Ultimate dumpling sauce

Use this sauce on dumplings, on fried eggs or simply as a dressing for thicker noodles like udon or hand-cut noodles with shredded cucumber and a little sesame paste.

Ultimate dumpling sauce. Credit: Murdoch Books / Armelle Habib

• makes

  125 ml

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

There’s a really deep spicing and lovely length of heat in this dressing, with the vegetal top notes of red and green chilli and the warmth of chilli oil, sesame oil and cumin all brought together with the brightness of Chinkiang vinegar and fresh coriander.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 green chilli, sliced
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Chinkiang (black) vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chilli oil
• ½ tsp sliced coriander (cilantro)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan or wok, then add the cumin seeds and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, then add the chillies and fry for 1–2 minutes.
2. Add the sesame seeds and fry for another 30 seconds, then add the sesame oil, soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar and salt and stir well. Turn off the heat. Let the dressing cool down and stir the chilli oil and coriander through when you’re ready to serve (see Note).

Note

This sauce will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for over a week without the fresh coriander.

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.