The Best Dumpling Sauce

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A perfect balance of savoury, umami, spicy, tangy and sweet - this is The Best Dumpling Sauce! Great for dipping or pouring all over your favourite dumplings, the ingredients are basic staples but dialled juuust right to make this the only recipe you need.

A great dipping sauce is crucial to fully enjoy every meal of dumplings. Luckily the sauce doesn’t need to be complicated. In times of extreme laziness, I’m happy to spend just 15 seconds to throw some soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil into a dish and start devouring. Other times when we want to level up enjoyment factor, we make this sauce - which we consider to be The Best Dumpling Sauce! What’s great is, even this sauce takes only 3 minutes max to make. The key is to strike the perfect balance on savoury, umami, spicy, tangy and sweet — which I have dialled just right in this recipe.

If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to rate it or let me know what you think in the comments. Or drop any questions you have about it — I’m always happy to help!

Eat well and be well,

Sonia

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🎥 Watch video for The Best Dumpling Sauce

What you’ll need:

Ingredients for The Best Dumpling Sauce

• Garlic clove - adds aroma and a teeny bite; grate on a microplane since it is not cooked

• Soy sauce - the savoury and umami base for the sauce

• Chinese black vinegar - AKA Chinkiang Black Vinegar, it is an inky-black vinegar with a beautiful complex, deep and woodsy flavour that adds so much dimension. You may have had it with soup dumplings (xiao long bao) which are always served with a little dish of it with sliced ginger for dipping. You’ll need to source out Chinese black vinegar at Chinese supermarkets or online. There is no perfect substitution for Chinese vinegar so I do hope you can get your hands on it. The flavour and dimension it adds is so good. If you can’t find it, substitute with rice vinegar for the tang factor

• Chinese chili oil - adds a delicious kick to the sauce; use your favourite and dial amount up or down to your taste

• Sugar - balances the other flavours in the best way! It’s the little secret ingredient that makes this The Best Dumpling Sauce!

• Toasted sesame oil - provides a little fat to carry the flavours and adds another aromatic dimension

• Hot water - pouring hot water directly over the grated garlic and sugar takes the sharp bite out of garlic and helps the sugar dissolve; the water also thins the sauce to an optimal consistency for pouring over dumplings. If you want to use this sauce as a dip, you can use half as much hot water

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Steps at a glance:

How to make The Best Dumpling Sauce

(scroll down to recipe card for the full printable recipe)

• Grate garlic directly into mixing bowl

• Add sugar and hot water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved

• Add remaining ingredients - soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sugar, sesame oil

• Mix well - that’s it!

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You may also be interested in these other recipes

• Shanghai Pork and Bok Choy Dumplings

• Chinese Pork and Chives Dumplings

• Chinese Vegetable Dumplings

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Tips and FAQs

What is Chinese black vinegar?

AKA Chinkiang Black Vinegar, it is an inky-black vinegar with a beautiful complex, malty and woodsy flavour that adds so much dimension. You may have had it with soup dumplings (xiao long bao) which are always served with a little dish of it with sliced ginger for dipping. You’ll need to source out Chinese black vinegar at Chinese supermarkets or online.

Can I substitute the black vinegar?

Rice vinegar is the best option. The flavour profile will be brighter and less complex but still super delicious! Note: I have seen suggestions to substitute with a mix of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce but I personally disagree. There is no perfect substitution for Chinese vinegar and you are better off using rice vinegar which is so great in dumpling sauce too.

Why does the recipe call specifically for hot water?

Pouring hot water directly over the garlic and sugar does two things. First, this small step softens the raw garlic so it is less harsh. Second, it helps to quickly dissolve the sugar. I just pop my kettle on for this but if it’s inconvenient for you, use regular tap water and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Use freshly grated garlic for the best aroma and flavour.

Can I make it without sugar?

You can omit the sugar if you prefer. Or you may reduce the amount of sugar. Sweetness is a taste that is used widely in savoury applications in Chinese cuisine because often a little bit of sugar ties everything together and balances all the flavours.

Can I make this ahead?

Yes. The flavours meld beautifully after a few hours. Store it covered in the fridge and bring to room temperature to use.

How long does the sauce store?

This sauce can easily keep in an airtight container in the fridge for at least week. The only perishable ingredient is the garlic. So definitely feel free to scale this up!

Use it beyond dumplings.

Try it with noodles, steamed vegetables, steamed/fried eggs, raw cucumber slices or pan-fried tofu.

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The Best Dumpling Sauce

Recipe makes enough for 1 generous serving — use the recipe card “Yield” to scale up as needed.

Yield: 1

Author: sonia wong | www.saltnpepperhere.com

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The Best Dumpling Sauce

A perfect balance of savoury, umami, spicy, tangy and sweet - this is The Best Dumpling Sauce! Perfect for dipping or pouring all over your favourite dumplings.

Prep time: 3 MinTotal time: 3 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp hot water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Chinese chili oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp Chinese black vinegar (can sub with rice vinegar)

Instructions

1. Grate garlic directly into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and hot water. Whisk well until sugar is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients - soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil and black vinegar (or rice vinegar). Whisk to combine and use as a dipping sauce or pour all over your favourite dumplings.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

167

Fat

14 g

Sat. Fat

2 g

Carbs

10 g

Fiber

0 g

Net carbs

10 g

Sugar

9 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

1009 mg

Cholesterol

0 mg

Disclaimer: nutritional information is auto-generated and should be used as an approximation.

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