Cooking At Home: Full-proof chicken soup recipe

 

This is a basic recipe for chicken soup. Basic but full-proof. It's one that I make ALL THE TIME, especially when someone in the house has the sniffles, or if cold and/or raining and/or windy outside (like today), OR whenever we feel like having some warm, comforting, soup.

The great thing about this soup is that it's one of those recipes where the amount of the ingredients is loose. Just as long as you have chicken it'll all be fine! Below is what I use and the amounts I usually use, but if you happen to have two measly stalks of celery instead of three – great! If you want to add in three super large carrots instead of three regular ones - fine. If you only have 8 cloves of garlic instead of a whole head – that's better than none, I'd say.

The picture above looks less than appetizing, it's certainly not one of those chicken soup recipe pictures where there's beautifully bundled up herbs — and in one's mind you're convinced it's going to taste amazing because the picture's amazing. Unfortunately, the picture above is actually what it looks like when you start the recipe, for this recipe all those herbs are extra add-ins when you serve the basic but full-proof chicken soup.

The second great thing about this chicken soup recipe is you can jazz it up with whatever you like. Add cilantro, dill, or parsley right before serving! Add in some sliced jalapeños for spice! Combine with noodles of your choice.

So here we go.

YOU'LL NEED:

    1 Whole chicken (you can use the giblets if you desire. I only use the neck from those extra parts).

    3 Carrots, peeled and cut in half (cross-wise, not length-wise).

    3 Celery sticks, trimmed and also cut in half (also cross-wise, not length-wise).

    1 Whole head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled.

    1" Piece of ginger, peeled and cut in half

    1 Yellow or white onion, peeled and cut in half (length-wise through the root, so the onion stays intact).

    Salt and pepper to taste.

WHAT YOU'LL DO IS:

Put the chicken in a large stock pot and cover it with water. It is crucial the water does not go over the chicken more than 1" (too much water = less flavorful chicken soup).

Put the stock pot with the chicken and water in it on the stove, over medium heat.

Then add the other vegetable ingredients.

Keep the pot on the stove over medium heat, uncovered. Right before the stock comes to a boil foam will begin to form on the surface of the pot – skim this out and throw away.

When the pot comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and keep the pot at a gentle simmer, put the lid on the pot and put the timer on for twenty minutes. In this step the chicken is cooking, literally cooking.

Break time.

After 20 minutes, uncover the pot and turn the stove to high so the pot is boiling again, set the timer for 10 minutes. In this step we're reducing the stock level in order to get a more concentrated flavor.

Another break.

Turn off the heat, put the lid on the pot, and let it sit. I've made this early afternoon and allowed it to sit until about 6PM (our dinner time) and it's been fine. I've literally never gotten sick from doing this, but if you're afraid to do this allow the soup to cool a little bit before sticking it in the refrigerator. I do find that allowing it to sit helps with extracting and melding flavors even more, resulting in tastier chicken soup.

It's a habit of mine to make the chicken soup without salt, don't ask me why. I can't quite remember the reason, I think I heard a while back that adding salt to your soup during cooking would make is spoil faster – old wive's tale? Maybe. Most likely. Anyway, I always add salt to individual bowls during serving.

*And, remember to jazz up your chicken soup to your heart's desire!