Asian salad with dumplings and sesame vinaigrette

A crunchy, colourful meal in a bowl!

Asian-inspired dishes are among my favourites as I find them so fresh-tasting, colourful and crunchy. For this stellar salad, you can use meat-filled or vegetarian dumplings and if you want to save time and effort you can just steam them for about 12 minutes rather than frying first. If you prefer, you can swap in fresh bean sprouts for the pea shoots. I like black sesame seeds for the contrast they provide but regular sesame seeds are great as well.

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1 teaspoon very finely minced fresh gingerroot
• 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (chili garlic paste), or more, to taste (or Sriracha)
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water

Salad

• 5 cups (445 g) chopped Napa (Chinese) or Savoy cabbage
• 2/3 cup (100 g) slivered red pepper
• 2/3 cup (65 g) grated carrot
• 2/3 cup (60 g) pea shoots, cut in 3/4 inch (2 cm) pieces
• 1/2 cup (8 g) fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup (23 g) slivered green onions or chives
• 1/2 cup (75 g) shelled edamame, cooked and cooled to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) canola or other neutral cooking oil
• 10 pot stickers or gyoza (Asian dumplings)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Method

• Prepare the vinaigrette first by placing all ingredients in a 1 cup (250 mL) jar with a tight lid. Cover tightly and shake well to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning (adding more maple syrup and/or sambal oelek, for example) to your preference. Set aside while you prepare the salad (place in refrigerator if making more than an hour in advance).
• Next, prepare the vegetables and herbs for the salad. Chop or slice as indicated in ingredients list and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
• To cook the dumplings, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan placed over medium heat. When oil is hot, add frozen dumplings, flat side down. Cover pot, leaving a small gap between pot and lid so steam can escape. Fry dumplings for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown all over. Carefully pour in just enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet and replace the lid more tightly. Let dumplings steam for 4-5 minutes until completely cooked, removing lid for last 2 minutes of steaming so water can evaporate.
• When dumplings are just about done steaming, shake dressing and drizzle half of it over the prepared vegetables. Toss well and then add additional dressing, a tablespoon at a time, until vegetables are evenly coated (don’t add so much that you have a puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl.
• Divide the dressed vegetables among two broad, shallow serving bowls. Using tongs, place 5 hot dumplings on top of the vegetables in each bowl. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings; recipe can easily be multiplied.