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Dumpling
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, fruits or sweets. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of methods, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering or steaming and are found in many world cuisines.[1]
This chicken and dumplings recipe is country cooking at its finest. While it doesn’t get much better than a homemade dumpling, if you’re short on time, you can always pick up frozen dumplings in most grocery stores.
Ingredients
4 quarts water
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup
Cut up chicken, but do not remove skin. The skin and bones can be removed later. Place chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon and House Seasoning in water and cook at a low boil for 30 to 45 minutes, until meat begins to fall off the bones. Remove skin and bones at this point, along with bay leaves. Return chicken to pan. Prepare dumplings and set them aside for a few minutes. Add cream soup to chicken and continue to boil. If desired, you can thicken the stock at little by mixing 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and adding it to the stock. Drop dumplings into boiling stock. Never stir dumplings. Shake the pot gently in a circular motion to submerge dumplings in stock. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook.
Dumplings:
Put flour/salt mixture in a mixing bowl. Beginning in center of flour, dribble a small amount of ice water. Work mixture with fingers from center of bowl to sides of bowl, incorporating small amounts of water at a time. Continue until all flour is used up. Batter will feel as if it is going to be tough. Knead dough and form into ball. Dust a good amount of flour onto dough board and rolling pin. Roll out dough, working from center.
Dough will be firm. Roll to 1/8 inch thinness. Let it air-dry for a minute or two while you return your attention to the boiling pot at the point at which you add the canned soup to the chicken mixture. Cut dumplings into 1-inch strips. Working with one strip at a time, hold strip over pot, pull it in half, and drop into the boiling stock. Remember, do not stir after dumplings have been added to pot.
Note: Frozen dumplings are available in most supermarkets if you don’t have time to make them.
Butter. For sauteeing the aromatics in and adding a rich flavor. Also, together with flour, butter helps thicken the broth.
Onion, Celery, Carrots. Also called mirepoix, this vegetable combination serves as the aromatic flavor base of most soups.
All-Purpose Flour. For thickening the broth.
Chicken Broth. The soup base. You can use your favorite store-bought brand or cook your own broth.
Frozen Dumplings. The star of the show!
Chicken. For easier cooking, opt for rotisserie chicken. You can also use shredded chicken, whether dark meat or white meat, instead.
Thyme and Parsley. Herbs for adding flavor.
DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, celery, and carrot, stirring often, for about 6 minutes, or until tender.
Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Pour the chicken broth in and bring to a boil.
Stir in the dumplings in three batches, stirring regularly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Bring the soup to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for 30 minutes or until the dumplings are tender.
Mix in the chicken, thyme, and parsley and continue to cook for 10 more minutes. Serve hot, and enjoy!
Types of Dumplings
There are three main kinds of dumplings, not including the delicious meat-filled ones we usually find in Chinese restaurants.
Drop dumplings are light and fluffy dumplings made from pieces of flour-based dough that are dropped into a pot of soup with a spoon to cook. (Hence the name.)
Rolled dumplings are also flour-based, but are flat and dense. This is how Cracker Barrel makes their dumplings.
Biscuit dumplings are a type of drop dumplings, but they are made with canned biscuits sliced into quarters then dropped into the soup.
Cut the chicken into pieces but do not remove skin because the skin and bones can be removed later.
In a pot, place chicken, onion, celery, bay leaves, chicken bouillon cubes and Paula Deen’s House Seasoning in water. At low boil cook for 30 to 45 minutes until meat starts to fall off the bones.
Now remove skin and bones at this point. Also remove bay leaves. Return chicken to pot.
Prepare dumplings and set them aside.
Add cream soup to chicken and wait for a boil. If you like thick gravy then you can add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in ¼ cup of water and add it to chicken gravy.
Now start adding dumplings to boiling stock. Shake the pot slightly; dumplings should be submerged in the stock. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until dumplings are no longer doughy. Avoid overcooking.
Note:
If you don’t have time to make dumplings, you can use frozen dumplings. They are easily available in most supermarkets.
A hearty chicken and dumplings recipe that is perfect on a cold day or to satisfy a craving for something savory and inexpensive. Recipe as follows compliments of chef Paula Deen.
1 teaspoon house seasoning (see Paula Deen’s House Seasoning Mix)
10 3/4 ounces cream of celery soup (canned) or 10 3/4 ounces cream of chicken soup (canned)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
ice water
Steps:
To start the chicken: Place the chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon, and House Seasoning in a large pot. Add 4 quarts of water and in water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken until it is tender and the thigh juices run clear, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and, when it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones. Return the chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.
To prepare the dumplings: Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, drizzle a small amount of ice water over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of ice water. Knead the dough and form it into ball.
Dust a good amount of flour onto a clean work surface. Roll out the dough (it will be firm), working from center to 1/8-inch thick. Let the dough relax for several minutes.
Add the cream of celery soup to the pot with the chicken and simmer gently over medium-low heat.
Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces. Pull a piece in half and drop the halves into the simmering soup. Repeat. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently move the pot in a circular motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.
To serve, ladle chicken, gravy, and dumplings into warm bowls.
Cook’s Note: If the chicken stew is too thin it can be thickened before the dumplings are added. Simply mix together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water then whisk this mixture into the stew.
In a large pot over medium heat, simmer chicken in 6 cups water until no longer pink. Remove chicken, cool and shred.
Return shredded chicken to pot and stir in butter, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken reaches desired tenderness, 15 to 60 minutes.
In a bowl, stir together baking mix and milk until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Stir flour mixture into soup; bring soup to a rolling boil.
Drop baking mix mixture by tablespoonfuls into the boiling water, neatly around the chicken. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Then cover and cook 10 minutes more. (Sneak a spatula under the dumplings to prevent chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot.) Serve hot.
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