Rotisserie Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken soup is always good for the soul but especially during a cold winter night. I might be part of the minority who loves soup all year round though. Recently, I made chicken soup using a rotisserie chicken. Store bought rotisserie chickens are amazing. They are inexpensive, delicious, and usually around $7.99 and can last several meals. The only downfall for me is that I don’t really love white meat and I don’t want to eat chicken for more than a couple meals in a row. So I decided to save the dark meat to eat on its own and use the rest of the chicken to flavor a pot of chicken soup. I’ve never tried making soup this way before but was recently inspired by another food blogger. Typically, I make soup from scratch with raw chicken but this method was a lot easier and was still flavorful. It tastes even better the next day and it’s still delicious as leftovers after being frozen.

Rotisserie Chicken Soup (serve about 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 whole Rotisserie Chicken (store bought)

4-5 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced

3 whole carrots, peeled and sliced

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

1 medium sized white potato or 2 small ones, peeled and cubed

1-2 cobs of corn (shaved) or 1 can of roasted or regular whole kernal corn (fresh is better and sweeter though)

2 cloves of garlic, mashed

1 chunk of ginger, peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

2½ tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

dash of sugar (optional)

3½ quarts of water

Directions: First, I remove the dark meat from the rotisserie chicken. I love to eat dark meat with rice, soy sauce, chili, and cucumbers. I separate the dark meat from the bones, save the dark meat in Tupperware to be eaten later, and set the bones aside. Then I remove the white meat from the bones and break it up into shreds with my hands and set it aside, keeping all the bones. I usually use about 1½ cup to 2 cups of shredded white chicken meat in the soup and the rest I save to use in my salad.

In a 8-quart pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and lightly brown. Place all the bones from your rotisserie chicken (including some skin and wings, for more depth and flavor) into the pot and pour in 3 quarts of water. Make sure bones are mostly submerged. Toss in carrots along with bay leaf, ginger, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar. I personally prefer to cut up 1 carrot into big chunks to use at the beginning and cut 2 carrots into thinner slices to be added in later. Because of the thickness of the carrot chunks, it can withstand being cooked longer while sweetening the soup early on. The thinner slices are added in later so it won’t be overcooked and mushy but will be better for the aesthetic and for eating, in my opinion. Simmer for 45 minutes on medium to medium low heat, covered with lid slightly ajar.

Remove ginger and discard. Add celery, potatoes and corn to the pot. At this time, you can also add in the thinner slices of carrots. Toss in shredded chicken. Pour in 2 cups of water. Simmer for 45 more minutes with lid slightly ajar.

Taste broth. Add more salt, if necessary, and cook for a few more minutes. Remove all of the bones with tongs and discard.

Enjoy!

Creamy Turmeric Chicken Soup

I love soup. Especially, a good chicken soup. I mean, who doesn’t? Chicken soup is the best comfort food and a cure-all for all illnesses. There are 2 types of chicken soup that I particularly love: Colombian Ajiaco soup and Indonesian Soto Ayam soup. Both are delicious and have ingredients that I enjoy so I created a recipe that combines the distinct flavors from both of these soups. It’s creamy and soothing with a touch of citrus. I like to serve the soup with rice but you can add broken spaghetti pasta to this soup to convert it into a chicken noodle soup. Try my recipe and let me know what you think!

Ingredients: (serves 6-8)

·      1 tbsp olive oil

·      1 tbsp turmeric

·      1 tsp cumin

·      2-2½ tsp salt

·      1 tsp ground black pepper

·      1 cup of coconut milk

·      3 cloves of garlic, smashed

·      4 tbsp fish sauce

·      1 oz chunks of ginger, peeled

·      2 stalks of lemongrass, cut into 3-inch sections

·      5 kaffir lime leaves, torn

·      4 chicken drums or 3 chicken thighs

·      ½ sweet yellow onion, diced

·      1½ cups of chopped carrots

·      1½ cups of chopped celery

·      2 cups of cubed white potatoes, skin peeled

·      2½-3 ears of corn, cut into 4-6 chunks each

·      2 cups of diced cilantro

·      2 limes, cut into wedges

·      3 quarts of water

Directions:

In a large 6-7 quart stock pot over medium high heat, add olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until they have lightly browned. Add 2 quarts of water, chicken, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, 3 tbsp fish sauce, pepper, salt, and carrots. Cover pot with lid slightly ajar. Cook for 45 minutes, removing any fat and foam build up at the surface of the broth. You may have to lower heat to medium once the broth starts to boil.

Remove chicken. Meat should be fully cooked. Pull meat off the bones and shred into smaller pieces with a fork. Return bones to pot and set shredded chicken aside. Add celery, potatoes, coconut milk, remaining 1 tbsp of fish sauce, turmeric, cumin, and 1 quart of water. Cook for another 15 minutes, continuing to remove any fat and foam build up at the top.

Add corn. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Return shredded chicken to soup. Sprinkle in some cilantro, serve with a wedge of lime. The fresh citrus juice really enhances the flavor of the soup. Optional: eat with rice.