This one’s a bit of a show-off – in the best way. Crisp salad, crunchy veg, and juicy pork dumplings come together like a greatest hits album of texture and flavour. Whether you’re batch-cooking dumplings for the freezer or just making a big tray for tonight’s dinner crowd, this dish delivers maximum flavour with minimal faff. It’s flexible too - throw in whatever greens are on hand, get creative with your salad mix, and pat yourself on the back for turning a humble packet of dumpling wrappers into something dinner party-worthy.
1. Blanch the greens:
Chop your greens into small pieces. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the greens and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, rinse under cold water, and squeeze out excess liquid once cool.
2. Make the filling:
Finely dice the onion and carrot. Mince the garlic and ginger. In a large bowl, combine pork mince, onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and drained greens. Mix well.
3. Fill the dumplings:
Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each dumpling wrapper. Brush the edges with water, fold, and pinch to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
4. Cook the dumplings:
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Add 7–8 dumplings at a time and fry until golden on both sides. Carefully pour in ¼ cup water, cover with a lid, and steam until cooked through. Repeat in batches.
5. Make the salad:
Shred the cabbage, and julienne the carrots, capsicums, beetroot, and apple. Combine in a large bowl. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden.
6. Make the dressing:
Whisk together soy sauce, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Adjust to taste with salt, pepper, and sugar.
7. Serve:
Toss the salad with dressing and divide among six plates. Top each with five dumplings, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and coriander if using.
TIP: Make all 30 dumplings and freeze half for later – they cook straight from frozen. Halve the salad and dressing if serving fewer people.
