“Lemongrass Tea” Soup with Chicken Dumplings, Mango, and Glass Noodles

September 4, 2009.   2 Comments.   Categories Asian, Chef Rima Olvera, Contributing Chefs, Light / Healthy, Soups.  

“Lemongrass Tea” Soup with Chicken Dumplings, Mango, and Glass Noodles

Exclusive Recipe by Chef Rima Olvera of “Duet”

www.rimaolvera.com

Follow Rima’s travels and updates on her blog . . . www.rimaolvera.com/blog

I’m so fortunate to know so many talented chefs.  But, when it comes to truly unique recipes that combine the ultimate ingredients with flavor and beauty, Chef Rima Olvera is the master.  She is considered a celebrity in many countries and has just launched an inventive new television show in Europe and Asia called “Duet.”  The premise is compelling.  Rima travels around the world meeting some of the finest chefs from the countries she visits.  She immerses herself in their culture and she teams up with the world’s top chefs to prepare wonderful dishes together.  Although the show is airing around the world, it is in English and many US fans are hopeful that one of our food networks will pick it up…. yes, Food Network… that was a hint.

Rima has graciously decided to share her recipes with us.  This is a tremendous honor as her creations are one of a kind.  Like many master chefs, these quantities should be thought of as guidelines, not exact measurements.  As I always say…. think of this as a template and make the recipe your own as you prepare it.  Thank you Rima for sharing this and we are already excited to see what else you may have in store for us next!

Ingredients for chicken dumplings: serves 4

• 1 pound ground fresh chicken breast meat
• 1 fresh garlic clove- crushed
• 1 tb. grated fresh ginger
• ½ bunch green onions, sliced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, grated
• ½ tsp. Sesame oil
• 2 Tb. soy sauce
• 2 Tb. sugar
• 2+ tsp. Salt
• 1 egg white
• 1 pinch crushed red chiles

Ingredients for lemongrass tea soup:

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 4  fresh lemongrass stalks- bruised with a rolling pin or bottle
• ½ cup Mirin (sweet sake, available at Asian markets) or to taste
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 stalks celery- sliced
• 1 star anise
• ½ yellow onion- sliced
• 1 tb. grated fresh ginger
• salt to taste

Ingredients for garnishing soup:

• ½ package glass noodles,(bean thread noodles) soaked til clear, then drained
• 1 fresh mango, cut in small cubes
• 1 big handful fresh basil leaves (generous amount per bowl)
• 1 big handful fresh cilantro leaves(” “)
• 1 big handful beansprouts- per bowl
• 1  bunch green onions, thinly sliced- white and light green parts only- generous spoonful per bowl
• limes or lemons, cut in halves- squeeze and drop a half into each bowl.
• Fresh sliced green jalapenos or bird chiles- to taste

to assemble:

process chicken dumpling ingredients in food processor to smooth.

In large soup pot, add all soup ingredients, simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, let sit for few minutes, then strain.

Bring strained stock back to boil, drop small  walnut-size balls of the chicken dumpling mixture into the boiling stock, cook the balls for about 4 minutes or until cooked through.

Divide the glass noodles into 4 big bowls, divide the chicken balls into the bowls, pour the hot broth over the noodles, add mango cubes, fresh herbs, and lemon half and serve immediately.

NOTES:

The soup broth can be made 2 days in advance, and the chicken dumplings can also be made in advance and cooked in some regular chicken soup, then taken out and kept in a covered container in the fridge and then re-heated before serving in the lemongrass soup as noted in recipe.