“I have a cold,” my husband announced. This was not new to me. She had been sneezing loudly for two days and her sneezing could probably be heard in the next town.

“You need chicken soup,” I replied. “I’ll make some for dinner.” We had both heard about the study that found that chicken soup helped cure a cold. Maybe it would cure my husband.

You may think that making soup is easy, but making good soup can be challenging. The soup has to be full of flavor and have the right consistency. It’s also an opportunity to eat more vegetables, something my husband and I have been doing lately. At first I thought about making chicken noodle soup, but changed my mind. I would do the stock and see what developed.

Grocery stores carry many stock brands and most of them taste like commercials to me. In addition, it is easy to make a homemade broth. Classic broth is made with chicken pieces or a whole chicken, carrots, onions, celery, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic if you like. All vegetables are discarded.

But I was on the fast track soup. I put the chicken in the pot, filled it with water, covered it, brought the liquid to a boil, lowered the heat and let it simmer for an hour. Instead of using vegetables to flavor the broth, I used a salt-free soup base.

After the chicken was cooked, I took it out of the broth and let it cool. What kind of soup would that be? I opted for the oriental soup with asparagus, ginger, garlic and soy sauce. To save time, I used pre-minced ginger from a jar. Within minutes, the kitchen began to smell like a Chinese restaurant. Just as expected, the soup was delicious, nutritious, and filling. My husband sneezed only once.

You have a cold? Maybe it’s time for chicken soup with an oriental twist.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves, bone-in and skinless

8 cups of water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup (a rib) chopped celery

1 cup baby carrots

1 1/2 cups asparagus tips, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon sodium-free chicken base

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove minced fresh garlic)

1 teaspoon low sodium salt

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 cup basmati rice

method

Remove skin from chicken and rinse. Place the chicken in a pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Cook over low heat for an hour. Remove chicken and shred when cool. Pass the broth through a fine sieve to remove any scum that may have formed. Set the broth aside or refrigerate until needed. Cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, asparagus, chicken base, ginger, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cooked chicken and rice. Cook over low heat until rice is cooked. (You can substitute rice for wheat noodles). Serve with crackers or crispy rolls. Makes 8 generous servings.

Copyright 2011 by Harriet Hodgson