Chicken and dumplings is a great cold-weather dish. When we lived in the Midwest, we would always have this after a day of sledding or building snow forts, but when we moved to Arizona this tradition became a problem. Now when I want chicken and dumplings, I turn down the air conditioning, close the blinds, and pretend it’s snowing outside (if I don’t close the blinds, the palm trees kind of ruin the effect).
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Chicken
Dumplings
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the chicken: Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and place them in a large saucepan. Add the chicken broth and place the pan over medium heat.
Step 2
Peel the carrots, potatoes, and onion, cut them into bite-size pieces, and add them to the pan. Rinse the celery stalks, cut them into bite-size pieces, and add them to the pan. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Step 3
Combine the cornstarch and milk in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Slowly pour the mixture into the pot, stirring gently for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture begins to simmer.
Step 4
To prepare the dumplings: Place the flour, baking powder, and milk in a small bowl and stir until the flour is completely incorporated. Drop spoonfuls of the dough into the pot, spacing them fairly evenly. Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Do not remove the cover during cooking or the dumplings will become dense and chewy. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Kitchen Vocab
Step 5
Stewing is to cook food completely submerged in liquid. This method is usually used for tougher cuts of meat that need longer cooking times.
Kitchen Disaster
Step 6
The first time I made chicken and dumplings I didn’t know you have to mix the cornstarch with a little liquid before you add it to any kind of sauce, so I just dumped it into the hot sauce. It immediately formed nasty gray lumps. After spending about twenty minutes picking out the lumps, I tried it again, this time stirring in cornstarch that I first mixed with milk, and ended up with a nice, smooth sauce. It’s amazing what a difference a little premixing can make.
