Chicken and Lemongrass Dumpling Soup
Serves: 4
Time: 25 minutes
I really like a dumpling, but I tend to go more for the naughty style like deep fried of poached or steamed which means they are either wrapped or stuffed inside something gelatinous. These little dumplings are a healthier option, more like a meatball than a dumpling but they have a lovely flavour and because they get poached in the broth they are delicious and juicy. If you wanted a slightly more involved meal then you could make the stock from scratch, but I am not shy to a cheat option so we are using packet stock.
Leftovers
If having this one as leftovers you might want to keep the broth separate. maybe take it in a thermos all hot and ready to or over the zoodles and dumplings.
A Stock From Scratch
Chicken stock is really easy to make from scratch this one is a white stock so a little different from my chicken broth recipe. You'll need 1 kg chicken bones, 1 large onion, 2 carrots, 3 sticks of celery, 1 leek. Roughly chop veg skin and all then place in large a pot with your chicken bones and cover completely with cold water (you want there to be a bit of space so don't cram everything into a pot that's too smal). Bring up to a boil,skim the froth off the top then turn down to a simme.Leave to gently simmer for a few hours,skim the fat and any froth off the top occasionally. Once you have a nice rich chicken flavour remove from the stove and strain.
What you'll need
1 small brown onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
1 lemongrass stalk
1/2 a bunch of coriander
500g chicken mince
1 egg white (optional)
3 zucchini
1.5 litres of chicken stock
1 packet of oyster mushrooms
1/2 a bag of mung bean shoots
From the Pantry
1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
salt and pepper
Prep and Cook
Make Broth
Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic, and peel the ginger and finely slice half of your ginger reserving the other half for your dumplings.
Heat the coconut oil in a large pot and saute the onion garlic and ginger until soft.
Add the stock and bring up to the boil then turn down to a gentle simmer.
Make Dumplings
In a mixing bowl combine the chicken mince, ground coriander, fish sauce, egg white and approx half a teaspoon of salt and pepper.
Use a fine grater to grate the remaining ginger and half your lemongrass. Add the remaining lemongrass to the broth.
Wash the coriander and finely chop the stalks, reserving the leaves for garnish. Add the grated ginger and grated lemongrass to the mince and mix together really well.
Roll mixture into 12 balls.
Use a spoon to gently add the dumplings to the broth turn up to a high simmer and cover with a lid for 10 minutes. (avoid overcrowding the pot if need be cook in two batches).
Prep Veg
Use a spiral machine or a julienne peeler to make zucchini spirals.
Peel the mushrooms apart, ripping any in half that are too big, you want to be able to eat them easily with a spoon.
Plate it Pretty
Pile zucchini spirals into the base of your bowls and then top with a large handful of mungbean shoots.
Once the dumplings are cooked remove them from the broth. Add the mushrooms and bring up to a boil, cook for 1-2minutes until lightly softened.
Place the dumplings slightly of centred in your bowl (I have gone with two close to each other and the third slightly further away).
Use a sieve to gently pouor the broth through over your dumplings.
Carefully scatter around some mushrooms and then garnish with coriander.
Enjoy!
Wash the Sprouts
Mung bean shoots have a pretty short shelf life so I like to freshen mine up by soaking them in a bowl of cold water then draining and giving a light rinse again under running water.
Lunch tomorrow
Today’s lunch you could either travel in a jar or if you have one perhaps put the dumplings and zoodles in a dish and travel the broth in a thermos