Russian Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Sesame oil and cilantro soup up this Russian classic with an eye on Japan. Get the recipe for Russian Chicken and Dumplings Soup ». Matt Taylor-Gross
At Bear, a homey Eastern European restaurant in Astoria, Queens, chef Natasha Pogrebinsky serves a pelmeni stew she calls “Siberian Express,” adding marinated mushrooms, brined cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, scallions, and a soft-boiled egg all to color up the dish’s otherwise beige landscape. But her customers call it something else: Russian Ramen. This chicken-and-dumpling soup also takes advantage of two ingredients more common in Asia than Eastern Europe—sesame oil and cilantro—for a simple but rewarding soup that probes the boundaries of what we think of as Russian cuisine.
Featured in: The Russian Chicken Soup with an Eye on Japan
Yield: serves 4
Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
- 3 large eggs
- 2 lb. chicken thighs (about 4)
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped dill, plus more to garnish
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp. ground caraway
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 soft-boiled eggs, halved, to garnish
- Cilantro leaves, to garnish
- Thinly sliced scallions, to garnish
- Toasted sesame oil, to garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and, using your fingers, stir in 2 eggs and 1⁄4 cup water. Scrape the dough onto a work surface and knead until smooth. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- In a 4-qt saucepan, combine the chicken thighs with the onion, garlic, and bay leaf, and cover with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, until the broth is reduced and the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine strainer and discard the solids.
- Meanwhile, beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and pour 2 tablespoons into a medium bowl; discarding the rest of the egg. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the ground chicken, dill, parsley, caraway, and coriander and stir to combine. Refrigerate the filling until ready to use.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into an 18-inch circle, about 1⁄8-inch thick. Using a 2 1⁄2-inch cutter, cut out 32 circles, re-rolling scraps as needed. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle of dough, brush the edges with water, and fold in half to form a half moon, sealing the edges. Take the two points of each half moon and bring them together to form a tortelli-like dumpling.
- In a large pot of generously salted water, cook the dumplings until they float to the surface and are cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the dumplings from the water and transfer to 4 serving bowls. Ladle the broth over the dumplings and top each with more chopped dill, half a soft-boiled egg, cilantro leaves, scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil before serving.
