Friday 8 April 2022

Suet Dumplings, Chicken Sausages And Chicken Soup - A Sorry Tale

This is the sad and sorry story of suet dumplings and chicken soup.  Once upon a time, Sherry decided to make dumplings just like her mum used to make.  Her mum always used a packet of suet mix, just like her mum did.  Okay, you get the picture :-)  So this is more of a story than a recipe but here goes:  I bought two packets of suet mix just to be safe.  I thought I'd be clever and stuff those little beauties with chicken sausage filling.  So I bought chicken sausages.  The saga begins.

First I had to work out how much flour to suet, so I read the instructions on the side of the packet.  I grabbed a huge mixing bowl, and turfed it all in.  And I thought - 'let's double the recipe' - so I chucked in another packet of suet.  A scream ensued as I realised I had totally screwed up the amounts.  I'm no mathematical genius, so I got Mr P. to bring his brain to the party, which was no help at all :-). 

There was no fixing this baby, so we jumped in the car and hared off to the supermarket for more suet.  Finally after much searching of shelves, with packet in hand, we drove home.  Foolishly I decided to rectify the mistake by re-calculating the amounts already weighed out.  Instead of starting over, I used the mixture in the bowl.

Then I made the dumplings, or tried my damnedest (is that a word?).  First I squeezed out the sausage filling from their cases.  Is there any better feeling than that?  Squishy, moist filling oozing out in your hands ...  I made up a small ball of filling, then tried to encase it with the dumpling mix.  My friends, it was like herding cats.  The dough wanted to become one with my hands.  Mr P. threw in heaps more flour, and more flour ...   

We gave up; there was no saving these babies.  So I turned the whole, soggy, sorry mess into chicken soup with chicken balls.  Hilariously, somehow it ended up with a few large balls of soggy suet dumpling (without filling)!  Dunno how they snuck in.  


check out the big chicken meatball!


ingredients:


500g./1.1 lb herby chicken sausages, filling squeezed out of their skins

1 cup -ish (you may need more) panko breadcrumbs

1.5 L/51 fl oz chicken stock

1 cup of frozen veg. (I used peas, corn and capsicum)

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce - or your fave sauce

1 tsp gochugaru - feel free to use your fave chilli powder/flakes

1 Tbs hot sauce - your choice

salt and black pepper to taste

a big handful of parsley and chives, chopped roughly 


The Next Night:

(We had it for dinner the next night too, so I added chopped mushrooms, zucchini, spring onion, etc.):


Two big mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, diced

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 cup cooked rice

1 tin (400g.) cannellini beans or your fave bean

more herbs of your choice

more chilli powder

more stock if needed (I did)


Method:


Squeeze out the chicken meat from the sausage casings, roll into balls (your preferred size) and then roll them in the panko

Bring the stock to the boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer

Gently lower the chicken balls into the liquid and simmer away for about 10-15 minutes till the meat is almost cooked through

Add the frozen veg., sauces, seasonings and herbs and simmer for a few more minutes till the veg. are done 

Serve with a whisper of chilli oil on top of your bowl


NEXT NIGHT:


Reheat the leftover soup gently on a low-ish heat

Add the extra veg., the rice, the beans, the herbs and chilli powder/flakes

Simmer till everything is heated through and the veg. are tender

Ladle into your bowls


Notes:


You can buy chicken mince, if you can't be bothered eviscerating the snags (sausages)

I had some leftover Thai fried rice in the fridge, so in it went

P.S. - suet is the fat which surrounds the kidneys of beef or sheep!


 

ready to squeeze out the snags

sausage meat and suet mix

ready to serve the first night

delicious and hearty soup (and balls) - see the soggy dumpling?

soup, glorious soup ... la la la!


Oh, I forgot to tell you the rest of the saga.  I was going to throw out all the mess.  So I had a packet of unopened suet mix, and a massive bowlful of suet and flour and salt.  I thought the birds and possums might like it ...  No, thought I to myself.  Be thrifty.  And I weighed it out and divvied it up and bagged it and put it in freezer bags and tagged it.  Sweat pouring down my brow, hands covered in suet-y mess, I bravely finished up my suet story.  So there it sits, in my freezer drawer, awaiting the next instalment of the dumpling sagas.


(Joining up with Marg from The Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.)


© Sherry M.

40 comments:

  1. Whether is was a true sad tale or not, it looks delicious!

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    1. oh definitely true anne. and yep pretty tasty in the end.

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  2. I've made similar mistakes when I've doubled or halved (or whatever) recipes before. Frustrating! So I double check now. And still sometimes screw up. :-) Haven't had dumplings in ages, and they've been on my mind lately. So great timing for this! Thanks.

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    1. it was so annoying KR. Neither of us could get it right. Brains just not doing their thang...

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  3. I love suet, but what is suet MIX? I thought suet was just the fat. Maybe you can use the bagged suet mixture in a bread dough? At least, the soup looks and tastes GREAT.

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    1. hi angie- they just add flour and salt to it i think. So it's pre-grated suet. Yep the soup was ok!

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  4. Well, at least nothing forced you to try to put the sausage back in the casings, though this story sounds like that kind of challenge. Good luck with whatever that is in your freezer!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. now that would have been a real disaster. thanks Mae!

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  5. What a fabulous story Sherry, all worked out in the end though, and was probably delicious. Can't go wrong with chicken soup as a mop up for all kinds of things I reckon. Love dumplings. You know I've never used suet, I think my Mum did though. This story shows how good cooking is for our brain, all those mathematical calculations.

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    1. yes indeedy happy days at last. Suet was a real thing back in the day ...

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  6. Hahaha - what a great story, Sherry! Well, not a great story in terms of the suet, but I really enjoyed reading it. Sounds like you were able to salvage what could've been a big mess. We're like that here, too - I can't handle the thought of wasting food so I always try to find a way to use it. Sometimes it works...sometimes...

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    1. thanks david. it was a funny and loooong saga. we did end up with a tasty soup anyway.

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  7. Well, sometimes we learn more from these experiences and it look like the resulting meal is delicious and you got a great story for your post!

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  8. The soup looks incredible, and the story is, well, kind of funny! I don’t believe I will ever be able to find suet mix in the United States, so your version with the chicken sausages is much better bet. And I like the date two versions, as well. Oddly, it’s very hard to find fresh chicken sausages in the United States. Usually when recipes call for them, I just grind some chicken, add some herbs and spices, and call it a day.

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    1. it was a funny and silly story. one woe after another:-) That's odd about not getting chicken snags over there. they are readily available here. good idea to DIY anyway tho ...

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  9. This is really interesting, Sherry. The only suet I ever see here comes loaded with seeds for the birds! The soup and dumplings sound just perfect for a cool night like tonight!

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    1. thanks jeanie. hahaha that's funny about the bird suet :) DUmplings are always good.

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  10. Sherry, I don’t know what Suet is , I will ask MR. Google. Your soup looks great . I have a similar story when it comes to dumplings. For years I would not make German potato dumplings and every time I tried they turned into potato soup. Finally, my girlfriend came to the rescue and shared her recipe with me.

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    1. hi gerlinde
      suet is the kidney fat from beef or sheep! in the old days, women would grate a big lump of it and use instead of butter! the mix is pre-grated and mixed with flour so much easier to use.

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  11. Wonderful story Sherry. The dumplings certainly look like they would 'stick to your ribs' and be filling. I love that you tried to recreate a recipe of your Mom's.

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    1. thanks Liz. Dumplings are certainly good winter food!

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  12. Too funny. I once messed up the proportions on soda bread but was determined to fix the dough -- I swear I added a TON of flour and it was still a sticky mess. My husband finally convinced me to throw the whole mess in the trash.

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    1. i should have quit while i was ahead or at least just started over with the new mix!

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  13. Sherry, I too have had my share of mishaps in the kitchen with a reicpe and I am determined to set it right! I end up using more ingredients but it's usually worth it.

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    1. hi tina
      it was so darn annoying! and i messed it up again. anyway we will see what happens with the stuff in the freezer. i am determined to get it right.

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  14. Some days in the kitchen turn out differently that as intended at the starting gate! Oh my, how many times has that happened in kitchens throughout the world...at least 1000 in my kitchen alone. I love that you shared this!

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    1. oh yes indeed. but to be honest i usually get it right! she says modestly :) cheers!

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  15. I had a little chuckle but this sounds like one of those delicious kitchen accidents - the dish may not have been what you originally intended but it's tasty and delicious all the same. I for one, would not say no to a bowl of that dumplingy goodness. And I was today old when I found out what suet actually is! So thanks for enlightening me!

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    1. yes it worked out okay in the end sammie. Glad to help with my suet advice :-)

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  16. I think you made a great job here Sherry of something that could have gone completely wrong. You salvaged it and made a delicious meal out of it. With no food waste even at the end. Love it!

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    1. thanks neil. it was a horrid mess but it ended okay!

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  17. I had to look up suet as it's not a word I was familiar with. I'm sorry that everything went wrong at first, but I'm happy you were able to make something good out of it!

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    1. yes thank goodness it worked out in the end phew!

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  18. Given the challenges you had you did well to end up with several meals!!

    Your story did make me smile.

    Thanks for sharing it with Weekend Cooking!

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  19. Delicious dumplings soup. Love the story behind your creation. Nice.

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  20. :( But, I do love the transparency of posting our fails from time to time. :)

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    1. yes it's a bit humbling to realise we all fail from time to time:)

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