Flu season: it’s here. I should know, because I have it. And despite the fact that I feel like a snot factory and my whole body aches, I have a pretty good setup because I have a blanket, and a couch, I’m not wearing pants and, sweet mercy, there is soup in the freezer. Soup I made, in fact, last time I was sick with a cold, but the kind of sick where you can still get to the store to buy a rotisserie chicken and cilantro (today, I am the kind of sick where things like “showering” or “moving” seem like a chore). So consider yourself warned: make some soup now, when you don’t feel like complete garbage, so that you can freeze the leftovers for later. You will thank me, the way I am thanking myself.
We all crave different things when we’re sick — usually some variation of what our mothers made us as kids when we got to stay home from school. For me, it’s anything from congee to instant ramen to toast soldiers with honey to Kraft Dinner (read: Chinese kid born in Belleville). But one of the universal cures for the cold has to be chicken soup — whatever variation of it your mother or grandmother made. This one has an Asian influence, with a bit of a kick, but the base flavours are up to you, and you can often just make do with any vegetables you have in your pantry. For a more traditional flavour, omit the ginger and use regular onion in place of the green, and parsley or dill in place of cilantro.
As I’ve mentioned before, I cheat with most soups and use bouillon cubes to put hot soup on the table in half an hour or so, but if you’ve got homemade stock in the freezer, this is the time to use it. If you have a little extra time, you could also throw in some of the chicken carcass or bones to the bouillon broth after step 2 and simmer for a bit longer for added flavour (but make sure they are easy to fish out afterwards). If you like heat, get the small Thai “bird’s eye” chili — they freeze really well so I always have a small container in the freezer for uses like this. Finally, I threw in a little bonus for those of you suffering along with me on the couch: the recipe for my own homemade NeoCitran. Trust.
Chicken Soup for the Couch
Vegetable oil
3 one-inch pieces of ginger, peeled and smashed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 green onions, white parts and green parts separated, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small red chili (optional), sliced lengthwise
6 cups chicken broth *
1/3 cup small soup pasta (I like stellette) or long-grain rice
Handful chopped fresh cilantro
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1-2 tbsp)
1 pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, meat removed and chopped/pulled
Sriracha sauce
* McCormick’s makes a good and affordable chicken bouillon
1. In a large pot, heat a few tbsp of vegetable oil on medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and white parts of green onion and sauté for a few minutes.
2. Add carrot, celery and chili and sauté for another 5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften slightly. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. While broth is simmering, carve the meat off the chicken and chop or pull to desired size. (I like a mix of white and dark meat but there will be a lot, so you can be selective and save what you don’t use in the soup for sandwiches later. While you’re at it, throw some of the skin in the broth for added flavour while you do this; you can pull it out after.)
4. Add the soup pasta or rice to the broth and bring to a boil again, then reduce to a medium simmer. Cook until pasta is al dente or until rice is tender (about 7-8 minutes). Add desired amount of chicken, chopped green onion (the green parts), and cilantro. Squeeze in lemon juice and season to taste. Top each bowl with a few drops of Sriracha. Freeze leftovers in individual-sized portions.
Homemade NeoCitran
Boil 4 cups water. In a teapot or saucepan, toss 5-6 slices ginger, juice of 1 lemon, 3-4 tbsp honey and a generous pinch of cayenne pepper. Pour in water and stir until honey is dissolved, cover and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Pour into mugs with a healthy glug of bourbon. (Note: this is still really good without the bourbon. But really, really good with it).
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column appears every other Tuesday here on lawandstyle.ca.