Potato and dumpling soup (sujebi)

I call this the minestrone of Korea. Sujebi is a comforting and wholesome soup, filled with potatoes and hand-torn dumplings, that’s perfect for cold weather.

Credit: Billy Law

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• Cabbage kimchi (recipe here), to serve

Dumpling dough

• 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tsp salt

Soup

• 2 floury potatoes, such as russets or colibans
• Anchovy and kelp stock (recipe here)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5-cm (2-in) lengths

Instructions

1. To make the dumpling dough, put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the remaining ingredients and, using a fork, slowly bring everything together to form a soft dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. To make the soup, peel the potatoes and cut into 1 cm (½ in) cubes. Combine the potato and stock in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium–high heat. Unwrap the dough and, holding it in one hand, pinch and stretch a small piece of dough from the ball until you have a small 3–4 cm (1¼–1½ in) piece. Tear it off and drop it into the boiling stock. Repeat with the remaining dough.
3. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally. The dumplings are cooked when they float to the surface. Season with the fish sauce, add the spring onion and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
4. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and serve hot with the cabbage kimchi.

 

Recipe and images from Little Korea Iconic Dishes and Cult Recipes by Billy Law, Smith Street Books, RRP $49.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.