Cure-all Chicken Soup

 

Ingredients

• 2 large onions
• 2cm piece of fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 large carrots
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 de-boned chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 2 bird’s eye chilies
• 3 bunches on bokchoi (or substitute with fresh spinach)
• 1/4 cabbage
• 1.5L salt-reduced chicken stock
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 4 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

 

 

  Instructions

1. Peel the onion and chop into quarters, peel and slice the garlic and ginger, then wash the carrot and cut into 5cm long pieces.
   
2. Skin and clean your chicken, removing as much fat as possible, then place into a large pot. Place the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, peppercorns and shiitake mushrooms on top. Cover completely with chicken stock, then place the lid on the pot and simmer on a very low heat for 30-40minutes. The slow simmer is required to cook the chicken without causing the white meat to become tough.
   
3. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken and shiitake mushrooms and set them aside. Strain the rest of the stock ingredients out, clean the pot and pour the strained stock back in.
   
4. Slice your chilli into thin pieces, then slice up the carrot into thin pieces. Cut up the cabbage and separate the stems of the bok choi (or spinach) from the leaves.
   
5. Place the chilli, carrot, bok choi stems and cabbage into the stock and bring to a simmer again.
   
6. During this second simmer, shred the meat from the chicken and set aside. Remove the tough stems from the shiitake mushrooms and slice up the remaining mushroom flesh.
   
7. Once the carrot is cooked in the broth, add the shredded chicken meat, mushroom and bok choi leaves. Add the soy sauce and vinegar, then serve.

ellie won