This soup has all the texture and flavor of a classic dumpling soup, minus the actual dumplings. Broken dumpling style soups are found throughout China and Japan, and for good reason. When you're feeling like dumplings but don't have hours to pleat them, throwing the wrappers directly into the soup gets you halfway there.
Ground pork is traditional here, but we've chosen to use beef instead. Beef is more typical to our region, and we find that the extra heft it provides makes the soup especially warming.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp chili crisp
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 scallions
- 15 square dumpling wrappers
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1" piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 4 cups beef broth
- ½ small head of Napa cabbage, sliced about ½" thick
Preparation
- Whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, chili crisp, and rice vinegar in a small bowl to combine. Set aside.
- Separate the white and the green parts from the scallions and thinly slice, keeping the white and green sections portioned together. Sed aside.
- Cut the dumpling wrappers into eighths: cut on a diagonal from corner to corner to make an X, then cut each triangle in half through the long side. Set aside.
- Heat the toasted sesame oil in a heavy pot over medium-high. Add the ground beef and salt. Cook, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, for about a minute.
- Work the beef into an even layer and cook, undisturbed, until a brown crust forms underneath, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, and reserved white scallions. Cook, stirring often and breaking up meat into smaller pieces, until the beef is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add the mirin and cook, scraping up any browned bits, for another minute.
- Add the beef broth and remaining 2 tbsp of soy sauce to pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the napa cabbage and cook, stirring, until just wilted. Remove from heat.
- Add the reserved dumpling wrappers (piece by piece, to prevent them from sticking) and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and top with reserved scallion greens. Serve hot.
