“I have a cold,” my husband announced. This was nothing new to me. He had been sneezing loudly for two days and his sneezing could probably be heard in the neighboring city.
“You need chicken soup,” I replied. “I’ll make some for dinner.” We had both heard about the study that found that chicken soup helped cure a cold. Maybe it would heal my husband.
You may think that making soup is easy, but making good soup can be challenging. The soup should be full of flavor and have the right consistency. It is also an opportunity to eat more vegetables, something that my husband and I have been doing lately. At first I thought I’d make chicken noodle soup, but changed my mind. He would do the actions and see what would unfold.
Grocery stores have a lot of stock brands and most of them have a commercial flavor to me. Plus, it’s easy to make homemade broth. The classic broth is made with pieces of chicken or a whole chicken, carrots, onions, celery, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic, if you like. All vegetables are discarded.
But he was on the quick soup track. I put the chicken in the pot, filled it with water, covered it, brought the liquid to a boil, turned the heat down, and simmered it for an hour. Instead of using veggies to flavor the broth, I used an unsalted soup base.
After the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the broth and let it cool. What kind of soup would it be? I opted for the oriental soup with asparagus, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. To save time, I used pre-cut ginger from a jar. In a matter of minutes, the kitchen began to smell like a Chinese restaurant. As expected, the soup was delicious, nutritious, and filling. My husband sneezed only once.
You have a cold? Maybe it’s time for a chicken soup with an oriental twist.
Ingredients
2 chicken breast halves, bone-in and skinless
8 cups of water
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup (one rib) celery, chopped
1 cup small carrots
1 1/2 cups asparagus tips, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon sodium-free chicken base
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 fresh garlic clove, minced)
1 teaspoon low sodium salt
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 cup basmati rice
Method
Remove the skin from the chicken and rinse it. Place the chicken in a pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Cook over low heat for an hour. Remove chicken and shred when cool. Pour the broth through a fine strainer to remove any foam that has formed. Set the broth aside or refrigerate until needed. Coat the bottom of a pot with olive oil. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, asparagus, chicken base, ginger, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and rice. Cook over low heat until the rice is cooked. (You can substitute wheat noodles for rice). Serve with crackers or crispy muffins. Makes 8 generous servings.
Copyright 2011 by Harriet Hodgson