Nicole Maguire of Simple Home Edit reckons salad sceptics of all ages will love this nutty, crunchy, flavourful recipe. Bulk it out with extra veg, rice or noodles to make the meal more substantial.
Nicole Maguire
Sydney recipe writer Nicole Maguire knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed by food.
As she writes in her new cookbook, Simple Dinners Every Day, it’s all too easy to feel stuck in a cycle of spending too much, wasting too much and still not knowing what to cook.
“I also know that with just a few simple shifts – planning ahead, shopping smarter and having a bank of easy, delicious recipes – it gets so much easier.”
Her knack for organisation and stress-free cooking has won Maguire a legion of fans at her online hub, Simple Home Edit, and for her debut cookbook, The Simple Dinner Edit.
Her follow-up recipe collection continues in the same vein, helping families save time, money and stress in the kitchen, with more than 100 meals and speedy weeknight lifesavers.
This sesame-soy salad (below) is a prime example, dressing up ready-made supermarket dumplings with bold flavours and textures using just a few extra ingredients. It’s the type of dish, Maguire says, that “even the most salad-sceptical will eagerly dig into (and possibly the kids will fight over).”
– Megan Johnston
Sesame-soy dumpling salad
Dumpling salad? Turns out, it’s as good as it sounds. Quick, fresh, healthy and totally customisable with vegies, rice or noodles – plus a bold yet simple sauce.
INGREDIENTS
- 150g (2 cups) shredded wombok cabbage (can substitute green cabbage)
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 24 vegetable dumplings (or dumplings/gyoza of your choice), prepared as per the packet instructions
- 15g (½ cup) coriander leaves
- 3 tbsp finely chopped roasted peanuts
Sesame soy dressing
- 3 tbsp tamari or all-purpose soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp freshly grated garlic
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chilli oil crisp, plus extra to serve (optional)
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
METHOD
- For the dressing, add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until your desired consistency is reached (I use 3 tablespoons of water).
- Add the cabbage, cucumber, spring onion and red onion to a large bowl. Top with the dumplings. Pour the dressing over, toss to coat, then add the coriander leaves and peanuts to garnish. Drizzle over more chilli oil crisp, if using, and serve.
Serves 4
Make ahead:
Mix the dressing and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Shake well before using.
Leftovers:
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. The salad may lose some crunch but will still be flavour-packed. Not suitable for freezing.
This is an edited extract from Simple Dinners Every Day by Nicole Maguire, published by Plum, RRP $44.99. Photography by Alan Benson.
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