Quick Dumpling Soup
Quick Dumpling Soup, based on frozen gyoza and inspired by East and Southeast Asian flavours, can be made in fifteen to twenty minutes. With store cupboard ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chilli oil, a handful of aromatics (garlic, ginger, spring onion) plus your choice of veg, it’s a delicious, super-fast bowlful.
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CONVENIENT FROZEN DUMPLINGS/GYOZA
Although I prefer to cook mainly from scratch, there’s a few ready-made frozen items I like to have tucked away for quick meals. These days, alongside a box of fish fingers for a tasty sandwich, I’ll usually have a couple of bags of frozen dumplings. I’m lucky enough to have a brilliant Asian supermarket, Cheerful Links, not too far away and regularly stock up there. But you can also buy them online.
I use the word ‘dumpling’ but the crescent-shaped stuffed dumpling I’m talking about is usually known by its Japanese name gyoza.
Considered to be a variation on the Chinese jiaozi, gyoza are generally pan-fried although they can be deep-fried or steamed too. However, you can also boil them from frozen in around 4 minutes. Which makes them perfect for whipping up a tasty and super-fast Quick Dumpling Soup.
QUICK DUMPLING SOUP
I’ve been making versions of this easy soup for years. I certainly don’t claim any authenticity for it though. It’s just how I like it. Most recently, when I came down with a stinking cold and didn’t feel up to much cooking, a bowl of steaming Quick Dumpling Soup, full of flavour and with invigorating chilli heat, was just what I needed to perk me up.
So, I thought it was time I shared this simple recipe.
You’ll find full instructions in the recipe card at the end with suggested ingredients to serve one person. But treat it just as a template and tweak to create your own perfect bowlful.
INGREDIENTS
If you make any kind of East or Southeast Asian food, you’ll probably already have some or all of the flavourings you need. But the great thing about Quick Dumpling Soup is that you can adapt it to what you have. And in the amounts you like too.
Besides garlic, ginger, spring onion, and coriander leaf, there’s both light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and Chinkiang black rice vinegar. If you don’t have black vinegar, substitute regular rice vinegar or, at a pinch, Balsamic. I love chilli oil, but it is rather hot. If you don’t like or have it, then replace with chilli flakes and a little extra sesame oil. Depending on personal taste, you may want to add a pinch of sugar to round out the flavours.
You can add any vegetables you like to the soup although, as indicated by the name, you should err on the side of quick cooking ones. My favourites are carrot, cut into fine julienne strips, and spinach. Any sort of shredded cabbage is also good, although varieties like Savoy require longer cooking.
You’ll also need some stock. My gyoza were stuffed with chicken and vegetables, so I used a chicken stock cube reconstituted with boiling water from kettle. For a nutty garnish, I love black and white toasted sesame seeds.
HOW TO MAKE QUICK DUMPLING SOUP
You should be able to make Quick Dumpling Soup in 15 – 20 minutes. Even less if you can multitask.
First, dissolve the stock cube in boiling water in a saucepan. Add grated ginger and garlic, sliced spring onion, plus the soy sauces, sesame oil, rice vinegar and chilli oil or flakes, plus some pepper. Bring back to a boil, then simmer everything for 5 minutes. I use this time to prep the veg, removing any big stems from the spinach and coriander, and julienning the carrot.
After 5 minutes, stir in the carrot and frozen dumplings and cook according to the pack. Mine take around 3½ minutes. If you’re using harder veg like Savoy cabbage instead of spinach, add that with the carrot too.
When the dumplings are done, take the pan off the heat and have a taste of the broth. Does it need more soy sauce? Chilli? A bit of sugar? When it’s to your liking, add the spinach and most of the coriander. Still off the heat, stir around until the spinach is wilted.
Your Quick Dumpling Soup is now ready to serve.
SERVING QUICK DUMPLING SOUP
Whatever kind of soup you’re making, I always think it’s the little extras you add to your bowl that make it so inviting. In this case, it’s more spring onion and coriander leaf, plus toasted sesame seeds. Extra chilli oil and/or chilli flakes and sesame oil are a must for me too.
I’m always amazed how little effort it takes to create something so good and comforting. Keep some handy dumplings in the freezer, and your cupboard stocked with a few classic East and Southeast Asian staples, and you only need to add a few handfuls of fresh veg and aromatics to be enjoying this big-flavoured, hugely versatile soup.
Have you made Quick Dumpling Soup? Leave a comment and rating with your thoughts.
Quick Dumpling Soup
Based on frozen gyoza dumplings and inspired by East and Southeast Asian flavours, this easy, delicious soup can be made in fifteen to twenty minutes.
Swap in whichever vegetables you like instead of the carrot and spinach, adjusting the cooking time accordingly.
It's recommended you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 stock cube
- 400 ml boiling water from a kettle
- 1 rounded tsp grated garlic
- 1 rounded tsp grated ginger
- 2 - 3 large-med spring onions (finely sliced)
- 1 - 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 - 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (or white rice vinegar or Balsamic)
- 1 - 2 tsp chilli oil (can be replaced with chilli flakes and extra sesame oil)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 medium carrot (julienned/cut into matchsticks)
- 4 - 6 frozen gyoza dumplings
- 1 pinch sugar (optional)
- 2 large handfuls spinach (any tough stems removed)
- 1 large handful coriander leaf (any large stems removed)
- toasted black and white sesame seeds
Instructions
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Put the stock cube in a saucepan, pour over boiling water from the kettle, and stir to dissolve.
Add the garlic, ginger, HALF the spring onion, 1 tbsp each of light and dark soy sauces, the vinegar, 1 scant tsp chilli oil (or chilli flakes), the sesame oil and pepper, then switch on the heat to high and bring to the boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Tip: you could prep the carrot, spinach and coriander while this is happening.
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Stir the carrot and frozen dumplings into the soup and simmer for 3 - 4 minutes or according to the instructions on the dumpling pack.
Tip: if using other harder veg such as Savoy cabbage instead of spinach, add that with the dumplings too.
Take off the heat.
-
Taste and add more soy sauce, chilli oil (or flakes) or a pinch of sugar if you think it needs it.
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Still off the heat, add all the spinach and most of the coriander into the soup. Stir around until the spinach is wilted.
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Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the remaining coriander, the reserved spring onion, toasted sesame seeds, plus more chilli oil or chilli flakes and sesame oil if liked.
Best eaten straight away. Freezing not recommended.
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