Dough Drop Soup
疙瘩汤
English: Dough Drop Soup
Chinese: 疙瘩汤
Pinyin: ge da tang
Literal: lump/dumpling soup
Of all the different Chinese styles of cooking, I find myself craving jia chang cai (家常菜), or ‘Home-Style Cooking’, more than any other. Dishes like Dough Drop Soup (gēdà tāng | 疙瘩汤) are not showy or elaborate; they’re grandma’s food, cooked when you’re feeling under the weather. When we want something comforting on the table, it’s often warming and simple dishes we need. Dough Drop Soup fits the bill. All the soup needs is a few tomatoes, a handful of aromatics, flour and an egg and twenty minutes or so on the stove. Geda tang translates to ‘lumpy soup’ or ‘dough drop soup’ and is a real classic of Beijing, beloved by locals, but not as well-known to visitors who come to the capital seeking out Peking Duck and hot pot.
The first time I ate Dough Drop Soup, I had no idea what it was, but it was exactly what was needed after a day exploring the cold winter streets of Beijing. It was late January, just before Spring Festival and I was new to China. It was my first experience of a quiet Beijing. Most Chinese cities completely shut down around this time as everyone travels home. The metro was empty, the roads were quiet and restaurants all closed. Every boulevard and narrow hutong around Tiananmen Square was deserted, but near to Qianmen, the old Front Gate of the city, I found a local restaurant still serving. I ordered a bowl of soup, and a huge blue-and-white porcelain bowl arrived, brimming with a thick, warming soup—easily enough for six people.I tucked in, but was puzzled by the ‘lumps’: too chewy for rice, too soft for beans, perhaps an unusual grain of the North? I thought. I later discovered these chewy bits were tiny dough dumplings made of wheat flour.
There are a few techniques for making these dough drops. Some cooks slowly add water to dry flour, mixing until pea-sized pieces form. Others prepare a thick batter and drop it through a slotted spoon into the soup. Another method involves grating firmer dough directly into the pot. I’ve found the first method to be the most foolproof, so that’s the one I’ve included here. It’s simple, satisfying, and perfectly captures the essence of this dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Dough (疙瘩)
160g all-purpose flour
30ml-100ml water (adjust as needed)
⅛ teaspoon of salt
For the Broth
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped (white and green parts separated)
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1-2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon of huang dou jiang (yellow bean paste) (optional)
1.2 litres of chicken or vegetable stock
1 handful of leafy greens (spinach, bok choy, or napa cabbage)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
Salt and white pepper to taste
Method
Note: Depending on your flour, you might need a tiny amount of water, or a bit more. Generally use as little water as you can get away with.
First make the ‘dough lumps’. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt. Drizzle in the water very slowly, a few drops each time, as you constantly stir the flour with chopsticks until small pea-sized lumps of dough form. Use something with a narrow spout so that you can control the water flow. I use a plastic water bottle. f you add too much water at once, you’ll end up with a solid dough, rather than pieces.
Prepare the broth. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok over a low heat. Add the garlic and white parts of the spring onions and fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Turn up the heat to medium. Add the diced tomatoes, a pinch of salt, the sugar, soy sauce and the yellow bean paste, if using. The bean paste will add a richer flavour to the final dish. Cook until the tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 3-5 minutes.
Pour in the chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle boil.
Gradually sprinkle the dough lumps, one small handful at a time into the boiling broth. Stir the broth as you add the dough to prevent the lumps sticking to each other. Keep stirring for about a minute until the lumps have started to cook.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the dough lumps are cooked. The soup will start to get thicker at this point. If it’s too thick add a bit more water.
Stir in the greens and cook for 1 minute.
Drizzle the beaten egg slowly into the soup while stirring the soup in one direction to create silky egg ribbons.
Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the green parts of the scallions. Serve immediately.
