Fried Dumplings with Edamame Beans and Rice

We love dumplings and usually steam them, but sometimes we think it’s nice with a little crunch! These dumplings can be filled with just about anything, but sometimes a few simple vegetables make the flavour better. We have two dipping sauces in the recipe as well, but you can have your own – we have two because one of us wants one and the other one wants the other!

Ingredients Serves 4
Cooking time: 30 mins

70 g white cabbage
Half a pepper
Three cloves of garlic
One chili
Five spring onions
24 dumpling cases
250 ml (1 cup) rice
100 g edamame beans
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds (toasted if preferred)
One lime

Cook the rice.
Finely chop the vegetables.
Save one clove of garlic, one spring onion, and a few bits of chili for the dipping sauces.
Fry the rest of the vegetables in sesame oil for 4 mins (not too soft – still with a little crunch).
Prepare two small bowls or saucers for the dipping sauces.
Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of the whole lime into one bowl. Pour in some rice vinegar (a couple of tablespoons) to suit your taste. Add some garlic, spring onion, and sesame seeds.
In the other bowl, put the rest of the garlic, spring onions, and sesame seeds, and add some chili. Pour in some soy sauce and rice vinegar to suit your taste. We typically do two tablespoons of rice vinegar to 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.
Put some dumpling cases on a work surface, and put one spoonful of the fried vegetables on each.
Spread a little water around the edge of each dumpling case with your finger, to help the dumplings stay closed.
Fold the dumpling cases in half, and squeeze the edges together, either by hand or using a dumpling mould. Repeat for all dumplings.
Put some sesame oil (any oil is OK but the sesame oil adds more flavour) in a pan and set to a high heat. You need enough oil to cover the base of the pan (but it doesn’t need to be deep).
Once the oil is warm, place the dumplings in the pan (cook in batches if needed), and fry on each side for about two minutes, until they are golden and crispy.
Boil some water, and pour over the edamame beans in a collander, then rinse the beans in cold water.
Place the beans on a plate and sprinkle with sea salt.
Enjoy!