Help me make my Asian inspired chicken n dumpling stew thing better next time

[OriginalGeek]

I am not a chef or even a very good cook. I watch a ton of FoodTV and other cooking shows because I love dreaming I can cook.

I CAN follow a recipe which is what I did Saturday when we cooked up a bunch of chicken breasts and shredded them to make the chicken enchilada casserole from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Those always come out good even if the fam won't let me add the spicier peppers I prefer.

So after that I had a lot of leftover chicken all shredded up with no place to go and after scanning the web for good uses for shredded chicken I decided I wanted to make chicken soup with Asian flavors which evolved into wanting something a little thicker.

SO I got out the big dutch oven and melted a stick of butter and added some sesame oil and soy sauce. I had INTENDED to cook the matchstick carrots and water chestnuts and minced garlic in that a little bit before adding the flour but I forgot to add them. I put the flour in and made a decent roux and then added two boxes of chicken stock and let that all heat up and remembered to throw in the veggies and the shredded chicken.

Then I thought, "Hey, why not dumplings?" so I got a can of Pillsbury grands original biscuits, floured them and sliced them into strips and dropped them into the boiling (but quickly thickening) soup.

Once those were in I lowered the heat and covered it and went to watch football and came in every now and then to stir and get a new beer.

after a taste or two for no good reason at all I sprinkled in a bit of garlic salt. After another beer or two I splashed in some rice wine vinegar and some ground black pepper.

I stopped messing with it and just stirred occasionally for the next hour or so and finally was too hungry to keep cooking so I called the family in to dip their bowls.

Everyone liked it and my daughter even said "Yeah, you can make this again" and I will but I feel like my lack of cooking skills is holding me back from making it even better.

So NEXT time I will try to cook the veggies some first before adding flour.
I think I can use less flour and let the flour from the "dumpling" help thicken.
My daughter suggested some bok choy next time for color but I might also add some diced onion.

I would like to kick up the Asian-ness of it so I was thinking more Soy and maybe some other sauce?

You could DEFINITELY taste the Pillsbury in the dumplings which is fine with us - we love that stuff lol.

Do you folks have any other suggestions for ingredients or techniques?

Thanks!

PS: There was one sad little ladle-full left that my daughter called dibs on or else I would have eaten it last night. I figure ening with an empty pot is a good sign right?

[mercuryblues]

1. Save the dumplings for last

In the last 10 -15 minutes of cooking add the dumplings put the heat on low for a simmer. Place lid on the pot and do not lift it. NO peeking.

Use a stir fry noodle, broken up

ginger and snow peas

[OriginalGeek]

3. not peeking is the hardest thing to do

OH! And I kept kicking myself because we actually have a whole hand of fresh ginger that I meant to use but forgot when I was cooking. Yes I love all those other veggies so I will add them and TRYYYYY not to peek.

I thought about some wide egg noodles before deciding on the dumplings (I had biscuits but no noodles lol). I might have to make several variants with different noodles and whatnot. I love all that stuff. (My best friend in the world passed away about 10 years ago but he used to come over and cook in our wok all the time and made amazing food. He was born in Taiwan. He was kind enough to pretend I was "helping" lol.)

thanks!

[mercuryblues]

5. One thing I find helpful

is that I get all the ingredients out and line them up on the counter in the same order they are used. As I use ingredients I push them to the side.

If you use noodles, cook them separately and add in just before the dumplings. If you don't they will absorb all the juice from the stew.

[Retrograde]

7. Those packets of ramen would work well here

"Ramen with leftovers" is another standby here: they can be added to a soup in the last ten minutes and they'll hold up better than most noodles. Discard the seasoning packet unless you really like sodium.

[OregonBlue]

2. Ginger. You can freeze it in chunks and then grate it with the veggies while you cook them. Adds

that Asian flair. Might also consider a teaspoon of Japanese or Viet Namese curry. It is mild but adds lots of subtle flavors.

Your dish sounds delicious. I may steal your idea. Thanks.

[OriginalGeek]

4. thanks!

I mean, I bet I could at least make it to the middle rounds on Worst Cooks in America if anyone has an in with Chef Anne Burrell lol...

I was wondering what to do with the ginger to keep it because my wife bought a hand the other day for a recipe she wants to try but I know it's WAY more than needed for that. I will text her right now to freeze it. I swear I meant to use it in my thing but totally forgot. Friggin mis en place. If only I had set everything out before beginning.

Wil definitely look into curries - I LOVE Thai red or panang curry but even the mild American versions are too much for wife. My friend at work and I go to lunch for it often enough though so that keeps me satisfied.

[OregonBlue]

18. I just cut it up in about 1 or 2 inch pieces. I don't enen peel it.

just wash cut and freeze. The Viet Namese make really great yellow/orange curries that are mildly hot but VERY flavorful. Your dish sounds very good and I will try it.

[Retrograde]

6. Asia's a big place

with a lot of different cuisines. Sorry, it's one of my pet peeves: Middle Eastern, the various Indian and Chinese cuisines, and Japanese are very different, to pick a few.

First, you're description sounds like a standard chicken and dumpling stew with water chestnuts and soy sauce added. Nothing wrong with that - I'm all in favor of fusion cuisine and using what's in the house. Most of my cooking could be described as "what my Polish grandmother would have made if she lived in Mexico and shopped at a Chinese or Indian market".

Anyway, assuming you're going for a generalized East to Southeast Asian influence, the first thing I'd do is lose the butter. If you want to saute your vegetables first, use peanut or canola oil - sesame has a strong taste and is better as a finishing oil. Actual garlic - not garlic salt - and ginger are essential ingredients. Most of what Americans think of as Chinese cuisine doesn't use much flour - at least not wheat flour - so consider a clear soup. I've had soups thickened with corn starch, but they don't come out really all that thick compared to those made with a flour roux. East Asian cuisine does have dumplings, but their thinner and usually made with rice flour (and I haven't mastered how to make them so I'm useless here). If I were going to emphasize the east Asia part, I'd make a more clear soup with more vegetables - napa cabbage if you can find it, or even shreds of ordinary cabbage, mushrooms. And ginger, fresh if you can get it. I'd add the soy sauce towards the end. If your family likes things spicy, a squirt of hot sauce will help, again at the end. If you can find it, I'd substitute fish sauce for the soy: I think it has more flavor. (There's a lot of "if you can find it" because I don't know where you live. My area has a very large recent Chinese and Vietnamese population so what I can get in any supermarket may be rare where you are). A lot of east Asian dishes have a sour note, so the rice vinegar is definitely called for.

OTOH, if you want to keep with the chicken-and-dumpling stew concept and just nudge it towards east Asia, start with adding more spices to your roux: grated or ground ginger, a pinch of hot pepper, sliced garlic, maybe some hoisin sauce. If you're making a roux, it's going to be thick so I'm not sure leafy vegetables will stand out: how about something less traditional like turnips (related to daikon, used a lot in east Asian cooking) or cabbage? Again, I recommend using fish sauce instead of soy as I think it has a more mellow taste. If you're going to make dumplings, you can also incorporate some flavors into the dough: knead in some minced green onions or more ginger or some ground chiles with the dough before adding to the pot. Or sprinkle the minced green onions and some chopped cilantro on top when you serve it.

Hmmm - I'm getting more intrigued with the whole concept of "chicken and dumplings go on a trip" now - and I do have some leftover chicken!

[OriginalGeek]

8. "chicken and dumplings go on a trip"

Exactly! I like chicken and dumplings but I find it boring and my mother-in-law made the best ones in the world (all from scratch) so nothing I could do with straight C&D would do as it would just get compared to hers.

But if we take them on a journey I think that's different enough to be our own thing. I love the idea of fish sauce or hoisin - i've used them both before but i have to sneak them in when my wife isn't looking. My friend mentioned above used fish sauce a lot and my wife never knew and she loved all his cooking but if you are just making a shopping list and say "fish sauce" her first reaction is "Ewww what?"

The good news is I live in Central Florida and there is a big Chinese/Thai/Korean/Vietnamese community and shopping district near downtown Orlando. That's where my friend always went - oh man i just remembered bamboo shoots packed in chili oil. Soooo good but I have to use them in a separate dish. Way too hot for my wife. My daughter is a little bit more adventurous.

Thanks and point definitely taken re: "Asia".

[Kali]

9. ginger, sherry, scallions, a touch of sugar

oyster sauce is another good savory to kick up things...also I would thicken any Asian things with cornstarch, not flour. just me. dissolve a tablespoon per cup or two of your dish in a 1/4 cup of cold liquid (plain water is fine or hold back a bit of your chicken broth) and add towards the end of cooking, let return to simmer and cook for about one minute. should thicken right up. nice thing is you can do it again if it isn't right.

[OriginalGeek]

13. oh yeah

I forgot about oyster sauce. That's another thing I have to hide though. My wife is weird - which is why I love her but after 35+ years of her laughing at me for my limited palette (I wouldn't eat anything but hamburger, corn and potatoes when we met lol) it's me trying to expand our culinary universe. She usually likes things I cook as long as she didn't know what was in it. (Not sure how much of that is I did good job or she was just glad she didn't have to cook).

[irisblue]

10. What type of soy sauce did you use? That would make a difference

[OriginalGeek]

15. Plain ol soy - probably Kikkoman

I use it a lot so we have a bigger bottle but it's just whatever we can get at the grocery store - . I was just winging it - didn't measure anything.

[irisblue]

16. Dude!! ok, there are much better choices out there

I am currently using a Thai brand called Healthy Boy Brand, it is a sweet soy sauce, that and toasted (dark) sesame oil and a bit of oyster/fish sauce as my current base for my miso based soups.

A few sources for you to check out..
1.https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-chinese-soy-sauce-694628

2.https://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/do-you-know-your-soy-sauces-japanese-chinese-indonesian-differences.html

3.https://matadornetwork.com/read/soy-sauce-types/

4.https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/best-soy-sauce-chefs-pick-article


Different flavors. After using other soy sauces in my cooking, I'll not use kikoman again. I find even the low salt style a salt bomb these days.

[OriginalGeek]

17. I will definitely look into that

Just the other day my wife was saying she wanted to try and make that clear mushroom soup we get at the sushi place we like. I never knew there were choices! lol I probably knew but just didn't know any better so always grabbed the one I see on TV.

[dem in texas]

11. Oyster Sauce

Few shakes, it brings all the flavors together. I use it when cooking Oriental.

[Mr.Bill]

12. It would have been better

if you were drinking whiskey instead of beer.

[OriginalGeek]

14. lol, I have a fair amount of that too

I think my single malt is empty but I have some blended scotch and some bourbon.

[tishaLA]

19. Ginger, garlic, scallions. A little fish sauce.

And I'd probably use corn starch if I wanted to thicken it because you won't taste the thickener that way.