Crispy Dumpling Salad

Crispy Dumpling Salad, inspired by the flavours of East Asia, features appetizingly browned gyoza dumplings atop a crunchy vegetable salad tossed with an invigorating dressing that’s savoury, tangy, and sweet all at once. So quick and easy using frozen dumplings, this delicious salad makes a great lunch or fast dinner.

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While I cook mainly from scratch, I almost always have a couple of ready-made items tucked away in the freezer. Alongside a box of fish fingers for a classic sandwich, I’ll usually have at least one bag of frozen dumplings. I say ‘dumpling’, but the crescent-shaped stuffed dumpling I’m talking about here is generally known by its Japanese name gyoza, a variation of the Chinese Mandarin jiaozi.

I most often eat them in a tasty and super-fast Quick Dumpling Soup. Or, if I’m really in a hurry, after simmering the gyoza I simply toss in butter plus hoisin sauce. Completely unauthentic and surprisingly good!

But now I’ve discovered a new favourite, flavour-packed Crispy Dumpling Salad.

CRISPY DUMPLING SALAD

Crispy Dumpling Salad features appetizingly browned gyoza sitting on a fresh vegetable salad tossed with an invigorating dressing that’s savoury, tangy, and sweet all at once. So quick and easy to make with any flavour dumpling you like, this delicious salad inspired by the flavours of East Asia makes a great lunch or fast dinner.

In the recipe card at the end, you’ll find ingredient amounts and instructions to serve one person. But it’s simple enough to multiply up if you’re feeding more.

There are just 4 easy steps to making this lip-smacking dish.

1. Make the dressing.
2. Prepare and toss the vegetables for the salad.
3. Pan-fry the frozen dumplings.
4. Toss the salad with the dressing, put the crispy dumplings on top.

If you’re confident multitasking, you can make this an even quicker dish. Prepare the dressing and salad while the dumplings are frying and it’ll be ready in under 15 minutes.

MAKE THE DRESSING

If you make any kind of food inspired by that of East Asia, especially China, Japan, and Korea, you’ll probably already have the ingredients needed to make the punchy dressing for Crispy Dumpling Salad. Tip: you’ll also find many of these ingredients in my Amazon shop.

• Light or regular soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Sweetener (e.g. honey, white or brown sugar)
• Garlic
• Ginger root
• Chilli flakes (optional). I like mild and fruity gochugaru

All you do is combine the ingredients either by shaking in a screw-topped jar or whisking in a bowl.

The result should be a pleasing balance of savoury, tangy and spicy. Adjust the amount of any ingredient until it tastes good to you.

PREPARE THE SALAD INGREDIENTS

I’ve used a combination of vegetables and flavourings that give lovely crunch and taste as well as appetizing colour. But you can easily swap in others e.g. white or green cabbage, greens such as baby spinach, red onion, cashews, or use a single herb.

• Red cabbage: I use a mandoline to shred finely and quickly.
• Carrot: I shred with my julienne peeler, or you could cut into matchsticks or coarsely grate.
• Red Pepper: Cut into matchsticks.
• Cucumber: Slice or chop.
• Spring onion: Slice finely.
• Roasted peanuts: Roughly chop.
• Coriander
• Mint
• Toasted sesame seeds

Toss the vegetables together in a roomy bowl. I like to hold back some of the spring onion, peanuts, herbs, and sesame seeds to use as a final garnish.

Set aside the salad, garnishes, and the dressing, while you fry the dumplings.

PAN FRY THE DUMPLINGS

I’ve chosen pork gyoza for the Crispy Dumpling Salad you see in this post. But the salad and dressing will work with any flavour; meat, fish, or vegetable. All brands can usually be pan-fried from frozen. So, either follow your pack instructions or do it how I do it. Of course, if you make your own dumplings there’s no reason you can’t use those instead.

I start with a frying pan over medium heat containing a tablespoon of a bland oil such as sunflower. When hot, place the dumplings in flat side down. Fry until nicely golden brown and perfectly crispy underneath. Depending on your heat level, this should take 3 – 5 minutes. It’s usual to fry only one side, so the other stays soft and moist.

Now add 4 tablespoons of water. Be careful here as there will be spluttering as the water hits the hot oil. Immediately put on a lid to trap the steam and gently bubble for another 3 – 5 minutes or until the dumplings are completely cooked through and hot. Before the final minute or so, have a peek to see how much water is left in the pan. Evaporate any remaining water and ensure the bottoms are crispy by finishing with the lid off.

ASSEMBLE & SERVE CRISPY DUMPLING SALAD

Now you have your three elements (dressing, salad, crispy dumplings), you can assemble the salad. Add about two-thirds of the dressing to the tossed vegetables and toss thoroughly again. Divide between your serving plates or bowls.

Top with the dumplings, crispy browned side facing upwards, and drizzle over the rest of the dressing. Finally, sprinkle over the garnishes you set aside (spring onion, peanuts, herbs, sesame seeds) and dig in.

FAST, EASY & DELICIOUS 

Frozen dumplings or gyoza are a great standby when you want something fast, easy and delicious. And with Crispy Dumpling Salad you get a relatively healthy meal packed with vegetables and great flavour.

If you can multitask, prepping the vegetables and making the dressing while the dumplings are frying, I reckon this simple yet tasty dish can be on the table in less than 15 minutes. Perfect for a fuss-free lunch or dinner.

If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment and rating.

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Crispy Dumpling Salad

Quick and easy using frozen gyoza dumplings, this delicious East Asian inspired salad makes a great lunch or fast dinner. Appetizingly browned dumplings on a crunchy vegetable salad tossed with an invigorating dressing that's savoury, tangy, and sweet.

Please read the accompanying blog post before starting.

Course Main Course, Salad, Starter

Cuisine Vegan, Asian, plant-based, East Asian

Keyword quick, easy

Prep Time 12 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 1

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) bland oil, e.g. sunflower
• 6 frozen gyoza dumplings (any flavour)
• 60 ml (4 tbsp) cold water

For the dressing

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) light soy sauce (can be replaced with regular soy sauce)
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sesame oil
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) rice vinegar
• 10 ml (2 tsp) honey or other sweetener to taste
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped or grated)
• 2 cm ginger root (finely chopped or grated)
• chilli flakes (optional: to taste)

For the salad

• 2 small handfuls red, white, or green cabbage (chopped or shredded)
• 1 medium carrot (julienned, cut into matchsticks or grated)
• ½ red pepper (cut into matchsticks)
• ¼ cucumber (sliced or chopped)
• 2 spring onions (finely sliced)
• 25 g roasted peanuts (roughly chopped)
• 1 handful fresh coriander and/or mint (leaves only, left whole or roughly chopped)
• 10 ml (2 tsp) toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Make the dressing: combine all the ingredients either by shaking in screw-topped jar or whisking in a small bowl. Taste and add more of any ingredient if you think it needs it: the dressing should be savoury, tangy and a little sweet.

2. Make the salad by tossing all the ingredients together.

   Tip: you may wish to hold back some of the spring onion, peanuts, herbs, and sesame seeds to use as a garnish.

3. Fry the gyoza according to the pack instructions OR as follows:

   Heat the oil to medium in a non-stick frying pan that will fit all the gyoza dumplings in one layer.

   Add the gyoza flat side down and cook for 3 - 5 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy

   Add 4 tbsp / 60 ml of cold water to the pan (carefully, so the oil doesn't splash you) and put on a lid.

   Cook for another 3 - 5 minutes or until the gyoza are cooked through. Shake the pan occasionally to prevent sticking and remove the lid for the final few minutes to evaporate any remaining water and crisp the bottoms again.

4. Assemble the salad.

   Add approximately ⅔ of the dressing to the salad and toss well.

   Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and top with the dumplings, crispy side up.

   Serve with the remaining dressing poured over and sprinkle over any reserved spring onion, peanuts, herbs, or sesame seeds.

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