Seasonal Recipes: Nourishing Winter Soup
A Cup of Comfort
What’s more comforting on a blustery winter day than a steaming bowl of homemade chicken soup or broth? We offer a twist on the cold-weather staple by incorporating medicinal Chinese herbs into the cooking process - a powerful immune boost during the darkest and coldest days of the year.
Powerful Immune System Supporting Herbs
We’ve added a handful of select Chinese medicinal herbs to this recipe for their unique, supportive qualities.
Dang shen (Codonopsis root) nourishes and supports the Lungs.*
Huang qi (Astragalus root) supports the immune system and our resilience in the face of allergies, colds, and flu. (Note -- huang qi is an immune tonic to be taken preventively; do not consume huang qi / astragalus if you already feel as if you are “coming down with something.”)
Hei mu er, otherwise known as wood ear mushroom, is included for general immune support. It is rich in antioxidants and contains both anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Gou qi zi -- better known as goji berries -- nourish the Liver, Kidney and Lungs. They moisten the dryness that accompanies winter, nourish our blood, and replenish our baseline resilience and energy levels.
Shan yao (Chinese yam) also nourishes our Lungs, and alongside Da Zao (Chinese jujube date) it supports our Stomach, our digestion, and our ability to absorb nutrition and nourishment from food -- a key aspect of staying healthy in the colder winter months.
Starting from Scratch
Our nourishing winter soup recipe is a three-step process: making the broth itself, poaching the chicken, and preparing the final soup. It’s a labor of love, but well worth the effort. This recipe yields 10-12 finished quarts of soup, so be prepared for the volume and be ready to gift or freeze some quantity of it (or cut the recipe in half).
We recommend eating this soup once a week throughout the winter months.
(*In Chinese Medicine we capitalize organs (ie Lung instead of lung) to reference the full emotional and psycho-spiritual range of an organ system; for example the physical lung organ and its role in supporting the physical body is just one part of the overall function of the Lung.)
The Recipe
Yields 10-12 Finished Quarts
(Click here for a downloadable version.)
Step One: The Broth
Ingredients:
5 lbs organic chicken backs/necks/bones
3 medium yellow onions
1.5 lbs carrots (5-6)
4 stalks celery
3 jalapenos, de-seeded
4 cloves garlic
Medicinal herbs:
30g dang shen
30g huang qi
60g hei mu er
Suggested seasonings:
30g sliced ginger
2g star anise
1g coriander seed
10g peppercorns
4-5 bay leaves
• Put above in a pot with 12 quarts water, simmer for at least 4 hours.
•Strain and use for The Poach.
Step Two: The Poach
Ingredients:
4lb organic chicken
2 large carrots
1 large yellow onion
1/2 head of garlic
Suggested seasonings:
20g sliced ginger
1 rosemary sprig
1g star anise
1 bay leaf
35g salt
30 grinds of a pepper mill
• Bring to a simmer in The Broth
• Simmer 1hr 20min, remove chicken to cool (when cool, de-bone and shred chicken for soup)
• Simmer for another 40min (2hrs total)
• Strain and use for The Soup
Step Three: The Soup
Ingredients:
5 stalks celery (200g)
4-5 large carrots (500g)
1 large sweet onion
3 large cloves garlic Shredded chicken meat from poached chicken
1g fresh thyme leaves, minced
2g fresh rosemary leaves, minced
2g fresh sage leaves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Medicinal herbs:
100g gou qi zi
150g shan yao
50g da zao, cut into small pieces if they haven’t come sliced)
• Add medicinal herbs to Poach/Broth and simmer for 30 minutes
• Slice all the veggies for bite sizes, add and simmer for another hour (1 hour 30 minutes total)
• Add shredded chicken, thyme, sage & rosemary — simmer for 10-15 minutes
• Season to taste
Variations:
• Add white miso for depth/umami
• Great with garlic/chili paste (rooster brand)
Interested in preparing this lovely soup at home? Contact The Origin Center to order your herbs!
Your initial consultation is always free — come meet us in person and learn more.