Chicken Soup

© 2023 Aaron Parr. All Rights Reserved.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Red onion
  • Garlic, bulb
  • Chicken stock and water, 8-9 cups
  • Chicken breast, 1-2 pounds
  • Sumac, ground, 3-5 table spoons
  • Black pepper, ground, 1 table spoon
  • Terragon, dried, a few pinches (or more generous if you like)
  • Corn, 3 ears
  • Heirloom Tomato, 2 (approx 3 cups)
  • Egg noodle shells, 1 cup
  • Basil, bunch
  • Ginger, finger

Directions

  1. Spritz of olive oil in a soup pot.
  2. Dice the red onion and put it in the pot.
  3. Turn up the heat to saute the onions.
  4. Strip the garlic cloves from the bulb, saute with the onions.
  5. When the onions and garlic are soft pour in the chicken stock and water.
  6. Cut the chicken breast into bite sized chunks and add to the soup.
  7. Keep the heat high until the water boils then turn down to simmer.
  8. Add the sumac, pepper, and terragon then stir in.
  9. Cut the kernals from the ears of corn and add to the soup.
  10. Dice the tomatoes and add to the soup.
  11. Add the egg noodles.
  12. Watch the soup until the noodles are soft then turn the heat as low as possible to keep warm.
  13. Grate the ginger finely and stir into the soup.
  14. Dice the basil and add to the soup.

Notes

My goal was to make a sweet and sour soup to my own tastes. I also wanted a hearty meal with plenty of protein. This does the trick.

If you want more sourness, or to keep the sourness but use less sumac (spices are expensive), you can add vinegar after you turn down the heat (step 12). I recommend using rice or white wine vinegar and stirring it in. I like the sour so I tend to add 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of vinegar most times I make this.

I depend on the corn, ginger, terragon, and basil for the "sweetness". These really just contrast with the sour to make it more interesting and balanced. Yellow corn tends to be best for this. If you have a hard time digesting corn, use less of it, and compensate with something else like basil garnish and bread when the soup is served.

I often save the extra bread - the ends and what not - from my salami sandwiches and dip them in the soup while waiting for it to cool.