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French Onion Soup Dumplings

These soup dumplings are made with a caramelized onion filling and rich gelatin beef broth that turns to a liquid as the dumplings are pan-fried with a lace of crispy Gruyère cheese on the bottoms.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian, French
Keyword caramelized onions, dumpling, french onion, gruyere, pan-fried dumpling, soup dumpling
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 day
Servings 24 dumplings

Ingredients

For the broth:

  • 3 pounds beef bones
  • 1 medium yellow onion, halved
  • ¼ cup red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 3 envelopes (¾ ounce) powdered unflavored gelatin

For the caramelized onions:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the dough:

  • 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup cornstarch, plus additional for rolling out the dough
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

For serving:

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
  • 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, for garnish
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the broth:

  • Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Arrange the bones and onion on a baking sheet and roast until the bones are browned, about 1 hour.
  • Add the red wine to the baking sheet to deglaze the pan. Remove bones, onion and any browned bits to a large pot or Dutch oven and add 2 quarts (2L) water bay leaves and peppercorns.
  • Bring the mixture just to a boil over medium heat then lower and simmer, using a spoon to skim off any scum and fat that rises to the surface and discard. Continue to simmer (just a few small bubbles) until halved, about 1 hour.
  • Strain the broth and discard the bones, onions and spices. You should be left with about 4 cups (946ml) to 5 cups (1183ml) of broth.
  • Let the broth come to room temperature then whisk in the gelatin and let it sit to bloom. If it’s too hot the gelatin may clump.
  • Add the broth to a 9” x 9” (23 cm x 23 cm) pan and refrigerate overnight until the broth has a jelly-like consistency.

For the caramelized onions:

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and heat through. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the onions and toss quickly to remove the moisture from the onions.
  • Sauté until the onions are soft and tender, about 10 minutes, then sprinkle the sugar and salt over the onions (to help them caramelize) and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are uniformly brown and caramelized, about 30 to 45 minutes. Set aside.

For the dough:

  • In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, yeast and sugar. Stir ⅔ cup (227g) of warm (not hot) water into the flour mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula (add additional water one teaspoon/ 5g at a time if the dough is too dry).
  • Once the dough begins to come together, use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth.
  • Cut the dough in half and wrap each with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
  • Sprinkle a workspace with cornstarch and unwrap the dough.
  • Roll each half into a long log about 1” (2.5cm) in diameter. Cut each log crosswise into 12 (1” / 2.5cm) wide pieces and roll each into a ball. Cover the pieces of dough with a damp kitchen towel so the dough does not dry out.
  • Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a 5” (12cm) circle. Sprinkle the dough lightly with additional cornstarch if it begins to stick. Sprinkle the finished wrapper lightly with cornstarch.
  • Cover with a damp towel and repeat the process, stacking each wrapper on top of the previous one until all of the dough has been used. Keep the wrappers under the damp towel while assembling.

For assembly and cooking:

  • In a medium mixing bowl combine the caramelized onions, 2 cups of the gruyere cheese and 1½ cup of the gelatin broth.
  • Working one wrapper at a time, scoop about 1 tablespoon (15g) of the filling in the center of one of the dough wrappers. Fold the dough up and around the filling, pleating and pinching around the top until completely sealed.
  • Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with a bit of cornstarch so the dumplings don’t stick. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. At this point either proceed to cooking the dumplings or freeze them until ready to use.
  • When ready to cook, place a large sauté pan with a lid over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons (27g) of the vegetable oil and heat through.
  • Working in batches, arrange the dumplings in the pan, flat side down, so they are packed in but not touching. Fry the dumplings, uncovered, until the bottoms of the dumplings are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add ¼ cup (25g) of the Gruyere cheese and allow it to melt then add ⅓ cup (79ml) water to the pan and quickly cover tightly with a lid (do this quickly, as the liquid will splatter). Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the bottoms of the dumplings are crisp and golden and the meat inside is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Use a spatula to remove the dumplings and melted cheese from the pan. Repeat with the remaining dumplings and oil. Serve topped with thyme.

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