Dumpling salad with ultimate dumpling sauce

This fun little meal for one casts dumplings as the protein in a fresh salad with baby vegetables, but feel free to choose whatever crunchy vegetables and herbs you fancy or have in the fridge.

Dumpling salad with the ultimate dumpling sauce. Credit: Murdoch Books / Armelle Habib

• serves

  1

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

The cumin buttermilk ranch dressing pairs so beautifully with the warm spicing in the dumpling sauce, but you can also go for a green sauce and more chilli oil, if you prefer. I’ve fried the dumplings here for even more crunch, but you can certainly use boiled, pan-fried or steamed dumplings. Also, you’re not limited to using Chinese dumplings, either. Try momos, pierogi or even ravioli . You do you.

Ingredients

• 6-8 dumplings, cooked to your preference
• 2 baby cucumbers or 1 small Lebanese cucumber
• 3-4 baby radishes, split in half and washed
• Handful of cherry tomatoes, split in half
• Handful of sliced red onion
• 1 tsp sliced chives, plus extra to serve
• 2 tbsp ultimate dumpling sauce (recipe here), plus extra to serve
• ½ cup (125 ml) cumin buttermilk ranch (see below)

Cumin buttermilk ranch (see Note)

• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp coriander seeds
• ⅛ tsp black peppercorns
• ½ cup (120 g) crème fraîche or sour cream
• ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk
• 1½ tbsp Japanese-style mayonnaise
• ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp sugar

Instructions

1. For the ranch dressing, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a dry frying pan until fragrant, then crush roughly using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Combine in a small bowl with crème fraîche, buttermilk, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, salt and sugar until smooth. Check the seasoning and adjust to taste.
2. For the salad, combine the dumplings, vegetables and chives in a medium bowl with the ultimate dumpling sauce and toss thoroughly to coat.
3. Drizzle the centre of a serving plate with some cumin buttermilk ranch, then arrange the vegetables and dumplings over the top. Sprinkle with more chives if you like, and a little more dumpling sauce.

Note

• Ranch is already a widely loved sauce in the US for all manner of delicious fried things, but it’s a wonderful dressing for grilled vegetables too. The cumin and coriander in this recipe bring a warm spicing to the sauce akin to a raita, giving it a little more oomph than regular ranch dressing. Serve this simply with grilled seasonal vegetables, as an accompaniment to oven-crisped chicken thighs and salad or layered with spicy or herb sauces. This dressing pairs sensationally with sauces that pack a bit of heat or depth of flavour – think tomato-based sauces or a spicy-meaty-oily sauce care of ’nduja or chopped chorizo.
• This recipe makes 1 cup (250 ml); unused dressing will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. 

This is an edited extract from Secret Sauce by Rosheen Kaul, photography by Armelle Habib (Murdoch Books, $39.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.