Sharing my grandma’s recipe for Ge Da Tang, a Northern Chinese dumpling soup that’s hearty, satisfying, and quick to make. The chicken-based broth gets a boost from ground pork, fresh aromatics, and tomatoes, and is served with chewy dough pieces, delicate egg ribbons, and vibrant bok choy. You can’t miss this one-pot meal if you like soup!
Ingredients
1cupall-purpose flour
1/4cupwarm water(*Footnote 1)
1tablespoonvegetable oil
1/2lbground pork
2scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
Add flour into a big bowl. Very slowly drizzle water in batches onto the dry flour, and whisk with a pair of chopsticks. Try to mix in a way that creates many small dough pieces, without them clumping together. It’s important to add a very small amount of water at a time, and stop, then mix very thoroughly. At the end, there should be little or no dry flour left, and small dough flakes ranging from pea-sized to blueberry-sized (*Footnote 2).
Heat oil in a medium pot (4-qt) over medium-high heat until hot. Add the ground pork. Cook and chop the pork into small pieces until cooked through and the surface is lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the scallion whites and ginger. Stir a few times to release fragrance. Add the tomato, light soy sauce and sugar. Cook and stir until the tomato starts to fall apart.
Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn to medium heat. Add the dough flakes in by slowly pushing them into the pot, dropping them into empty space so the dough doesn’t clump together. If the dough starts to clump together, immediately use a pair of chopsticks to stir and separate the dough into small pieces. After all the dough pieces are added, keep stirring to make sure they don’t clump together. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is cooked through.
Add the baby bok choy and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until wilted.
Turn to medium-low heat. Slowly drizzle in the beaten eggs. Let the eggs sit for 30 seconds, then stir to form ribbons.
Turn off the heat. Add the chicken bouillon, white pepper, sesame oil and scallion greens. Stir to mix well. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve hot as a main dish.
Notes
You might use slightly more or less water depending on how you mix the dough. The water ratio is quite flexible. The key is to not to add too much at a time, and pause in between to give the flour enough time to absorb the water.
In China, Ge Da Tang is prized for its small and even dough pieces. However, if you like slightly bigger dough pieces that have some texture, you can make them bigger, up to popped popcorn-sized. Also, note that the smaller the dough pieces are, the thicker your soup will be. I created very small dough pieces with some bigger pieces mixed in, and my soup came out quite thick, like a stew.
Light soy sauce adds flavor to the sauce without making the soup dark. If you don’t have light soy sauce, regular soy sauce works as well.