Today I attempt a return to blog land by posting about a last minute lunch that turned out to be a good surprise. I can't count the number of times I have a plan in mind for my kids lunch but don't have anything ready for myself. What started out as a lunch where I was almost ready to join in eating kid food ended in enjoying spicy dumpling soup. I had frozen potsickers in the freezer, as well as green onions, cilantro, carrots (which were all a little wilted but who cares when you are making a soup!), and Trader Joe's asian dipping sauce in the fridge. In the pantry I had chicken bullion cubes and srirhacha hot sauce. They combined to make an asian broth with notes of ginger, onion, and heat and a fresh element brought by the grated carrots and chopped cilantro. The potstickers gave the soup some substance and were flavored nicely by the broth. Last Minute Dumpling Soup
4-6 potstickers, depending on hunger
2-3 c. prepared chicken broth or stock
1 chopped green onion
2 T chopped cilantro
1 carrot, grated
2 T asian dipping sauce (any brand is fine but use one that has ginger in it for best flavor in broth)
Srirhacha to taste
Boil potstickers in hot water according to package directions. My package said to boil until they float to the top, and this only took about 5 minutes. Remove dumplings to large soup bowl, reserving cooking water. Reserve approximate amount of water to make broth and return to boil with the bullion cube/s. (or just dump water and add your stock to pot, if you are using liquid stock). When broth is boiling, add chopped green onion, grated carrot, asian dipping sauce, and chopped cilantro. Allow to heat together for just a minute, and then pour hot broth over dumplings in bowl, making sure to get all the bits of carrot and green herbs into the bowl too. Finish with srirhacha hot sauce and enjoy.
I was not expecting much from my lunch today, but this was so tasty I would happily serve as a starter for dinner or as a lunch with a friend. It was so easy to prepare and came out tasting great!
