It's a Chicken Broth Party
And YOU'RE invited.
Tis’ the season to fight off the snot. There’s no escaping it. It could get you at any moment though, hopefully, it won’t. I’m a believer in the power of food to make you feel better whether it’s genuinely something good for you, or actually probably not that good for you but really good at meeting your needs - foods such as ice cream when your heart hurts or a big fat fried slice at the greasy spoon when you’re hungover, for example.
When I think of food that’s good for fighting off colds, I’m sure I am not alone when chicken soup comes clucking to mind. I have so much faith in the power of chicken broth that my slow cooker is on the low and slow all year round prepping it. It’s SUCH a handy thing to have in the fridge. As I type this, I’m slurping on a bowl of quick-fixed cream of celeriac, lemon and rosemary soup with broth as the base. It might have been ramen, or a risotto, or whatever the broth lends itself to each day, month, or season.
The point is… having chicken broth in the fridge makes life easier, and tastier. Even if you can’t be faffed to make it this little number from Itsu is pretty delish, though it’s probs had all the goodness pasteurised out of it.
Below I explore the different iterations chicken broth takes, and I will continually add to this piece as and when something new comes to mind. Perhaps you’d like to suggest something? I’m especially keen to hear about family recipes, or cultural traditions where broth is concerned.
Basic Broth
If we’re talking basic brothin’, I like to whack whatever chicken bones I happen to have in the slow cooker, which is usually two legs bones or a carcass, or both. Sometimes I might be lucky enough to have some necks from the butchery, or even feet (both of which are where a lot of the good collagen is). Either way, the bones go in the pot as well as plenty of celery, tons of garlic, an onion, some bay leaves if I’ve managed to nick them off a bush someplace and can recall which pockets I’ve shoved them in, peppercorns and a splash of cider vinegar. Maybe a carrot if I haven’t snacked on them all.
I leave this on the low setting overnight, waking up smiling to savoury scents. I switch it off when I go to put the kettle on, adding a small handful of salt to finish. I’ll often then have a little glass of hot broth while I’m reading my emails, too.
WINTER
Avgolemono
Oh wow, this has definitely been one of my favourite chicken-y recipes. I can’t remember who tipped me off but it fundamentally changed my life for the better. ‘Avgolemono’ is a Greek chicken soup with shredded poached chicken, white rice, loads of lemon, and eggs that have slowly combined with the hot liquid and made a creamy froth. I topped mine with fried halloumi and toasted cubes of brioche. It’s the queen of beige food and every sip makes you feel stronger in the bleak of winter, I swear.
I follow this recipe: https://myfamilysfooddiary.com/greek-lemon-and-egg-soup-avgolemoni/
SPRING
Early Spring Tonic
When the snowdrops pop out and the wild garlic begins to show (around mid Feb), I love to take a bowl of hot broth and add shredded chicken, a boiled egg, and long strands of wild garlic into it. The wilted wild garlic is peppery and sharp, but it feels like it’s really doing your liver some good after a long, sluggish winter. Pictured below is a bag stuffed with wild garlic and cleavers. I’m yet to add cleavers to my broth, but they have this lovely sweet green flavour that I think could make a nice broth tea.
This is a later-in-the-Spring number, featuring a can of American creamed corn (why not?), potatoes, chillis, lime, coriander and asparagus. Think I also stirred in a little Tom Yum paste, too. It was good.
SUMMER
Chicken & Papaya
I read about this one in Fuchsia Dunlop’s ‘Shark’s Fin & Sichuan Pepper’ - she described it as ‘good for the pneumonia’. I quite quickly came down with a savage cold thereafter (almost feels like I did it on purpose just to make this soup). Luckily enough, a kind friend innocently asked if I needed anything brought to the flat and, poor man, I tasked him with finding a good whole chicken and a ripe papaya late on a Sunday afternoon. The whole affair was very healing. Don’t be afraid of the sweet / savoury combo. Everything balances quite beautifully and just feels, I don’t know, like some kind of love is spreading into your bones, which is exactly what you need when you feel rotten.
Recipe is here: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/chicken-and-papaya-soup-1488484.html
This is a summer variation on the corn number, but this time it’s fresh, seasonal corn that I blackened over the stove and combined with chopped San Marzano tomatoes, freekeh, and so much Chinese crispy chilli oil that I wept with both joy and a lot of sweat.
I love this idea from the Goods Shed, poaching vegetables in the peak of their season very lightly. I do this with artichoke hearts (as inspired here) and I also really love to braise cucumbers in broth and butter.
AUTUMN
Leny’s Congee
The older I get, the more I wish I was organised enough to have savoury breakfasts every day, for I love foods like congee. They simply set you up for the day. This is NOT a good picture of congee, which is a savoury chicken rice pudding of sorts. You want to see my Dad’s wife Leny’s congee. Picture this: a bowl of rice simmered slowly in chicken broth with ginger, garlic and spring onion, and then served loose and warm with crispy fried, shredded chicken, a whirl of peanut satay sauce, lots of spring onions, crumbled up Indonesian crackers that soak up the liquid and expand slightly, chillis, and Kecap Manis if you like (a thick kind of sweet soy sauce). That’s the kind of congee you want in your life.
NOTES
So I’ve tried to give you an idea for each season but, really, the broth opportunities are bottomless. You can:
+ throw some tortellini in there American-German-Italian style (they all claim to own it)
+ use it as a base for risottos and soups
+ toss your Sunday leftovers in it
+ posh up some noodles
+ float some dumplings
+ add all sorts of grains like pearl barley, freekeh, or stew mix
+ keep it light with a smattering of herbs and a tiny handful of rice when your tummy has been sore
+ use it as the cooking liquid for a lentil dhal
+ play with the very soul of it - recently I’ve also been adding different teas to mine, like green tea, a light oolong like Tie Guan Yin, or a smoked lapsang souchong to see what kind of depths I can add
Other chicken broth based recipes from Substack:
Fantastic post Sally, we are cooking soul sisters. Have you tried star anise and cinnamon (whole spice), and a little chilli. The chilli ramps up all of the flavours.
The other thing is to cook your rice in the a broth.
Lentil dhal , is an Indian cuisine. Here , we call it moong daal .