Secrets of Chicken Soup
I woke up this morning with laryngitis. The first thing I thought about was, I must make chicken soup. Maybe it's psychological, but I assumed it would make me better. The soup I make is simple, but I like to put pieces of chicken, veggies,herbs and sometimes noodles in it to make it richer. What is the secret to your chicken soup that makes it yours?
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22 Comments:
I meant laryngitis, not laryngytis (I didn't proofread).
Mich23 at 2:37PM on 10/28/07
young celery leaves and a sprig of fresh dill.
JerzeeTomato at 2:44PM on 10/28/07
Not a flavouring, but I like to slightly thicken mine with cornflour for a nice smooth mouthfeel.
GTO at 3:23PM on 10/28/07
Dry vermouth...just a splash
Cary at 3:52PM on 10/28/07
Feet. You need chicken feet. Maybe not a lot, maybe just a pound or so per gallon of soup, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
Feet are available in Chinatown. Here's my recipe for soup with feet: http://www.annienewman.typepad.com/anniesnyeats/2007/10/chicken-soup-wi.html
annien at 4:36PM on 10/28/07
If making it 100% from scratch (i.e., no boxed broth), I save up extra wing tips and backs in the freezer to include in the stockpot. Loads of celery and onion in the stockpot.
Some chopped celery and carrots in the finished product, and maybe some peas if I'm in the mood. A touch of sage or thyme is nice. Lots of fresh parsley at the very end. Maybe an eensy-beensy pinch of turmeric or anatto for color.
I love it with wild rice or tiny pasta (acini di pepe, stars, orzo). Fresh gnocchi or spätzle is terrific for a heartier soup.
But my favorite "extra" is a big ol' matzo ball (or two) in my bowl... I've never tried to make them. Does anybody have a fabulous recipe for MATZO BALLS?
LoCo at 4:47PM on 10/28/07
annien- Your recipe is similar to mine, but next time I make chicken soup, I'm going to add the chicken feet and see what happens!
Mich23 at 4:48PM on 10/28/07
Thanks, Mich. I hope your laryngitis is better!
annien at 4:58PM on 10/28/07
I have a friend who isn't much of cook (not interested, too many other things to do) who makes a very tasty, therapeutic soup when she or loved ones start to feel ill. She does it the way that her mother taught her. She puts together all the usual ingredients, and says that two are vitally important: a Kosher chicken and LOTS of onions.
islandexile at 7:51PM on 10/28/07
I add a few (unusual for chicken soup) vegetables, including yellow squash and a few large mushrooms...after the soup is done, I take the entire chicken out, pull the meat off the bones and shred it by hand, and put the immersion blender in the pot before adding the meat back in. To quote some ad campaign, it's soup that eats like a meal. REALLY. And it's a soup, not a clear broth. It may not be 'official' Jewish penicillin, but everyone raves... :-)
Curlz at 8:31PM on 10/28/07
I use a splash of Chinese cooking wine and a smaller splash of mirin (japanese sweet cooking wine) to bump up the flavour of my stock. The heady, strong flavours of the chinese cooking wine is balanced by the slightly sweet, mellower mirin. I add it to a combination of chicken thighs/carcasses from roasted chickens/chicken neck bones, which have been tossed into a pot of garlic (1 whole head, chopped), a large onion (also chopped), carrots and celery.
Add some fish sauce and the wine, cover the pot, and let the juices just come out. Then I add water and let the chicken cook till it practically falls off the bone. Strain, toss out the carrots and veggies, shred chicken into the clear broth, add more vegies and noodles (or rice. If cooking with rice, I also add ginger to the veggies). So.freakin'.DELICIOUS.
I'm also gonna have to try the chicken feets thing. That sounds pretty awesome.
lorelei76 at 10:29PM on 10/28/07
Annie: Your soup sounds pretty much like mine too except for the chicken feet. That may change since they now have organic ones at Whole Foods and I bet I might be able to get some from the poultry purveryors at Union Square. There is something to be said about a good, basic soup but I suppose that is because I grew up on that. These other recipes sound interesting but not what I might need when sick.
izzy's mama at 10:45PM on 10/28/07
always use chicken feet in my stock. havent gotten to the point of actually eating them, sorry. but they add a wonderful richness to my stock!!! Also for the stock i never peel my onions, adds good color.
huney_bumper at 9:21AM on 10/29/07
I use the boniest, cheapest chicken bits and loads of onion, carrot and celery. Cook for half of a day, then remove everthing and strain broth through cheesecloth. Shred chicken meat and return it to the pot with the carrots only (throw out the rest of the veggies- too mushy). Serve with steamed rice, plenty of fresh chopped parsley and a sqeeze of lemon.
As for matzo balls, I have to admit that I use the Manishevitz(sp?) mix. If you let the dough rest for an hour, the matzo balls come out nice and light.
Kerosena at 9:56AM on 10/29/07
Somewhere, years ago, I read that if you lower the pH of the cooking liquid slightly, you can get more of the gelatinous richness out of the bones and cartilage and into your stock, the sort of stuff that chicken feet provides. So I usually put just a little glug of some sort of vinegar into the cooking liquid, whether I start with water or canned broth. If I'm really out to impress, I use double-strength chicken stock, stock from my freezer that I've already used to poach one batch of chicken in, sometimes more than one. I usually save it to use in cool summer soups as it gels on its own and makes for a wonderful consistency, like a tender aspic.
lemons at 12:14PM on 10/29/07
I use the chicken (or rather turkey) broth that I usually make from the leftover bones fron Thanksgiving and then freeze. Otherwise, I try to use fresh chicken broth. I also add coriander leaves, which gives it a little kick that helps to clear the sinuses, i have found. Really nice.
I will have to try the chicken feet sometime, though. That sound really good. And given that I have a slight addiction to pumpkin, that addition of squash really inspires me!
Traveller at 1:48PM on 10/29/07
My soup has lots of chicken, wild rice, fresh thyme, chicken broth, a few minced green onions, and some whipping cream for a rich creamy taste. Will make your sore throat feel much better! :)
Lavendergirl at 1:51PM on 10/29/07
This sounds counterintuitive, but it works and seems to enrich the flavor. Cover your chicken and any miscellaneous raw or cooked poultry parts and raw veal bones with cold water. Quickly bring just to a boil. Gird yourself against fear of flavor loss, because you are now going to dump the contents of the pot into a colander. Bye, bye liquid!
Then, start over with the contents of the colander and fresh cold water in the soup pot. Bring quickly to a low boil, then simmer for about two hours, skimming any scum left. At that point, add your vegetables (I use an unpeeled onion studded with three cloves, a green onion or two, a few carrots but not too many, some celery, two tomato halves) and some seasonings (10 whole black peppercorns, a useless bay leaf, and a small pinch of saffron, because my grandmother did). Simmer another hour until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat and let cool a few minutes. Remove solids, keeping what you want (skinned meat, carrots for me). Strain through cheesecloth into another pot and quickly cool in ice bath before refrigerating to allow fat to congeal on top for easier removal.
P.S. I actually know of someone who replaces the cooking water not once, but twice at the beginning!
CheesePlease at 2:35PM on 10/29/07
I'm a passionate fan of feet in chicken soup -- creates unbelievable body. Whole Foods does indeed carry organic feets (and sometimes backs as well -- another good addition), and Quattro Farms, the pheasant people at the US Greenmarket, have wonderful soup chickens. The only problem with them is that they have a TON of fat that should be removed ahead of time, but if you're smart and frugal and can channel your grandmother, you'll render it down and give yourself both a great cooking medium and (mmmm) cracklings.
maggiesara at 2:59PM on 10/29/07
Damn, maggiesara! I see Quattros every Sunday at our Rhinebeck Farmers market and I never knew they had soup chickens!
annien at 6:18PM on 10/29/07
We use the chicken meat and bones to make the soup. For veggies, we use whole tomatoes, carrots and parsnip. It's deliciiious!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:40PM on 10/29/07
I use a whole stewing chicken. Boil and remove foam. Add whole onion, garlic cloves, whole tomatoe, whole carrots and whole parsnips, a few stalks of celery, parsley roots, fresh dill and parsley tied together and layered on top and salt to taste. Simmer for several hours. Remove parsley and dill. I usually serve the strained chicken soup with a carrot, parsnip and matzoh ball. It's great!!
Catharine56 at 8:09PM on 11/03/07