Who needs a man when you got fungi? CHEN’S CHICKEN SOUP
After consuming copious amounts of food and gorging yourself in all the bountiful delights of the holidays, you may be craving something simple, yet delicious and nutritious. Try this soup.
I gave this recipe to my good friend Annie the other day and she had great success.
Well, let her tell you. “I’m often very apprehensive about cooking, since I have the culinary dexterity of a fully padded ice hockey goalie in the kitchen. However, I was blown away by how simple this dish was and how delicious it tasted.
“I was nervous when (Theo) said to remove the giblets; I had visions of my mom back in Omaha tweezing out the hairs of the chicken she just bought from the kosher butcher. Thank goodness for modern convenience, the giblets were in a bag inside the chicken and my manicure is still intact!
“This Jewish princess-on-a-budget loved the fact that I had healthy lunches for days.”
“As the soup takes a while to make, I invited some friends over while it was cooking. We drank tea, talked about cooking, enjoyed the smells emanating from the kitchen, waxed poetical about life... and when the soup was ready, we slurped it down. It was a sharing experience and we all felt so grateful for each other and the food we had.
Healthy lunches for days, indeed! Chen’s soup is stocked with healthy ingredients, including Shiitake mushrooms. In Asia,mushroom extracts are used to treat cancer patients.Research has shown that they also have powerful anti-viral properties and are effective at lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure. The mushrooms I used in this soup were from the Clearwater Farms stall at the Santa Monica Farmers’Market on Arizona Avenue.These shiitakes are grown on wood blocks in a controlled, zero-chemical environment. If you can’t get the mushrooms fresh, dried ones are just as tasty and can be found in most supermarkets. However, Asian supermarkets have better value for the money (Nijiya on Sawtelle is a good one). Ginger aids in digestion, as it stimulates the pancreas to secrete enzymes. It is also helpful as an expectorant, alleviating congestion as a result of a cold or flu. Garlic has well known antibacterial properties.
With the California winter in full swing, a tasty soup is a great way to warm the body and soul, as well as protect against or alleviate symptoms of a cold or flu.
As with any recipe, this one for Chen’s Chicken Soup is a guideline. Feel free to make it your own... experiment... add or subtract an ingredient or two. Just cook.
Why cook, you may ask, when there are so many convenient tasty eateries in town? Do it because you want to create, because you want to impress someone, because you are frickin’ starving, because you want to relax, because you can, because you are alive, because it’s fun and simpler than you may think.
Contact Theo at 1 Whole organic free-range chicken (giblets removed) 4 carrots, chopped 1 Turnip, peeled and cubed 14 Shiitake Mushrooms dried or fresh from Clearwater Farms at the SM farmers market (with stalks removed) Organic Spinach — 1 bunch 1 Packet of Rice Noodles 8 cloves of garlic roughly chopped 3-inch piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced Salt and pepper to taste Chili flakes to taste Rinse the chicken. Plop chicken in a large pan and cover with H2O. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour. When cooked, remove chicken from water and remove the skin and bones. Break up the chicken into bite-size pieces and put back in the pot. Add the garlic, ginger, carrots, turnip and mushrooms. Simmer for 20- 30 minutes. Add salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Ten minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add the noodles and then the spinach. This soup will keep in the fridge for a few days and actually tastes better the next day!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 20, 2007. Read the original PDF.