Crispy Dumpling Salad with Curry Dressing
A little bit of kitchen theory: For a well-balanced recipe, it's best to combine several basic flavors on your plate – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Spiciness and fat are bonus points that shouldn't be underestimated either. Just as important as the combination of different flavors, however, is a mix of textures. Crispy, creamy, juicy, liquid, chewy – ideally, you've got several options in the mix so your food doesn't get boring.
I didn't approach this recipe with a theory chart in hand, but we accidentally ended up with a pretty high density of different flavors and textures – and all in just ONE salad bowl. Whooo! And in case that doesn't convince you yet: Our dumpling salad of the day is on the table in 30 minutes and is perfect for using up whatever leftovers your fridge could only dream of.
For the salad itself, you can basically use any vegetables you currently have in your fridge. For us, that was pointed cabbage, snow peas, half a cucumber, a spring onion, a handful of radishes, and edamame. But bell peppers, thinly sliced kohlrabi and carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts, beetroot, or bok choy would be fantastic additions too. You get the idea: it's all about crunchy ideas that make your salad deliciously fresh.
The dumplings bring both extra crunch and a soft filling. We used store-bought dumplings, but if you have the time and motivation, feel free to fill and fold them yourself. We already have recipes for that on the blog – check out our vegan vegetable potstickers, gyoza, and [mandu with kimchi]filling(https://www.zuckerjagdwurst.com/en/recipes/vegan-mandu-with-kimchi).
But things really get exciting with the dressing. Instead of using green curry paste for our next curry, it ended up in a jar with coconut milk (sweet and creamy), soy sauce (umami and salty), toasted sesame oil (nutty), agave syrup (sweet), and lime juice (sour). After a good shake, it became possibly the quickest spicy dressing we've ever made. Ultra-delicious – and fair trade too, as we got the curry paste and coconut milk from Fairtrade Original.
And we're particularly happy about that – after all, they've been working for over 65 years to help farmers worldwide earn a living wage. Their ingredients that you can get in German stores are not only fair and vegan, but they're also prepared and packaged on-site as much as possible. This way, not only does the value creation stay with the producers, but also the authentic taste, since the recipes are developed together with the small-scale farmers themselves.
You've now seen that you can do more with green curry paste than just curry. But we have one last secret tip: For that bonus point of spiciness, Sriracha sauce works perfectly – so dip some of your dumplings in it!
Crispy Dumpling Salad with Curry Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 package vegan dumplings
- 100 g (3.5 oz) pointed cabbage
- 100 g (3.5 oz) snow peas
- 0.5 cucumber
- 1 spring onion
- 5 radishes
- 100 g (3.5 oz) edamame
- toasted sesame oil for frying
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp green curry paste (e.g., from Fairtrade Original)
- 2 tbsp coconut milk (e.g., from Fairtrade Original)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 lime (juice)
- 1 tsp maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- salt
- pepper
For serving:
- chopped peanuts
- cilantro
- sesame seeds
- toasted sesame oil
- sriracha (e.g., from Fairtrade Original)
Instructions
First, for the salad, cut the pointed cabbage and snow peas into strips. Halve the cucumber lengthwise and press firmly with the blade of a large knife so that the cucumber gets crushed. Then cut into larger pieces. Slice the spring onion into thin rings and the radishes into thin slices. Cook the edamame according to package instructions until tender.
Fry the vegan dumplings in a pan with toasted sesame oil on all sides until crispy. Then let them cool slightly.
Meanwhile, for the dressing, mix green curry paste, coconut milk, toasted sesame oil, lime juice, agave syrup, and soy sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more lime juice, agave syrup, or soy sauce to taste.
Combine all the cut ingredients for the salad in a bowl with the dressing. Add the crispy vegan dumplings and serve the salad with chopped peanuts, cilantro, sesame seeds, a small drizzle of toasted sesame oil, and sriracha.
