Had bought a rotisserie chicken to make sandwiches for the boys the other day, so I saved the carcass and decided to make some chicken stock this morning. I then decided to make some asian dumplings to make a won ton soup as I had some groud turkey in my fridge and some won ton wrappers. I usually make dumplings with ground pork (I would have to say we still prefer ground pork – the kids didn’t like the turkey ones as much) but you can use ground chicken or turkey as we did for a leaner alternative.
For the stock (I made just a basic chicken stock to begin with, when I decided to make won ton soup I added in some asian flavourings):
– 1 chicken carcass
– 1 large onion quartered (I leave the skin on because it adds nice color to your stock)
– A few whole peppercorns (5 or so)
– 1 bay leaf
– 1/2 bunch fresh italian parsley or cilantro
– 1 large carrot cut into large chunks (I don’t even bother to peel, just wash)
– 2 thyme sprigs (optional I just had so I threw in)
– 1 large piece celery chopped into large chunks
once I decided to do an asian inspired broth I added in
– 1 star anise (whole)
– 2 1/2 inch chunks of ginger (peel left on)
Put all in a large stock pot and cover chicken with water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for approx 2 hours, skim any foam from the top. Instead of adding salt to finish, I added a bit of soy sauce to taste.
For the dumplings:
Mix together:
– 0.5 kg ground pork (or turkey or chicken, but pork is our preference)
– 2 tsp fresh ginger minced very fine
– 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
– 2 tsp soy sauce (reduced sodium if you have)
– 1/2 tsp sesame oil
– 1 garlic clove
– 1 egg
Place about 1 tsp of dumpling filling in the center of a dumpling wrapper. Wet the edges with your finger tips and bring two sides together in crimp carefully with your fingers to seal. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Once all filled cover with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.
For the soup:
Strain chicken broth (removing carcass and aromatics). Put chicken broth back in pot, bring to a boil, add about half of the dumplings and veggies if desired. Simmer for approx. 10 minutes until all the dumplings float to the top and are cooked through.
We added some julienned snap peas and a little finely sliced leek to ours. Green onions would work great if you don’t have leeks. You can really add any veggies you like though.
Serves about 4 hungry kids.
With the remaining dumplings freeze on cookie sheet until frozen and then you can place into a freezer bag for a great appetizer. We steam ours in a steamer coated with a bit of non-stick cooking spray for about 12 minutes and I serve with the following dipping sauce.
Citrus-Soy Dipping Sauce:
– 1/4 cup light soy sauce
– 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
– 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
– zest and juice of 1 lemon
Stir together until sugar dissolves. Makes about 1/3 cup.
