Chicken Dumpling Soup

A simple and nourishing Chicken Dumpling Soup from the Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. Recipe with step-by-step photos.

chicken dumpling soup in bowl with blue pattern with silver spoon

A little while back, I had posted quite a few reviews on recipes from Rachel Khoo’s delightful French cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen. For a short time, it looked like I was cooking my way through the book, and indeed I was – just a lot of the recipes haven’t made it to my blog for various reasons.

Having been distracted by some events in recent months, I’m hoping to do a little catch-up here on the blog, starting with this post on Rachel Khoo’s Chicken Dumpling Soup, to be followed shortly by an in-depth review of a few other recipes from The Little Paris Kitchen.

For me, The Little Paris Kitchen has been a choice cookbook purchase this year. It’s rather rare that I am inspired to cook so much from one cookbook, even when a recipe hasn’t worked out or if I find the instructions to be a little confusing, or even when a recipe doesn’t even excite me in the first place!

When I first saw the segment on Rachel Khoo’s cooking show for her Chicken Dumpling Soup, I marvelled at how simple it looked, but I never thought I would actually try to make it; when I think of a chicken dumpling soup, I think of my mother’s version which is heady with coriander (cilantro), spring onions, pepper, chillies and lime. Now that is a soup which can comfort and chase the blues away.

But in the spirit of trying new recipes, I gave Rachel Khoo’s version a try.

chicken dumpling soup in bowl with blue pattern with small bowl of salt

As someone who doesn’t normally have homemade chicken stock to hand in the fridge, I opted for some quality chicken stock cubes. And perhaps that was the wrong foot to start on. Given that a chicken soup relies heavily on the quality of its stock, taking this shortcut was perhaps not the best idea as chicken stock cubes are often quite heavily flavoured and are not as subtle as when homemade. But having used stock cubes for my soup base, this recipe was rather a breeze to make.

The chicken dumplings were very quick to put together. The ingredients are simply whizzed together in the food processor into a paste, and then shaped into quenelles before being added to the soup. A quenelle is shaped like a little football and which can easily be achieved by using two teaspoons in a scooping motion. At a pinch, you could just simply dollop small amounts of the paste into the soup (the paste will be too gloopy to be handled with your hands).

The whole time when recreating Rachel Khoo’s recipe, I was itching to add some coriander (cilantro), chillies or even fish sauce in order to turn the soup into my mother’s Vietnamese chicken dumpling soup where the dumplings are also shaped into quenelles and the broth is sweetened with chunks of carrots. This was a staple dish from my childhood whenever someone at home felt poorly. But I persisted in following the recipe and remarkably managed to serve the soup for dinner that evening sans any Asian ingredients.

Overall, I liked Rachel Khoo’s Chicken Dumpling Soup, but I think I like my mother’s version better 😉

I think the soup would have tasted much better if the broth was made from scratch, so I think I will try that next time.

If anyone else has made this soup, I would love to hear your thoughts!

For a printable recipe, please scroll down.

ingredients for chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

step by step photos for making chicken dumpling soup

Print

Chicken Dumpling Soup

chicken dumpling soup rachel khoo

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: eatlittlebird.com
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4

A simple and nourishing Chicken Dumpling Soup. Recipe adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

Ingredients

  • 1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock (preferably homemade)
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
  • 200g (7 oz) chicken breasts, roughly sliced
  • 100g (3.5 oz) sliced white bread, crusts removed
  • 100 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) single cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • pinch of fresh nutmeg
  • handful of white mushrooms, sliced thickly
  • flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Bring the stock to a boil in a large saucepan.
  2. Add the carrots to the stock and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are cooked.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the quenelles (or chicken dumplings). Place the chicken breasts, white bread, cream, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until you have a smooth paste. The mixture should be quite wet.
  4. Shape the paste into quenelles by using two large spoons, scooping the mixture back and forth between the spoons until the paste is shaped like a football.
  5. Bring to the stock to a boil.
  6. Drop the quenelles into the stock as you form them. They will need 3-5 minutesto cook through.
  7. Slice some mushrooms (as little or as much as you like) and add this to the soup shortly before serving.
  8. Taste the soup for seasoning. You many need to add some salt or pepper, or even perhaps some water. Much depends on the stock which you have used.
  9. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Kitchen Notes

You can add some small pasta shells to the soup to make it a bit more substantial.

The food processor was hell to clean afterwards! Somehow the paste ended up in every nook and cranny of the bowl, blade, lid, etc. Be prepared to slave a bit over the kitchen sink, although I hope you will be luckier than I was.

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 348
  • Sugar: 9.4g
  • Sodium: 706.3mg
  • Fat: 13.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 29.4g
  • Fiber: 1.8g
  • Protein: 26g
  • Cholesterol: 154.3mg

Did you make this recipe?

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85 comments

  1. Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom 16 November 2012

    I love this!!!! Looks so warm, inviting and delicious!!!

    Reply
    • Xanthe 23 January 2018

      This is a fantastic little AUSTRIAN (probably Sud Tirol/Italian in origin) recipe that you can adapt as you wish. Very easy, very flexible and very tasty however you wish to serve it; plain or spicy, fragrant or traditional.

      I have cooked this exact chicken dumpling recipe a few times, using homemade stock and I have also added additional flavours using whatever I have in the kitchen with great results. Today I have a duck carcass so will try substituting chicken for duck and see how it goes.

      Reply
      • Eat, Little Bird 27 January 2018

        I think homemade stock would make all the difference here. I’m sure it would be equally delicious made with a duck carcass – hope you enjoyed the results!

        Reply
  2. Melange 16 November 2012

    My God,I can’t resist…Perfect season for that soup..Loved your ingredient clicks..Fresh and clean as usual..

    Reply
  3. TheSpicySaffron 16 November 2012

    Awww, it happens so many times with me too, Thanh. Sometimes our taste buds are conditioned to like a dish with the distinct old flavor. More so, nothing is comparable to food cooked by one’s mother 🙂
    Loving the technique of making/cooking quenelles for this soup. Can’t figure out it’s texture , though. Was it soft and spongy?
    Picture are perfect as usual!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 November 2012

      Oh you are probably right – nothing beats your own mother’s cooking 🙂

      I’ve tried quenelles before, served the traditional way where they are baked and served with a creamy tomato sauce. The quenelles for this soup were a bit different, perhaps because they were cooked in a broth. They were indeed quite soft and spongy and didn’t quite taste of chicken. Maybe I was a bit light on the seasoning, but I wanted to follow the recipe quite closely.

      I would be curious to know if anyone else has tried this recipe and found it to suit their tastes.

      Reply
    • Bluntsworth 24 June 2014

      The texture is supposed to be light and fluffy. I prefer to put more than a pinch of nutmeg int he dumplings, also I use 5 pieces of white bread, making them a little more fluffy, as opposed to a higher ratio of chicken breast. You could try dark meat also like drumsticks if u want. My wife and I like it when I add leeks to the broth about 10 minutes before boiling the dumplings. They help give a store bought stock more body and flavor. Finally, it is imperative that you do not use chicken broth or bouillon cubes for this. The broth is very important. I would only use Knorrs bouillon cubes if you must, mixed with a liter of really good chicken stock. Add your carrots and boil down to the broth strength that you prefer. I prefer Trader Joe’s Organic, free range chicken stock, it just has a more chickeny flavor. Also, add the parsley after the soup is in the bowl, not in the main pot, as it will turn brown and give you off flavors. Add the mushrooms no sooner than 1 minute before you take the soup off the burner, otherwise they will get soggy.

      Reply
  4. Rushi 17 November 2012

    Thanh I too would be dying to add coriander to the original recipe, it’s just that certain spices and herbs are part and parcel of the way we cook that it’s sometimes so difficult to move away. I do hope you’d post your mom’s version because I’d love to try it out.
    I’m guessing that my hubby would like this recipe as he’s not a big fan of all things spicy so when I do make this I’ll pop in and leave an update.
    xo

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 17 November 2012

      I’m glad you feel the same way 🙂 I do enjoy western-style soups but Asian broths always appeal much more to me. This particular soup is far from spicy so I hope your husband will enjoy it 🙂

      Reply
  5. Christine @ Cooking Crusade 17 November 2012

    I just looove your photography and caption style!!!! Very cool. This soup looks perfect, wouldn’t mind a bowl of that right now, esp with some noodles 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 17 November 2012

      Thanks, Christine 🙂 I would definitely add some noodles or small pasta to this soup to make it a bit more substantial.

      Reply
  6. Peiji 20 November 2012

    I can watch the episodes all day, and this does look interesting
    but at the same time, I feel like the texture of the quenelle’s
    might turn me off ><

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 22 November 2012

      I guess you won’t know unless you try it … I think some extra seasoning in the quenelles may have made a difference, but the texture would have still been a bit too spongey for me. At the end of the day, I’m glad I tried the recipe and at least it confirmed that nothing beats my mother’s chicken dumpling soup 🙂

      Reply
  7. Peiji 20 November 2012

    I really want to try her spring lamb stew though 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 22 November 2012

      Me too! I thought about making it in early spring but I hope to try it sooner or later.

      Reply
  8. Paula 20 November 2012

    Wow! Even if I really love Rachel Khoo, it’s true that this isn’t one of my favourite recipes! I saw it, not eat it, but I knew it would be difficult for me to go into the kitchen to cook it, and if you don’r recommend it, I think I have no more to think about 😉

    I’m not very friend of soups, and the idea of a dumplin in my soup, even if I know it’s usual in some type of cuisine, it’s not my strong point 😛

    Anyway, is nice to see you again!! And I see you have Katie’s book, I was thinking about buyin it, cos it looks so nice and cute!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 22 November 2012

      That’s interesting that you saw this recipe and it didn’t interest you. It didn’t interest me much either but I was just curious to try it. I actually love dumplings in general, especially Austrian dumplings, but I’ve only ever eaten those steamed or baked as a side-dish, never in a soup. And Rachel Khoo’s Baguette Dumplings are incredibly delicious with Boeuf Bourguignon!

      Yes, I recently received a copy of Katie’s new cookbook and am so happy to have it 🙂 The Sticky Chicken with Sesame and Chilli were absolutely delicious!! I have tried quite a few similar recipes for sticky chicken wings and Katie’s recipe was very good, something I will definitely make again, especially since you don’t need to marinate the chicken beforehand. I can’t wait to try more recipes from her book 🙂

      Reply
      • Paula 12 December 2012

        The funny thing is that I like the dumplings of Rachel’s Bourguignon, but here, with the soup, too much for me, jajaja
        I love potato balls of German food sometimes, and some other I hate them, it depends of the recipe, the restaurant, I mean, cos never have tried at home!

        But, since I saw the recipe at Rachel’s TV show, I want to try the bourguignon with the baguette dumplings, it sounds so nice!!

        Reply
    • Bluntsworth 24 June 2014

      You should give this one a try. My family loves it. It’s not too difficult, but the stock takes some finagling. I like to add some rosemary and thyme to the broth. Also, I use a TON of carrots, which helps add depth, along with leeks. The leeks give it a terrific flavor. I also use a lot of nutmeg in the dumplings, cuz I like nutmeg. lol. So i use like 1tsp per 200g chicken.

      Anyway, you should give it a shot.

      Reply
  9. anita menon 24 November 2012

    Beautiful recipe. Would want to adapt this to a vegetarian version….

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 26 November 2012

      Hi Anita,
      I think quenelles are more traditionally made with fish, so that is definitely an alternative to this chicken version.

      Reply
  10. Jennifer (Delicieux) 5 December 2012

    What a shame the soup wasn’t quite as good as you’d hoped Thanh. It looks so delicious and comforting nonetheless. Especially those dumplings. Have shared your mothers chicken soup. If not I’d love to see that recipe as I’m sure it’s amazing.

    Reply
  11. The Food Sage 11 December 2012

    I’d love the recipe for your mother’s version of chicken dumpling soup … sounds more my cup of tea!!

    Reply
  12. Stacy 30 December 2012

    Made the recipe, but used thighs and added cracked pepper. After watching Rachel’s videos, she doesn’t use salt and pepper the way I do, so I bumped up the seasoning. Was very yummy on a cold and rainy Los Angeles day!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 30 December 2012

      I would agree with some extra seasoning. How wonderful to hear of people cooking French food all the way in Los Angeles! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.

      Reply
  13. alan 30 December 2012

    i saw the episode where Rachel prepared this. It seemed sort of a ‘cheat’, her pouring stock from a bottle, until i heard her state that she had made some previously and stored it. i was intrigued when she was making the quenelles with chicken and so on…….and then i realized i was simply watching someone make standard ‘chicken soup with matzoh balls (albeit with ‘chicken’ matzoh balls, but nonetheless…) that is a standard in Jewish culinary fare. i was not surprised by many comments here of a ‘spongey’ texture, as that is what matzoh balls have. but after seeing comments of ‘lack of flavor, of spice’ and the overall ‘would rather not’, i shall skip this one. (however i did purchase her book!)

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 30 December 2012

      You are quite spot on in that this soup is quite similar to a Jewish chicken soup with matzoh balls. I guess Rachel’s version has the chicken meatballs shaped into quenelles for a French touch. I think if you like a bit more spice and flavour in your food, I would season the quenelles much more and, to that end, season the broth differently too. Having said that, there is probably a place for a simple chicken soup as per Rachel’s recipe. Whilst this particular recipe wasn’t quite a hit in our home, her book still remains a favourite for me 🙂

      Reply
  14. Anita 4 January 2013

    To clean your food processor: ad warm soapy water to the bowl, pulse for 10 seconds, wash as usual. No nooks & crannies mess.

    Reply
  15. maya 10 February 2013

    I saw this on YouTube and searched for the recipe. That is how I found this blog. I just ordered Rachael’s book but it had not arrived yet. Thank you for posting the recipe. Just made it and it’s fantastic! Made this type of dumplings before and they always fell apart this came out perfect and soup is so sweet because of carrots and mushrooms. Serving it to kids when my little one wakes up, can’t wait for his reaction, he is my ultimate seal of approval 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 13 February 2013

      I’m glad to hear that this recipe worked out for you. Hope your little ones will enjoy this soup! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply
  16. The Patterned Plate 15 February 2013

    Hmm, I can see how this would be plain for your tastebuds 😉 I do think the chicken stock has a lot to do with a pared down broth like this, so maybe that’s the difference? I tried making dumplings once…unmitigated disaster! Have to give it another go and I might try this one out. But then again, I have my mother’s spiced chicken soup, there’s the vietnamese pho, there’s chinese noodle soups, Malay Laksa’s and whoa, that’s a heck of a lotta punch for such a simple broth to stand up to!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 February 2013

      Too right! I think you and I are perhaps used to more punchy broths so this simple soup was a bit too simple for my liking. But again, I think it was completely due to me using a stock cube when a good, homemade chicken stock would have made a world of a difference. I ought to give this recipe another try but bump up the flavourings a bit.

      Reply
  17. rob 15 February 2013

    Thanks so much for breaking down this recipe. I made this for Valentines day and it was very impressive. To make this recipe i think you need to be all in. I went to Whole Foods and bought an over priced chicken and boned it my selve for the breasts and used the rest to make this stock. This is probably the most important part since the stock makes this dish work. One thing I did was put the breasts in my freezer for 45 mins which i think helps with the food processor. The mushrooms were a great touch and only needed a min. Otherwise i loved this dish and it was a fun simple elegant dish.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 February 2013

      Thank you so much for your comment. You have confirmed that this soup would be absolutely delicious if prepared “correctly”, that is to say, with a proper chicken stock. The next time I make this soup, I would also go about it the same way as you have. I would also recommend that others do the same! Did you add any additional herbs or vegetables when making the stock?

      Reply
      • rob 16 February 2013

        I meant to mention that I made a brown chicken stock. I roasted the chicken bones and vegs ( leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic at 450 for 45 Min. ) I resisted adding any herbs besides parsely because I wanted to make the recipe as exact as possible. I should add that this is a dish that is better the next day. Definity buying her cook book.

        Reply
        • eat, little bird 17 February 2013

          No wonder your soup tasted so delicious! You have inspired me to make this soup again very soon. It sounds like you also enjoy cooking very much. You will not be disappointed by Rachel Khoo’s book. I hope you will try her other recipes also.

          Reply
          • rob 17 February 2013

            Yeah, to make this dish you have to search out the very best ingrediance your town has to offer. I also spend three days on the stock. First day, make stock, strain it and cool it. Second day- clearify stock at least twice. Third day, reduce stock in half. You want that deep dark rich stock for this dish and if you watch how Rachel made the dish that is what she had. I think you need to think a little like a Pariesen.

            rob

            Reply
  18. David 19 February 2013

    For us, it is a great recipe when we are in the mood for clean, simple looking, light flavors. We loved the texture of quenelles especially, scented with nutmeg. Lovely dish. A huge compliment to you on the photos!!!

    Reply
  19. Annabella 17 March 2013

    I too loved this recipe; am a great fan of Rachel Khoo. BUT can anyone tell me the make & source of the hand-held food processor she uses; she just throws everything in including the meat & whizzes it ! Any clues about the make?

    Reply
    • Melissa 23 March 2013

      Hi Annabella, if you haven’t found out by now, the processor she uses is Electrolux Mixer – Ultra Pro Mix. In a different post elsewhere people were looking for it and someone mentioned an interview where Rachel mentioned it by name. Apparently though no one could find it for sale any longer. Alternatives were thrown out and a Cuisinart immersion blender w/whisk and food processor attachment is a good compromise. Hope that helps!

      Reply
      • eat, little bird 24 March 2013

        Thanks for your response, Melissa! These stick blenders with a bowl attachment are quite popular and I think most brands do the same thing. They are very handy for small kitchens and I used to own one when I was a student. But it’s always good to know what brands chefs use 🙂

        Reply
  20. Margret 21 March 2013

    Thank you for beautiful description, but in reading it all I wanted was to try out your childhood version of chicken dumpling soup, sounds delichious, do you share such things?

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 24 March 2013

      Hi Margret,
      It’s rather heartwarming that so many people want to know about my mum’s version of chicken dumpling soup. I hope to post the recipe soon 🙂 With a young baby at the moment, time for blogging has unfortunately been a bit scarce but I hope to have more uploaded soon.

      Reply
  21. stephanie 22 March 2013

    Hi there,

    I have made just the quenelles, cooked in the stock and then I made a sauce Blanche with the juice of the stock then I put my quenelles into a dish with the sauce Blanche on the top and added some cheese and I put that in the oven for 10 min to brown the cheese. I served that with salade and it was delicious !!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 24 March 2013

      That sounds delicious!! It also sounds similar to how quenelles are traditionally served, a dish which I like very much. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  22. Donna 12 April 2013

    Yum!Thank you for this recipe. I added some pasta and some celery as well and it was so tasty! I will definitely be making this again

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 12 April 2013

      I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! I also like the addition of pasta to this soup.

      Reply
  23. tryinghardtocook 22 April 2013

    Just made this! The visuals were really helpful? I added onions to give the stock a bit more flavour. Delicious

    Reply
  24. DAVID AZZOPARDI 21 June 2013

    Hi winter in Australia at the moment. This recipe caught my eye on TV. So I will give it a go looks wholesome for a cold Winters night. Thankyou.

    Dave

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 24 June 2013

      This is definitely comforting winter food. I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

      Reply
  25. Cataluna 22 June 2013

    I decided to make this last minute for dinner tonight, which is where I discovered your lovely website. Because it was last minute I didn’t make my own stock, but used a combo of powdered vegie stock and a chicken stock pot (the jelly one). I forgot to add nutmeg to the soup & added extra salt & pepper to the quenelles, but I thought it was a lovely, filling soup, perfect to warm me up on a cold winter night. It’s the first time I’ve made quenelles, so that was an adventure! I’d love to try this again with homemade stock. And I’ll definitely be trying other recipes from Rachel’s book.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 23 June 2013

      I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. I’m sure it will taste even more special with homemade stock, something which I plan to try very soon! Have fun cooking from Rachel’s book – she has a lovely collection of recipes.

      Reply
  26. Karen 23 June 2013

    Hi all you fellow foodies, from the Sunshine State of Queensland, Australia!

    We’ve just passed the winter solstice here so, like David said above, this recipe is perfect for right now.

    I’m also hooked on Rachel Koo (and another couple of Poms who feature in the ‘Spice Trip’. A double treat for Thursday night telly but just one more Little Paris Kitchen left now, alas).

    I came across your blog looking for her chicken dumpling recipe. Thank you so much eat little bird (?Piaf) for posting your superb step-by-step instructions. I bought chicken breasts y’day especially so hope to try it tonight. Forgot mushrooms though so will add roasted onions and more seasoning too.

    The original is probably perfect for anyone ‘feeling poorly’ – plain, comfort food. My Mum’s chicken noodle soup evokes special memories for me, being the first thing I ate after being ill for a week! Heaven on a stick 🙂

    And yep, I’ve learned there is NO substitute for real stock!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 23 June 2013

      Hi Karen,
      Lovely to hear from another foodie from Queensland 🙂

      Good luck with this recipe – I hope you will enjoy it as much as some others have. You can certainly play around with the ingredients a bit and I would definitely up the seasoning for both the broth and quenelles.

      Chicken soup seems to be comfort food to a lot of people and Rachel’s version is a nice take on the classic. If you can use homemade stock, you’re already off to a wonderful start!

      Reply
  27. Bea 24 June 2013

    Hi, yup, Winter in Australia and we just saw the episode covering this soup. It looked sooo delicious and I had to try it. We had visitors, and as I had served a heavy meal the day before ( slow cooked lamb shanks ) i thought a lighter meal before their return trip would be good. It was a full hit! The grown man liked it the same then my 6 year old daughter! I used Massel vegetarian chicken flavour stock and spiced the dumplings a bit more. They where delicious!!! We did feel quite satisfied – no pasta needed. P S I made double batch, worked well ( the mix-thingie similar to Rachels had to work hard) love & Respect Bea and thank you for the great job re-creating this here!!!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 24 June 2013

      It’s wonderful to hear that your family and guests enjoyed this recipe! The quality of the stock makes a big difference so thank you for letting us know what you used. It sounds like you are a great cook so I’m sure your tweaks to this recipe made it very delicious 🙂

      Reply
  28. Kelly 1 July 2013

    I love the look of this soup! Also LOVE the sound of your mum’s soup!!! Mmmmmm Vietnamese….. Do you think you could blog your mum’s recipe?!?!

    Reply
  29. Kristina 1 July 2013

    So happy to report that everything was splendid .. maybe it’s all in the expectations? My German grandmother made sublime dumplings, and I’ve tried everything, but nothing rose to MY expectations. Until now. I was highly dubious about raw chicken in dumplings (?), but they were light as could be, and delicious, indeed like little sponges I used homemade broth. The whole thing was great .. and I had no trouble whatsoever with clean-up of the food processor. I don’t know what make yours is .. mine is the standard Cuisinart, but it washed easily with soap and water, and the dough confined itself nearly completely to the interior of the bowl. This is a wonderful recipe!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 July 2013

      I’m pleased that this recipe worked out for you! I think perhaps the success of this recipe is dependent on your homemade broth. I really ought to try this recipe again soon with some better stock, especially after reading all of the positive feedback here 🙂

      Reply
  30. Rebecca 8 July 2013

    I think using good chicken stock would make all the difference with this recipe – I didn’t use homemade stock as I am pretty time-poor, but I used a really good quality carton stock from the supermarket. I also used baby carrots for extra sweetness and baby brown button mushrooms as I prefer them to the standard white cap mushrooms.
    I too was a bit unused to the texture of the dumplings but I could probably get used to it! I might have a play around with the quantities of chicken to bread to see if that makes a difference.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 July 2013

      I have also wondered about the chicken to bread ratio and if more bread might mean a more fluffy dumpling? That said, my dumplings turned out quite light, just a texture I’m not really used to. Perhaps I should instead reduce the amount of bread …

      Reply
  31. Hing-Yang 16 July 2013

    I had a go at making this soup last night. Instead of white bread I used whole wheat. I added garlic to the mix too. For the stock I used cubes supplemented by chicken bones (from the breast), some slices of chicken in excess of the 200grams and I added celery and an onion (onions are great in most soups!).

    In terms of the results, I must say it was very unusual at first, but it was light, spongy and springy (bit like chinese beef balls) to bite. The whole wheat does make it a little darker in colour (not much) but definitely gives it a nice texture. Overall I loved it and the soup was excellent. BTW I only added the parsley into the soup bowl not the pot.

    Now I’ll try it on my unwitting friends 🙂 as a starter, followed by my homemade mince beef (& ale) and onion pie.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 July 2013

      Sounds like you have made this recipe your own 🙂 Your changes sound wonderful and I think adding chicken bones to the stock would boost the flavour immensely. That’s also interesting that you used whole wheat bread – that would also add a different flavour to the soup and dumplings, I think. Thank you so much for leaving your feedback! I’m sure your friends will love your version. In fact, it sounds like they are in for a delicious treat at your place!

      Reply
  32. Rich Price 27 July 2013

    The only thing that makes nervous about this dish is how the chicken cooks so quickly?

    (I know, I know, but I am the kind of person that cooks meat for 20 mins if it only needed 10)

    🙂

    Reply
  33. ron shapley(NYC) 2 August 2013

    Add what you want.. It’s JUST cooking. Be experimental. That’s the fun of it all..

    Reply
  34. Sarah 31 January 2014

    Hello. I saw the episode of Rachel Khoo a while ago on BBC and I thought to myself, I outta make it. I love chicken soup! But I forgot about it, and now The little Paris kitchen is running on a cookchannel in Belgium and I taped the episodes and there was the chicek soup 🙂
    Later this week I’m gonna try it, pretty sure my baby of 1 will like it, she eat’s everything 🙂
    The husband and 3 year old are a harder crowd 🙂 He’s into “normal” food and my 3 year old is into cookies and all that is sweet 🙂
    But he always incourages me to try new things, as I often do.

    I found your blog while looking for the exact recipe and I really like your blog, gonna try some recipes from it.

    Bye 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 31 January 2014

      You’re lucky that your baby will eat everything! My 14mo son is a bit fussy …

      I hope you will enjoy this recipe, as well as a few other recipes from Rachel Khoo which I have shared on the blog. I loved her show, The Little Paris Kitchen, and can’t wait for her new show to air on TV. Happy cooking!

      Reply
  35. Flo 23 August 2014

    Just tried this soup tonight after her cookbook sat gathering dust on my shelf. Was inspired to tweak it a bit after reading about your childhood soup. I added a dried chilli in to give it a bit of a kick and loved it. Also only had tetra stock on hand so I embellished it with some onions and watered down the strong flavour. Hubby to be has requested this as part of his dinner list now. Win!

    Reply
  36. lynjames 5 October 2014

    This recipe is BRILLIANT, if you haven’t tried it. Go ahead it’s easy, and warming when you are missing things in life.

    Reply
  37. jeru 14 December 2014

    I did not fuss with anything. Used the bread with the crust. Used two whole eggs. Used water with a bullion cube in it. Skipped the carrots and mushrooms. It still came out fabulous. Will use matza if I have it. This soup can be made to be anything you like, Cajen ,Creole, Greek, French, Jewish whatever. The thing is, the increase flavor and nutrition in the dumplings by adding the chicken. It is a great basic receipt. Thank you Rachel for sharing it. JF

    Reply
  38. Becmania 19 January 2015

    Don’t know about the soup, but I made the quenelles and fried them in olive oil, then served them with some zucchini spaghetti with pumpkin sauce. Delish!

    Reply
  39. Sarah 5 February 2015

    I find it strange that this recipe get’s so many dislikes. Ever since I saw it on Rachel Khoo’s program I’ve been very excited to try this. I always like a little peace and quit when I try new recipes in the kitchen, and that’s not that easy with a 2 and 4 year old in the house 🙂 Hopefully I can try to make it next week! Make it a little bit my own with adding some spring onions and leeks.

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 5 February 2015

      I think a good-quality chicken stock is key in this recipe, and the flavour can only be improved with additional ingredients like spring onions and leeks. We all have different tastes – for some, this recipe is lovely as it is. For others, it needs a bit of tweaking to suit individual tastes. That’s just the nature of cooking, I suppose 🙂

      Reply
  40. JULIA DAY 23 April 2015

    THANKS FOR THE CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP RECIPE.

    Reply
  41. Rose 11 April 2018

    I love Rachel Khoo’s recipes! This was one of the first recipes I made after watching her TV show. I really love it, but I add a lot more herbs and seasoning to mine.






    Reply
  42. Julia 12 April 2018

    Interesting idea! Very tasty! and quite original! Thank you!






    Reply
  43. Nimisha Kale 9 August 2020

    Hi…
    can we skip adding single or double cream??what else can we add instead of cream in the recipe.
    Thank u
    Nimisha

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 13 August 2020

      If you are looking for a non-dairy alternative, you could substitute with a soy-based cream or plant-based cream (e.g. almond milk cream).

      Reply
  44. Pat Helsel 15 February 2021

    I make a similar soup from my mother in law’s recipe. But hers uses a simple dumpling made from farina hot cereal, egg and salt. It’s a favorite.

    Reply