I'm running with a cough at the moment -- one of those lingering bits that folks with asthma get in the winter -- and nothing in the world seems to feel better than a huge steaming bowl of chicken soup when you come in from a dank Boston day.
Because we were out of rice -- something that can't be allowed in this household -- I went to the Asian market today. Before I left, I set the chicken to cook. When I came home, I set up the soup first, and by the time I'd put away groceries and made salad, it was ready!
Chicken and Watercress Soup
4 chicken legs
1 qt chicken broth
3T soy sauce
1/4 C mirin
1t five spice powder (1/2 t if using home made five spice)
six "shakes" of Spike seasoning (a dried veggie/herb mix)
1 bunch fresh crisp watercress, chopped
1 small square fresh silken tofu, cubed (or 2/3 package)
1/2 C scallion, cut into 1/8" across the greens
1T minced celery leaf
1" ginger, "matchstick style"
1T minced garlic (or to taste)
2 slices, 1/4", of a large daikon radish, cut into "pizza wedges"
1/2 jalapeno pepper, sliced, seeded
a few T minced vegetables for color (I used a roma tomato and a couple baby carrots)
Cook chicken in broth in a medium saucepan for 1/2 hour to an hour. You really don't have to worry about cooking it to death at this stage.
Remove chicken to a bowl to cool, and dump the broth into your soup pot. Add remaining ingredients. Heat soup on medium.
Prepare side dishes.
Once your chicken is cool enough to work with, skin and bone and shred it. Put half of it in the fridge for tomorrow's meal or freeze it (still, this much chicken is good to fortify the broth!).
Add the other half of the meat to the soup and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste -- I like a good bit of pepper in my soup, and Asian traditionalists will use white pepper in a clear broth.
We served this with a green salad with lemon-tahini dressing. I serve soup like this in big "pho" sized bowls, so soup and salad makes a hearty meal.
Sometime in the future, I will give you my mother's chicken soup recipe (much modified!), which features parsnips, a much overlooked vegetable.
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