Putsin: A Family Tradition

There are few things more precious to me than spending time with my family. I'm not exactly sure when I realized it, but at some point,it became very clear that the moments I spend surrounded by those beautiful people are the meaning of life. Those stories, memories, that connection, it's truly as good as it gets.

Last Saturday, my mom invited us over to her house for dinner and said she'd be making Putsin. Putsin is a cherished family recipe on my mom's, mom's side of the family. My aunties and second cousins are always making it in their homes, and it's become a favorite of many of their children. I must have heard of Putsin a million times, but somehow I'd never actually tried it. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to learn how to make it... and let's be honest, I was pretty damn excited about eating it too. 

By now, I'm sure you're wondering where the name Putsin comes from. Yeah, me too. Honestly, I have no idea, and no one I talk to seems to know either... including Google. Poutine comes up in an internet search over and over again, but that's definitely not what we're talking about here. I'll keep looking, but for now, we're all going to have to let go of that inherent need to have all the answers. I know, it's hard for me too.

 

While I was rolling out the dough and cutting the dumplings, my mom kept referring to members of her family: "Auntie Renee makes these all the time, so I called her for tips," and "Grandma said they have to boil for about an hour," etc. We were all there in that kitchen. Mothers, grandmothers, aunties, cousins... all connected in a very wonderful way. 

So here it is. From our family to yours. Enjoy!

Putsin

Serves 6-8

Broth

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons canola (or another high heat) oil

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sage

2 large containers of chicken broth, about 8 cups (you can certainly make you own, we didn't have that kind of time)

Dumplings

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

Pepper, to taste

3 teaspoons baking powder

4 beaten eggs

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried sage

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.

Combine flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper and sage in a shallow dish or plate. Whisk to mix all ingredients. Coat each chicken thigh in the flour mixture, front and back, and place in hot pan with oil to brown. Cook thighs on both sides, until mostly cooked through. About 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Remove thighs from pan and set aside. 

Add chicken broth to pot and stir, scraping up all of the brown bits from the chicken. Bring to a rolling boil. 

Cut chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and return to pot with the chicken stock. 

To make dumplings: Mix all of the dry ingredients, then make a well in the center. Pour the beaten eggs and broth into the well and mix with dry ingredients until it resembles a soft bread dough. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll thin like a pie crust and cut into 2 inch squares. Drop all prepared dumplings into a bowl of flour and coat completely. Carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling broth and stir gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. 

Ladle into bowls and devour.