Asian Chicken Soup
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This Asian Chicken Soup recipe is sure to become a favorite! Bursting with layers of flavor, this warm and soul-satisfying chicken soup with Asian spices will mesmerize your taste buds!
I don’t think I could live without soup. There are just those days when what I crave most is a bowl of hot soup, whether it’s the thick creamy kind or the rich brothy variety. The other thing I love about soup is its versatility; it’s such a great medium for creativity. The flavor and ingredient combinations are literally endless.
The flavor profile of this soup is a blend of several Asian cuisines including a dash of Chinese, Indonesian, and Thai. The end result is a wonderfully tummy-warming and soul-comforting soup that will transport you to another place, somewhere, far across the ocean on an eastward wind.
© Vinh Dao | Dreamstime
The spices are the crowning feature of this Asian Chicken Vegetable Soup. I’ve mentioned this many times in previous posts but I’ll mention it again: Nothing compares to the flavor of freshly toasted and ground spices. Pre-ground spices can’t hold a candle to it. The latter have been sitting in jars or bags for who knows how long, and once spices are ground their precious, delicate oils – where all the flavor lies – oxidize and deteriorate very quickly.
That’s why whole spices have a vastly superior flavor and using them – grinding your own spices – will transform your cooking. I realize it’s some extra work to prep these spices for this soup but I assure you, it’s totally worth it!
This soup brings together a wonderfully fragrant palette of spices that add depth, mystery and flavor to this otherwise simple dish. Star Anise, Fennel Seed, Whole Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Green Cardamom, Cumin Seed and Whole Cloves are the spices you’ll need. These are all spices commonly used in Asian and Indian cuisine so as long as you enjoy that kind of food, don’t worry about them going to waste. Buy them whole and grind them yourselves in a coffee/spice grinder.
I promise: Buying your spices whole and grinding them yourself will be one of the best culinary choices you’ll ever make!
For a wonderful depth of flavor with all-natural ingredients you can trust, I’m using Aneto 100% natural chicken broth. Made in Barcelona, Spain, Aneto is the world’s only broth manufacturer that makes broth the way you make it at home: Using REAL fresh vegetables, REAL whole chicken – and nothing else – and then slow-simmering it for hours for maximum flavor and nutrition. My husband and I toured their factory just outside of Barcelona last Summer and it was such an incredible experience. Really, you have to see it for yourself to understand what distinguishes Aneto as the most exceptional broth manufacturer in the world. Take a virtual tour of Aneto’s factory! Aneto products are available in stores across the United States and on Amazon.
Packed with the fragrant, exotic spices of the Far East along with a nutritious broth and the familiar comfort of chicken and potatoes, this is a soup you’re sure to remember!
And if you have leftovers the next day you’ll be very happy because the flavor only gets better!
Asian Chicken Soup Recipe
Let’s get started!
Heat a small skillet and toast the whole spices until fragrant. Let cool and then grind them in a coffee/spice grinder.
Add the ground spices to a food processor along with the ingredients for the Spice Paste. Pulse until ground to a coarse mixture.
In a stock pot, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet and fry the spice paste for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth…
…..add the chicken pieces, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour.
Remove the chicken pieces, remove the chicken from the bones and shred the chicken. Set aside.
Pour the broth through a sieve, discarding the pulp from the spice paste, and return the broth to the pot. Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the potatoes, carrots and salt. Return to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for another 25-30 minutes. Squeeze the lime juice into the soup just before serving.
Dish the hot soup into bowls topped with some bean sprouts, cilantro and slices of red chili pepper.
Enjoy!
For more delicious Asian soup recipes be sure to try our:
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Asian Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- For the Spice Mix:
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
- 2 whole star anise
- Seeds from 4 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 cinnamon stick broken into pieces
- 2 whole cloves
- For the Spice Paste:
- 1 small yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 2 stalks lemongrass tender midsection only, roughly chopped
- For the Soup:
- 6 cups quality chicken broth
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces
- 2 medium potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces (can also substitute noodles and add them during the last few minutes as the package labeling instructs)
- 2 medium carrots cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of 1 lime
- For serving:
- Bean sprouts chopped cilantro, sliced red chili peppers
Instructions
- Heat a small skillet and toast the whole spices until fragrant. Let cool and then grind them in a spice/coffee grinder.
- Add the ground spices to a food processor along with the ingredients for the Spice Paste. Pulse until ground to a coarse mixture.
- In a stock pot, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet and fry the spice paste for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and chicken pieces, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour.
- Remove the chicken pieces. Remove the chicken from the bones and shred the chicken. Set aside. Pour the broth through a sieve to remove the spice paste pulp and return the broth to the pot. Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the potatoes, carrots and salt. Return to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for another 25-30 minutes. Squeeze the lime juice in the soup just before serving.Dish the hot soup into bowls topped with some bean sprouts, cilantro and slices of red chili pepper.
Nutrition
I’ve partnered with Aneto, my favorite broth manufacturer, to bring you this post. As always all opinions are entirely my own.
First published on The Daring Gourmet on February 21, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
