Help! Dumpling Disaster!

DoughGirl

DoughGirl

Regular Member
Joined
25 Feb 2021
Local time
2:45 AM
Messages
9
Location
Wisconsin
I'm really hoping someone can help me with this! I messed up the dumplings in my homemade chicken and dumpling soup last night, and I cannot for the life of me, figure out what I did wrong?! I've made this soup the same exact way every single time I've made it (at least 10 times) and I've not had a problem before.
Everything else about the soup was perfect; except for the fact that about half of my dumplings were ruined? I make pretty basic drop dumplings, and they all looked fine when the soup was done. This time though, about half of them came out very airy, almost spongey? Think wet bread disguised as a dumpling. And the other half was perfectly fine? I feel like I'm not explaining it 100% right so I've included a picture of both the normal dumpling (R) and the screwed up one (L). Again these came from the same pot of soup, and I don't know what I could have possibly done to do this?
C25D15EA-3F9F-4F82-84E1-E4C266B8567C.jpeg
 
Hi - just a guess, but it could be that the temperature of the soup wasn't consistently hot enough for the dumplings, meaning that maybe the liquid was bubbling along, and you added your dumplings, and as you went along, adding the dough cooled the soup just enough to leave the ones added later a bit soft.

That could imply the opposite as well; maybe it wasn't quite hot enough when you first started dropping the dough, so those first ones are the spongy ones, and once the soup got up to bubbling, the ones you added last set a little better.

Also, drop dumplings usually kind of sit on the top, like on any meat or veg, and don't go right down in the liquid to cook. Maybe some of yours cooked on top, and those are the good ones, and some slipped down and cooked more in the soup, and those are the bad ones.
 
I'm a little confused....the ones on the left are the ones that came out wrong? But to me they look like they're the ones that came out right....nice and fluffy on the inside. Its the ones on the right that look wrong to me....they look too heavy and stodgy.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
I'm a little confused....the ones on the left are the ones that came out wrong? But to me they look like they're the ones that came out right....nice and fluffy on the inside. Its the ones on the right that look wrong to me....they look too heavy and stodgy.
Click to expand...

I agree. The one on the left looks about right. I think it must be as TastyReuben suggests, that the temperature of the soup was uneven.
 
I brainstorm problems and there are a couple thoughts I come up with after deducing that the dumplings did not cook thoroughly. I assume that the reasons are 1) they did not cook long enough or 2) they did not receive enough heat for the time that they cooked.

The first reason is obviously possible if the dumplings were added late and weren't given enough cooking time.

The second reason could be two possible causes - 1) You had frozen items in the pot and they did not allow heat to cook the dumplings or 2) you ought to have had used a lid on the pot, removing it only when stirring, etc.

I do not think that you allowed any deviations from your normal dumpling ingredients and you state that you never had the problem before.
 
Morning Glory said:
I agree. The one on the left looks about right. I think it must be as TastyReuben suggests, that the temperature of the soup was uneven.
Click to expand...
The ones on the left were very spongey, they kept breaking in half after the soup was served - had the same texture as white bread when bitten into, which did not meld well with the soup at all - it felt like I was eating soggy bread. They also didn't hold much flavor, which added to the whole "soggy white bread" feel.

The ones on the right though, they were thicker (not to be confused with heavier, they were still soft and chewable), but definitely fully-cooked, they held flavor, and melded with the soup beautifully.

Maybe it's a regional thing, but I've never eaten a super light, airy, porous, spongey dumpling in soup before? They've always been thicker, soft, and chewy no matter whether I ordered them in a restaurant or was served them homemade. But TastyReuben could be correct, my stove is pretty shoddy to work with (it's an ancient electric stove that came with my apartment) so I have noticed it's a little difficult to keep even heat.
 
TastyReuben said:
Hi - just a guess, but it could be that the temperature of the soup wasn't consistently hot enough for the dumplings, meaning that maybe the liquid was bubbling along, and you added your dumplings, and as you went along, adding the dough cooled the soup just enough to leave the ones added later a bit soft.

That could imply the opposite as well; maybe it wasn't quite hot enough when you first started dropping the dough, so those first ones are the spongy ones, and once the soup got up to bubbling, the ones you added last set a little better.

Also, drop dumplings usually kind of sit on the top, like on any meat or veg, and don't go right down in the liquid to cook. Maybe some of yours cooked on top, and those are the good ones, and some slipped down and cooked more in the soup, and those are the bad ones.
Click to expand...
I think you might be on to something here, now that you mention it I did notice that quite a few of my dumplings had sunk while I was serving the soup, that's something that has never happened before either. And the stove that came with my apartment is ancient and pretty shoddy to work with, I have noticed it's kind of difficult to keep an even heat going while cooking other dishes too.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
I'm a little confused....the ones on the left are the ones that came out wrong? But to me they look like they're the ones that came out right....nice and fluffy on the inside. Its the ones on the right that look wrong to me....they look too heavy and stodgy.
Click to expand...
I'm another that thought the ones on the left were the good ones. Certainly in this household, the ones on the right would be the ones regarded as the failures. :laugh:
 
Now I am confused... are dumplings supposed to be spongey/airy/porous and taste/feel like soggy bread when eaten? Again, I'm a big dumpling soup fan and have never eaten a dumpling like that before? I always thought soup dumplings were supposed to more like a giant gnocchi in texture? Like a little thicker, kind of chewy (but definitely not doughy)?
 
One thing that does also spring to mind, just from experience is the suet. We actually can't get it very easily here (vegetable suet or beef suet), so tended to buy what we could when we found it, and store it. But it doesn't store well. It is one of the few pantry store cupboard things that we've find does need to be in date when used.

Now that we've stopped using it, we've run into far fewer problems with or 'dumplings'. But we are now using a much less fatty recipe because it is closer to a (British) scone recipe made into dumplings and dropped into a casserole to cook. The result has been a lighter more airy result.

Also the "light" suet (just don't ask) produces a less heavy, wet dumpling as well.

So my immediate thoughts are suet to flour ratio (1 part suet, 2 parts flour, water to bind) and the age of the suet. The recipe is on the link below to the company's website.

https://www.atora.co.uk/#

View attachment 58095

View attachment 58096

View attachment 58097

View attachment 58098

58099

58100

58101

58102
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I'm another that thought the ones on the left were the good ones. Certainly in this household, the ones on the right would be the ones regarded as the failures. :laugh:
Click to expand...
I know what DoughGirl is getting at; it's the texture more than the way it looks. It's hard to show in a picture. The one on the left, while it doesn't look like raw dough, looks like a piece of supermarket bread - not good for a dumpling.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Maybe this is a regional thing, UK, USA . But I'd expect my dumplings to have risen and have air in them.

It's the slimy ones we don't like.
Click to expand...
I've just asked my husband which one he thinks looks correct. His mother made them all the time when he was growing up (Manchester born and bred) and his answer was instantly the one on the left.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom