Chicken soup has been prescribed for ailments from the 12th Century, although its health benefits are widely debated and range from opinions that the steam and heat clear congestion, to amino acids that resemble acetylcysteine that treats respiratory problems, to theories that chicken is an anti-inflammatory and combats the inflammation that produces cold symptoms.
I don't know about all that healing, but I do know that when I feel under the weather, chicken soup is what I find to be the most soothing aside from perhaps if SB were compelled to mop my brow and rub my feet (hint, hint).
Cold Season Chicken Soup
medium sized chicken (1.5 kg or 3.3 lb), chopped into chunks
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 knob of fresh ginger, sliced thickly
2 scallions
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
6 cups water
3 tablespoons white cooking wine
preferred noodles
Blanche the chicken pieces first in boiling water for 5 minutes. This removes impurities and keeps that broth nice and clear. Rinse in cold water and place the pieces of chicken in a pot with all the other ingredients, except the noodles. Bring to a boil and reduce so that the soup simmers slowly for several hours. Occasionally stir the soup. You can pretty much leave it alone for most of its cooking time. You may want to taste it and add more salt. I like to eat the soup when the broth has been reduced to 2/3 of the original amount but you may reduce it even more for more flavor. Strain the broth to serve. You may also serve the chicken pieces but most of the taste should have gone from them into the soup.
Boil some noodles and add them to a bowl (I have recently been in love with Shanghai type noodles that I can get fresh here). Pour the soup over the noodles and serve.
I don't know about all that healing, but I do know that when I feel under the weather, chicken soup is what I find to be the most soothing aside from perhaps if SB were compelled to mop my brow and rub my feet (hint, hint).
Cold Season Chicken Soup
medium sized chicken (1.5 kg or 3.3 lb), chopped into chunks
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 knob of fresh ginger, sliced thickly
2 scallions
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
6 cups water
3 tablespoons white cooking wine
preferred noodles
Blanche the chicken pieces first in boiling water for 5 minutes. This removes impurities and keeps that broth nice and clear. Rinse in cold water and place the pieces of chicken in a pot with all the other ingredients, except the noodles. Bring to a boil and reduce so that the soup simmers slowly for several hours. Occasionally stir the soup. You can pretty much leave it alone for most of its cooking time. You may want to taste it and add more salt. I like to eat the soup when the broth has been reduced to 2/3 of the original amount but you may reduce it even more for more flavor. Strain the broth to serve. You may also serve the chicken pieces but most of the taste should have gone from them into the soup.
Boil some noodles and add them to a bowl (I have recently been in love with Shanghai type noodles that I can get fresh here). Pour the soup over the noodles and serve.
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