My son is a great fan of Master Po ( me too ) and ever since we saw Kung fu Panda 3, we have been contemplating everyday to recreate “Master Po” style dumplings. The round ones. So we decided to make dragon warrior inspired chicken dumplings from scratch. After a couple of failed messy attempts, we managed to get pretty decent ones. As good as the ones at Mr. Pings Noodle shop if we say so ourselves. Please bear with our dumpling pleating skills. We are as messy as Po in that area.
I think Kung fu Panda is one of the awesome-est animated films of the recent years. The clumsy, childish panda becoming the dragon warrior is a brilliant story that stays for a long time. One of my favorite lines from the kung fu panda series is the one about the secret ingredient of the noodle soup. Mr. Ping – “Po, I think it’s time I told you something I should have told you a long time ago! The secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup is, ah ah The secret ingredient is……… NOTHING.” Po – “Huh ?” Mr. Ping – “You heard me. Nothing!There is no secret ingredient!” Po – “Wait, wait, it’s just plain old Noodle Soup? You don’t add some kind of special sauce or something?” Mr. Ping – “Don’t have to! To make something special, you just have to believe it’s special.”
So, presenting to you Dragon Warrior inspired chicken dumplings.
First we tackle the dumpling wrapper. We will make dough from scratch.
Take a bowl and add in the flour, salt and a teaspoon of oil. Add in the hot water and mix well. Add a little more water if the dough is very dry or a little more flour if its too wet. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until soft and pliable (similar to chapati dough consistency). Apply half a teaspoon of oil on the dough so the dough does not dry out. Store the dough to rest over night in the refrigerator. Well rested dough is easier to work when making dumplings. Remove the dough couple of hours before from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before rolling.
In the mean time, make the filling. Here is the recipe for the filling. Add in the ground chicken (just pulse the boneless chicken several times in the mixie), finely chopped spring onions, coriander leaves, finely minced ginger, finely minced green chillies, soy sauce, little pinch of salt and one egg. Mix well until its combined. Use your hands to mix well. The filling is ready!
Lets finish our wrapper business! Dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough into thin sheets. Cut small rounds from them. Set aside the rounds. Cover the wrappers with parchment or cling wrap so the wrappers don’t stick with one another. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out.
Its filling time. Now get your kitchen counter ready! Get the dumpling wrappers and the filling. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on each dumpling wrapper. Don’t stuff them with filling. It gets really messy if over filled and it will be hard to pleat the dumplings. Gently gather the edges to the middle in pleats. Watch this video on how to wrap dumplings. Repeat with all the wrappers and the filling. Enjoy it with your kids. The aim is not perfect pleating. The aim is to have fun! Just boil 2 inches of water in a kettle and keep the steamer on top. Steam the dumplings on a cabbage lined steamer for 12 minutes. Idli cooker works perfectly too.
Serve hot with a dash of soy sauce for dipping. Ever since we moved to Hong Kong, Vedant has been trying hard to get the art of eating with chopsticks. I can say that he has come close.
Enjoy the dumplings!
For the wrapper
- 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cups very hot water (approx)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Extra flour for dusting
For the filling
- 250 grams boneless chicken, ground
- 7 - 8 stalks spring onions, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 1 inch piece ginger, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce,
- 2 green chillies, finely minced
- 1 egg
- little pinch of salt
- 2 - 3 leaves of Cabbage for lining the steamer
- Take a bowl and add in the flour, salt and a teaspoon of oil. Add in the hot water and mix well. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until soft and pliable. Apply half a teaspoon of oil on the dough so the dough does not dry out. Store the dough to rest over night in the refrigerator. Remove the dough couple of hours before from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
- Mix all the ingredients listed under filling. Combine well. Set aside.
- Dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough into thin sheets. Cut small rounds from them. Set aside the rounds. Cover the wrappers with parchment or cling wrap so the wrappers don’t stick with one another. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out.
- Place 1 tablespoon of filling on each dumpling wrapper. Pleat the dough to form dumpling.
- Steam the dumplings in a cabbage lined steamer for 12 minutes.
- Serve hot.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Asian
For the wrapper
- 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cups very hot water (approx)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Extra flour for dusting
For the filling
- 250 grams boneless chicken, ground
- 7 - 8 stalks spring onions, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 1 inch piece ginger, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce,
- 2 green chillies, finely minced
- 1 egg
- little pinch of salt
- 2 - 3 leaves of Cabbage for lining the steamer
- Take a bowl and add in the flour, salt and a teaspoon of oil. Add in the hot water and mix well. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until soft and pliable. Apply half a teaspoon of oil on the dough so the dough does not dry out. Store the dough to rest over night in the refrigerator. Remove the dough couple of hours before from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
- Mix all the ingredients listed under filling. Combine well. Set aside.
- Dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough into thin sheets. Cut small rounds from them. Set aside the rounds. Cover the wrappers with parchment or cling wrap so the wrappers don’t stick with one another. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out.
- Place 1 tablespoon of filling on each dumpling wrapper. Pleat the dough to form dumpling.
- Steam the dumplings in a cabbage lined steamer for 12 minutes.
- Serve hot.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Asian
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/kung-fu-panda-dumplings-recipe/
The main ingredient for a good chicken soup is the chicken stock. I like to use homemade chicken stock for this soup as its more flavorful and one can control the amount of salt that goes into the stock. Its very easy to make chicken stock at home. I use the bones, wings, neck and giblets of the chicken for making stock. I use the pressure cooker method as its fast. Here is how to do it.
Take about 500 grams of chicken and its bones (mostly bones with little flesh) in a pressure cooker and add two liters of water. Add in the spices, half an onion, half a carrot and the garlic cloves. I don’t peel the garlic. I add it with the skin on. Cover the cooker and cook for 20 minutes on low flame (about 7-8 whistles). Remove from heat and let the pressure from the cooker release naturally. Drain the stock to a bowl.
Shred the chicken meat from the bones. Set aside. Discard the bones, spices and the veggies. Making stock at home is a very fulfilling experience. The chicken fat floating on the stock can be removed using a ladle. The easier way is to refrigerate the stock for a couple of hours and the fat would solidify. Its easier to remove the fat this way. Do not throw away the fat. Store it in the refrigerator and use it in your omelettes, stir-fry etc…instead of oil. You can store this stock at this stage in the refrigerator and use it whenever required.
Now lets make soup.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Add in a teaspoon of dried Italian mixed herbs. You can use any store bought herb mixture. Add in the minced garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute until the onions are soft.
Take a cup and add in two tablespoons of All purpose flour (maida). Add in a cup of water and mix well to make a slurry. Add it to the pan. Add in the chicken stock. Add a cup of milk and a cup of cream.
Add in the shredded chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Let it come to a simmer. Check for seasoning.
Serve hot!
For the Stock
- 500 grams chicken bone
- 2 liters water
- 2 sticks Cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 clove
- 1 cardamom
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 carrot
- 4 cloves garlic, with the skin
For the Soup
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon dried italian herb mixture
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Add in all the ingredients listed under making stock to a pressure pan. Cover the pressure pan and cook for 20 minutes on low flame. (about 7-8 whistles). Remove from heat and let the pressure from the cooker release naturally. Drain the stock to a bowl.
- Shred the chicken meat from the bones. Set aside.
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Add in a teaspoon of dried Italian mixed herbs. Add in the minced garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute until the onions are soft.
- Take a cup and add in two tablespoons of All purpose flour (maida). Add in a cup of water and make a slurry. Add it to the pan. Add in the chicken stock. Add a cup of milk and a cup of cream.
- Add in the shredded chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Let it come to a simmer. Check for seasoning.Serve hot.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Fusion
