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Chicken Soup with Rice, Ginger and Soy Sauce | Bon Appétit Magazine

December 5, 2019 by admin 8 Comments

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Bowl of chicken rice soup, spoon and napkin.
The best thing for when you’re feeling not so hot.

I’m FINALLY coming off of a weeks long illness. For someone who doesn’t really get sick much, it’s been fairly miserable. During this time, this chicken soup satiated my hunger and saved my sanity. Our entire household was sick at the same time and with a little one, we all needed to be fed. I opened up my current November issue of Bon Appétit and there, towards the beginning of the magazine was this recipe for “Feel Better Chicken Soup”. It looked simple, quick and possibly delicious but I had my doubts.

Watch the Video here!

I confess, I love Bon Appétit!

Bowl of soup, Bon Appetit magazine, spoon on napkin and mug with tea.

Bon Appétit has slowly become my favorite food magazine. They are totally with it when it comes to their content, social media and YouTube channel. Talk about binge-worthy stuff. I love all the chefs they feature in their test kitchen and I probably waste a lot of time and procrastinate watching them instead of doing work. This recipe comes from Andy Baraghani, a senior food editor. What a dream job! Wish I worked there…

My first thoughts when I read the recipe for this chicken soup.

Pot with simmering ingredients.

When I first read the recipe, I doubted that the soup could taste that great with just water instead of stock. It simmers for barely 25 minutes. The only aromatics are garlic and ginger. No bones in the chicken. Just boneless chicken thighs. Then there are sweet potatoes in the soup. I like sweet potatoes but I’ve never put them in a chicken soup. Mainly, I’ve used them in pureed soups. Also, there’s rice simmered in the soup. Would it make it like congee? A bit too starchy?

So with all these doubts, I decided to make it anyway because it just seemed too simple and quick to be good! After trying it, I’m glad to report that I love it! I think I’ve made it four times now and one of those times, my toddler requested I make it for breakfast (which I did). She is a lover of good broth and happily slurped this up. For her, I used half sweet potatoes and half carrots, which she prefers. I like it both ways.

How would I describe this chicken soup?

Lemon, ginger, rice, garlic and sweet potatoes.
So few ingredients are used. I’m always a little shocked at how few there are in this recipe.

Maybe it was just being ill but I found this soup so comforting. All of that ginger and garlic was delicious and maybe there are some medicinal properties in them as well (lol)? The chicken was tender and juicy (hooray for dark meat!) and the rice was just enough carbs to make it filling. The broth, which I was so doubtful about, was savory and lemony. I used a bit more lemon than is called for but you can always dial it down. Use a good quality soy sauce and it will flavor the broth nicely. In the end, I thought the sweet potatoes were nice in this soup too. Being unpeeled didn’t even bother me much. A good way to get an orange vegetable and some antioxidants in your diet.

A few tips when making this recipe.

Since I’ve made this soup several times now, I’ve noticed how a few tweaks change it. I used chicken broth once and actually found that I didn’t like it as much. I preferred the broth made with water. Another tip would be to rinse your rice VERY well. The more starch that is removed, the clearer your broth will be. Another rice could probably easily be substituted, like sushi rice or a long grain white rice. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. The recipe did not state to cover the pot while simmering but I did. I didn’t want the broth to evaporate too much. I’ll also be adding a little bit more water too. I like a very brothy soup.

For the ginger, I minced it once and cut it into rounds another time. If you do not want to eat the ginger, I would cut it into large rounds so you can just avoid it. I could easily see this soup being a great recipe to use up things in your vegetable drawer. Adding greens like sliced bok choy, escarole, spinach or kale would be so good. Not to mention any kind of mushroom like shiitakes or enoki. A little chili would nice for some spicy heat too.

Bowl of soup, spoon, napkin and mug.
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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Soup with Rice, Ginger and Soy Sauce

A chicken soup with rice that's super fast, simple and easy. Garlic, ginger, lemon and soy sauce create a savory broth. Shredded chicken thighs are juicy and meaty and tender rice adds just enough carbs to make it filling.
Course Soup
Keyword chicken and rice soup, chicken soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2" piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (or julienned)
  • ⅓ cup jasmine rice, rinsed until water is clear
  • 12-14 ounces chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tbsp salt, kosher (or to taste)
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced ½" thick
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
  • cilantro or parsley leaves, for garnish
  • black pepper, freshly ground, for garnish

Method

  • In a medium pot, combine the garlic, ginger, rice, chicken thighs, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or scum that rises to the surface. Lower heat and cover pot with a lid partially askew. Gently simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the sweet potatoes. Cook, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and chicken are cooked and tender. Remove chicken from pot. Shred with two forks. Return chicken to pot.
  • Stir in 2 tablespoons each of lemon juice and soy sauce. Season with more salt, if desired. Taste. Add more lemon juice or soy, if needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and black pepper.

Notes

-this recipe can easily be doubled. Leftovers are good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
-Carrots are a good substitute for the sweet potatoes.
-Any other kind of white rice can be used instead of jasmine rice. 
-Thinly sliced greens (spinach, kale, bok choy, escarole) are good added at the end of the cooking time.
 
-Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit magazine (November 2019) “Feel Better Chicken and Rice Soup” by Andy Baraghani.

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Filed Under: Blog, Lunch/Dinner, Quick & Easy Tagged With: chicken soup, chicken soup with rice, easy recipes, quick recipes, soup

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy

    December 12, 2019 at 10:26 am

    Love these flavor combos! I have to admit though, I’ll probably use my bone broth for the bonus health boost, especially when sick. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • admin

      December 12, 2019 at 3:52 pm

      Yep, I could have probably used a gallon of bone broth while I was sick, lol. It’s comforting to know though, that you can make this soup without any stock or broth on hand and still make something tasty. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jersey

    December 12, 2019 at 10:53 am

    Feel better soup. I love that. I love soy sauce in my soups too. Great recipe!

    Reply
    • admin

      December 12, 2019 at 3:53 pm

      Thank you! Wishing you good health this season!

      Reply
  3. Sylvia

    December 12, 2019 at 10:17 pm

    STOP. Your posts always leave me feeling so hungry! This looks like an amazing combination, will 100% need to try it!

    Reply
    • admin

      December 13, 2019 at 6:48 am

      Lol, thanks Sylvia!

      Reply
  4. Sylvia

    December 16, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    5 stars
    This soup was AWESOME. My husband doesn’t like soup and he liked this soup, so I’ll definitely be making it again!

    Reply
    • admin

      December 17, 2019 at 6:29 am

      I”m SO glad you guys enjoyed it!! Thanks for the feedback! Happy holidays.

      Reply

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