. Remove from heat and let onions infuse in the oil. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine tapioca flour and boiling water and either use a stand mixer with a dough hook or a wooden spoon to mix everything together until you get a sticky, shaggy dough.

Then with oiled hands, turn the dough onto a well oiled surface and knead until no lumps remain in the the dough. Keep applying oil to your hands once you find you start sticking, and knead until you get a nice, smooth, elastic dough.

Divide the dough in half, then cover one half with a plastic bag or with an upside-down bowl so it doesn't dry out.

Pull off small, nickle-sized ball of dough (you can do as big as a quarter, but the smaller, the better!), and roll into a ball. Then gently squish to flatten around the edges, and finally even out the middle. You want a circle, around 2-inches in diameter and between 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Add about 1 tsp of filling to the centre (or as much as you can manage), then pinch and fold the edge to seal. Try not to fold in too much air into the dumpling. Place the finished dumpling on an oiled surface and repeat until you run out of dough and filling.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and add 1 tbsp of oil. Prepare a water bath (ice, or cool/cold tap water is fine) and arrage beside the pot.

Add in your dumplings, cooking in about 4 batches, stirring gently with chopsticks or a slotted spoon so they don't stick to each other when you first put them in.

Once they float to the top and look clear inside, use a slotted spoon or stainless steel spider strainer to scoop out the dumplings, and place in the water bath.

Add in your next batch of dumplings, and let that cook while you take out the cooked ones from the water bath and transfer to a serving plate. Add 1 tbsp of oil onto the finished dumplings, and use chopsticks to gently stir to coat them in oil so they don't stick together.

Repeat until all dumplings are cooked!

To Serve:One plate is usually between 8-12 dumplings, depending on how hungry you are or how big you've made the dumplings! Garnish with fried shallots and a few spoonfuls of vegan nuoc mam cham!