Potsticker & vegetable soup

Prep 15 min.

Ready 45 min.

Serves 4

My wife saw this recipe in the Nov/December issue of Eating Well Magazine which we subscribe to and suggested I try to make it for a Saturday lunch. (Thank You Eating Well!)  It looked pretty easy and does not take long to make so I decided to give it a try. We have an Asian specialty market not too far away so I was able to get the ingredients needed in one simple trip. (Love that market!) The only regret was buying unshelled edamame. I had to shell the beans. Next time I will purchase unshelled. My wife liked it so I scored some points!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro

• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed  and minced

• 1 (2 -inch) piece fresh ginger, graded

•  1 (2- inch) piece lemongrass, bruised

• 1 dried red chile

• ¼ cup Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry (I used sherry)

• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or “no-chicken” broth

• 1 (20 to 24 ounce) package frozen potstickers or dumplings

• 1 (5 ounce) package baby spinach

• 1½ cups frozen shelled edamame

• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

• Sliced fresh red chile (optional)

Directions

1. Separate cilantro stems from leaves. Measure 1/4 cup of each. Cut scallion whites into 2-inch pieces and chop remainder into 1/4 inch or smaller pieces and set aside in a separate bowl.

2. In a medium size pan ( I used a 3 qt. Dutch oven) heat 1 tbs. oil at high (I love the smell of the sesame oil when it heats) and add cilantro stems, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and dried chiles. Stir with a wooden spoon until soft about 4-5 min. Add rice wine (I used sherry) and continue to stir. It will cook down very quickly and evaporate. You will not even know what happened to the wine (about 30 seconds in my experience). Continue to stir getting the excess off the sides of the pot. Add the Chicken broth and cover for 10 min.

3. With a slotted spoon or mesh screen, remove the cooked contents from the pot until you just have a broth. Add the potstickers (I had 10-12) and let simmer for 5 min. Add the spinach and edamame and continue to stir for an additional 4-5 min. Stir in soy sauce, scallion greens and cilantro and cook an additional 2 min.

I found I needed to add a pinch of salt, but overall it had a very nice light flavor. I enjoyed the hint of lemon grass and garlic. This is a perfect soup for a cold (but sunny) mid-west day. Thanks Eating Well Magazine for another great recipe! I will make it again.