While nothing says ‘I care’ or ‘look at me go’ like homemade dumplings, sometimes frozen ones are a total lifesaver when we’re running out of time. And when we make a dinner out of frozen dumplings, normally we just boil them, steam a pile of Asian greens, finely shred some ginger, and break out the black vinegar and chilli crisp for dipping and dousing. But today, in honour of spring and all things fresh and crunchy, we thought we'd shake things up and toss fried dumplings with something a bit unexpected – salad. Meet our Potsticker Salad. It’s dumplings, but not as you know them. We punted that crisp, golden dumplings with a tangle of cucumber, radish, watercress, and coriander, all laced with creamy sesame sauce and a drizzle of chilli crisp for that extra kick, would be delish, and we could not have been more right. We love this spring dumpling supercharge!

Re. the cooking technique; it’s called ‘steam-frying’. You start by placing the dumplings in a single layer in a hot pan with a little cooking oil and some boiling water. Then, you cover the pan and cook over medium-ish heat until the water evaporates and the dumplings fry for a few minutes to finish cooking and turn golden on the base. Delicious. You do need to use a heavy-based frying pan that won’t stick; we find a trusty cast iron one with a good, patina-ed surface is the best. A coated non-stick pan would no doubt be fine too if you don’t have a cast iron one, but we suspect stainless steel would just stick like crazy.

SERVES 6

2½ tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

600g frozen Chinese pork dumplings

5 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks

1 bunch radishes, sliced

2 handfuls watercress sprigs

1 handful coriander sprigs

3-4 spring onions sliced

chilli crisp, to serve

toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Creamy sesame sauce

90ml Chinese sesame paste, plus 2½ tbsp of the oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

2½ tbsp clear rice vinegar

2½ tbsp light soy sauce

4 tsp caster sugar

For the sesame sauce, combine all the ingredients in a food processor with 2 tbsp water and process until smooth. Add a little extra water if the mixture is too thick; it should be a heavy, pouring consistency.

Place the oil and 125ml (½ cup) water in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then add the dumplings in one layer (if they don't all fit, you may need to cook them in two batches). Cover the pan, then cook for 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated, the dumplings are cooked through and the bases are golden and crisp. 

Meanwhile combine the cucumber, radish, cress, coriander and spring onion in a large bowl and gently toss to combine well. Spread the sesame sauce over the base of 4 plates or shallow bowls. Add the dumplings to the bowl of vegetables and gently toss to combine. Divide the salad among the plates, then drizzle with chilli crisp, to taste, and scatter with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.