Asian Dumpling Soup

This is the kind of recipe I was looking for when I bought the Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's cookbook. I buy potstickers and goyza from them all the time. But I just serve them as potstickers or gyoza. Not a lot of imagination in that. Putting them in a soup and adding a few other ingredients was perfect as something else to do with them.

This recipe was so quick and easy to do that I've been making it quite often on nights when I need a quick dinner (like nights I'm at the gym or we are headed to a movie later in the evening). Since I usually have a bag of potstickers in the freezer the only thing I have to worry about is grabbing some stir-fry veggies (and even then I can put a few bags in the freezer to use). Though I do use the Thai Shrimp Goza from TJ's I'm sure using other brands or even vegetarian versions of potstickers or gyoza would work. The soup has a nice flavor and is quite filling.

The only trouble I've really had with this recipe is that the potstickers/gyoza tend to disintegrate and not stay whole. While ascetically that might not be optimal, taste wise I don't think it matters. 

ASIAN DUMPLING SOUP

(16-oz) bag frozen Thai Shrimp Gyoza
4 cups (one 32-oz carton) Organic Free Range Chicken Broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1 small garlic clove, crushed, or 1/2 tsp jarred Crushed Garlic
3 cups refrigerated Stir Fry Vegetables, any variety, or frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables
1 egg (optional)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
Black Pepper

In a medium pot, heat broth, soy sauce, and garlic over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Add gyoza and vegetables. When mixture boils again, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.

If using egg, beat with a fork until frothy. Slowly pour into boiling soup in a thin stream, creating cooked ribbons of egg. If you prefer, you can pan-fry the egg and cut into strips or squares. Use as a garnish.

Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Serves 4

Note: We use Trader Joe's products in this though other brands can be used.

Note: I've used both TJ's frozen and refrigerated bags of vegetables. They both have their pluses and minus's as they contain different types of veggies. The refrigerated version had pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms. Or should I say it had all those veggies but only THREE pea pods!

Note: The bag of veggies is more than three cups. I actually stir-fried the leftover veggies for another meal.

Note: I actually had less broth than the photo in the book shows so I sometimes will add a bit more broth to make the dish soupier.

Note: I added the egg. Really like the egg stirred into the dish as opposed to using it as a garnish.

Comments

[Mom]

That looks sooo good. What is gyoza?

[Livin Local]

Perfect for a blustery day like today. As with you, never would have thought of using pot stickers in soup, but it sure makes sense.

[JeanetteS]

Honestly, I've got to get this book. I love Asian dumpling soup. Off to Amazon now to order it.

[@makfan]

Mmmm.

Gyoza is the Japanese version of pot stickers.

[Mrs. L]

Mom - Gyoza is the Japanese version of a potsticker (though I'm bad and tend to call all dumplings like that potstickers).

Livin Local - Nor would I have thought to use pre-packaged stir fry veggies with it.

Jeanette - I hope you like it!

Makfan - You should make this. I think you'd like it.

[Carolyn Jung]

It's like instant won ton soup. I do this with frozen dumplings, too. Does make for one tasty, quick weeknight meal, especially on a wet, cold night like this.

[Chris]

Asian dumplings are great and so is soup the the two should go great together! But I get your point about how it looks when it falls apart.

[kitchen table]

This is so Asian! I suddenly missed my granny who loves Asian food and flavor so much.

[MAry]

What a wonderfully quick and luscious looking meal. You are quite creative. I'll wager this is delicious. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

[grace]

goyza is a new ingredient for me--i'm clearly not very familiar with asian cuisine. to further prove this, i'll admit that i was stunned to see an egg as an ingredient, but i suppose that's nothing atypical. really interesting dish!

[Mrs. L]

Carolyn - I can see making it even easier by just putting them in some nice vegetable broth.

Chris - At least when they fall apart it still tastes good.

Kitchen Table - There are many foods that make me think of my Granny too.

Mary - I'm not the creative one, the cookbook was :)

Grace - Oh man, I can't go to a Japanese restaurant without ordering Goyza. It's kind of a "deal breaker" for me. If the goyza sucks, the restaurant usually does too.

[Surrey Private Detective]

Just made the other day for Chinese New Year! So good, everyone loved the broth especially! Very quick and easy to make. Definitely a tradition maker here!