Dumpling and greens salad with garlic, ginger and scallion sauce

Dumpling and greens salad with garlic, ginger and scallion sauce

By greens, I’m ostensibly referring to Asian greens - baby bok choy, bok choy, choy sum/yu choy, tatsoi etc. However, other greens work too - try kale, chard/silverbeet, spinach. The idea is to serve your dumplings with a mound of greens, the more the merrier. For the ‘sauce’, I’ve added garlic to my ginger and scallion oil recipe - which I often call my mother sauce - delivering a ‘dressing’ that is fragrant, savory and very more-ish. The oil is great for so many applications - as a child I ate it with white rice, but it’s also great on noodles, tofu, eggs, jook (congee) and even on top of roasted veggies.

The timings in this recipe are written for vegetarian/vegan potstickers. If you are cooking meat dumplings, you will need to cook them for a two or three minutes longer. Opt for flat-bottom potstickers or gyozas to give you the best results.

Serves 4 - vegan

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Ingredients

• 1 bunch (about 350g) tatsoi, bok choy or gai larn, washed well (or try kale, chard/silverbeet)
• neutral oil such as grapeseed, canola or vegetable
• sea salt
• 1 pound frozen potsticker vegetarian dumplings (not thawed)
• toasted white sesame seeds, to serve

Garlic, ginger and scallion oil

• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled, and cut into thin strips (julienned)
• 2 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
• 3 tsp rice or black vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup neutral oil

1. Wash the greens well to remove any dirt. If you’re using long-stemmed leaves, cut them in half, separating the stems and leaves, and cut the stems into smaller pieces about 1-inch/2.5 cm in size. If you’re using smaller leaves, like baby bok choy, simply slice through the centre, and cut each half in two (so it is quartered).

2. Make the oil by placing the garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar and salt into a small heatproof bowl. Place a frying pan / skillet on medium high heat and add the oil, and heat until it is very hot - I test it by touching the oil with a wooden chopstick or spoon and if the oil bubbles vigorously, it’s ready. Immediately and carefully take it off the heat and pour it directly over the garlic, ginger and scallion mixture - it will sizzle and spit. Once it stops sizzling, stir to combine.

3. Place the same pan back on medium high heat. There should still be some oil residue in the pan - this is all you’ll need to cook the greens. Add the stems and leaves, along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook, tossing, until just wilted, slightly charred, with the green leaves still bright. Remove from the heat immediately and set aside. Divide the greens into 4 serving bowls.

4. Heat the same pan on medium high heat until very hot, about 1 minute (as it should still be hot from cooking the greens). Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, drizzle with1 to 2 tablespoons of oil and add the dumplings, flat-side down, and cook until the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately add about ¼ cup of water to the pan, and then cover and cook until the water has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and if there is still water in the pan, reduce heat to low and let it cook off and evaporate. Remove from the pan and cooking the remaining dumplings. Divide the dumplings into the 4 serving bowls, on top of the greens.

5. Spoon over a little (or lot) of the garlic, ginger and scallion oil. To serve, to with sesame seeds. Eat warm or at room temperature.