Chicken Dumpling and Chrysanthemum Leaf Soup
- 1/3 pound edible chrysanthemum leaves (about 1/2 bunch)
- 1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 6 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound (scant 1 cup) Multipurpose Meat Paste (page 158)
- Fish sauce
- Black pepper
- Using your fingers, strip off the leaves and snap off the tender tops of each chrysanthemum stem.
- Discard the stems along with any discolored leaves and small buds.
- There should be about 3 cups packed leaves.
- Rinse the leaves well to remove any grit and drain in a colander.
- Cut the leaves into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
- In a 3- or 4-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, or until fragrant and soft.
- Add the water and salt, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat to a simmer.
- Use 2 teaspoons or demitasse spoons to shape the dumplings.
- Scoop up a smallish mound of the paste with 1 spoon.
- (The dumplings nearly double in size, so you dont want to start with a huge spoonful of paste.)
- Pass the mound back and forth from 1 spoon to the other, forming it into a relatively smooth round or football shape.
- When youre satisfied, use the second spoon to push the dumpling gently off the spoon into the simmering broth.
- After the dumplings float to the surface of the broth, let them simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Taste and season with up to 1 tablespoon fish sauce; how much you use depends on the saltiness of the meat paste.
- If you are not serving the soup right away, turn off the heat and cover.
- Just before serving, return the soup to a simmer and add the chrysanthemum leaves.
- When they wilt and turn deep green, after about 1 minute, turn off the heat.
- Taste and add extra salt or fish sauce, if necessary.
- Ladle into a serving bowl and sprinkle with lots of black pepper.
- Serve immediately.
chrysanthemum, neutral oil, yellow onion, water, salt, sauce, black pepper
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-dumpling-and-chrysanthemum-leaf-soup-382938 (may not work)