Tofu Chicken and Dumplings

Delicious. This was so delicious. It takes longer than I would like, so it’s not going to be a week day dish by any means.

My tofu chicken cooking came from some suggestions how to cook chicken in Cooking for Dummies and the general chicken and dumplings recipe originally came from ‘Chicken’ and Dumplings at VegCooking.

Tofu Chicken and Dumplings

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Tofu Chicken:

1 14oz tofu
1 tsp thyme
3/4 tsp basil
1 tbsp olive oil

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter
1 cup milk (I used whole milk.)

Soup:

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
5 cups water
2 medium carrots, diced
1/2 tsp bay leaf

Cut tofu to resemble “chicken.” Heat about olive oil and put in tofu. Add thyme and basil and mix. Then cook until golden brown.

Combine the dry ingredients for the dumplings in a bowl. Mix the butter with the dry mixture until crumbly. Add the milk and stirring until moistened. Add more milk if the mixture is too dry.

Knead the dough for 30 seconds on a well-floured surface, then roll to 1/8-inch thickness, and cut into 1/2-inch squares. (I really suck at this and need some instructions, possibly from my Grandma Caffee. But check out the marble rolling pin that I inherited from my Great-Grandma Parker.)

Place the butter, onion, and celery for the soup in a large saucepan and saute until the vegetables are soft.

Add the flour, salt, and pepper to make a thick paste.

Slowly mix in the broth and 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Leave to boil for 30 minutes and stir about every 5 minutes.

Add another cup of water and add the carrots, tofu, and bay leaf. Add the dumpling squares one at a time, stirring gently. I had to push some of the dumplings out of way to drop in the new ones. It gets full.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Serve hot.