A warm bowl of chicken soup is perfect when there is a chill in the air. Not only is it a yummy hearty dish but also a healer that boosts your immune system. Vitamin B, calcium, magnesium and zinc from stock made with chicken bones, anti-inflammatory ginger and garlic, anti-bacterial and anti-viral rosemary and nutritious vegetables in one bowl. Ultra-cleansing!
When I was sick as a child, my mum used to make me a rice porridge just like all other Koreans do because you don’t have much appetite when feeling ill and tend to crave for a simple and bland meal. I couldn’t understand why Westerners eat chicken soup instead of porridge when you catch a cold or feel sick until I actually tried it. Nutrition tick! flavour tick! feeling better tick! Amazing!
My craving has changed to a bowl of chicken soup when feeling cold now (in fact, I can have it all year around). I prefer my chicken soup to be clear and clean taste so I took the skin and fatty bits off and washed well before putting in a pot. You need to boil at least for an hour so that the stock is full of flavour and the meat falls off the bone easily. I hope everyone stays away from cold as chilly season is approaching 🙂
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 small chicken
2 cup of brown rice and black eyed peas (soaked overnight)
1 carrot
1 cup of chopped cabbage
1 cup of green peas
1/2 brown onion
1 large garlic
1 knob of ginger
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp of peppercorns
1 small chili
rice noodles (optional)
salt to taste
coriander for garnish
Wash the chicken and remove skin and fatty bits. Place in a stock pot along with chopped onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, rosemary, chili and peppercorns. Cover with cold water. Bring it up to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for an hour. Take the chicken out and pull the meat off bones. Discard bay leaf, add the meat, rice noodles and chopped vegetables into the pot. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes until veges are cooked. Adjust seasoning, ladle into bowls and garnish with coriander.
