Sicknesses are flowing this year and I have been determined not to get sick. So far so good – sort of – but we’ll come back to that in a minute.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Sarah posted this amazing sounding Thai Chicken Soup. As soon as I saw it, I thought about how many of the ingredients were known flu fighters and how powerful a stock would be if I just infused them into it.
In the spirit of avoiding sickness and keeping my family healthy, I whipped up a batch and planned to make a soup from it (will be posting that recipe Wednesday!) and freeze the rest in case any of us got sick.
Now, I must tell you that my go-to sick soup is my Mom’s Chicken Soup, which is A-Mazing and a variation on a classic Jewish Mom Chicken Soup. I very rarely, if ever, veer from that when it comes to fighting a cold or flu but since I love Asian flavors so much and these ingredients have legit healing properties, I decided it’s time to mix it up.
I am glad I did!
This stock makes a wonderful base for almost any soup – Asian-inspired or not. It is clean and light and has a nice complexity. There is a very slight floral, sweet undertone from the lemongrass and skins of the garlic and shallot.
So the irony is that not even two days after I made this and froze most of it, I start feeling sick. Right? Well, of course I busted it all out and started defrosting in addition to taking the supplements recommended by my Naturopath (gotta love living in WA for this!). Lo and behold, I was a bit under the weather for about 24 hours but felt almost 100% by the next day.
Was it the soup? The supplements? Luck? Who knows but if you think you are getting sick, it certainly can’t hurt to whip up a batch of this Flu Fighting Stock ASAP!
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS:
A simple way to serve this stock is with a couple slices of fresh ginger, whatever quick cooking greens you have in the fridge and a small handful of the cooked and reserved chicken breast.
If you are up for something more complex, I suggest using the stock as a base for any of these soups. Plus, I will be posting a Thai Inspired Chicken Soup on Wednesday so stay tuned for that…
Coconut Curry Soup with Shrimp
Spring Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Spicy Miso Soup with Kelp Noodles
- Buy a whole chicken (it’s always cheaper) and ask the Butcher to cut it up for you. You want 9 pieces (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings and the back). Ask them if they have any extra backs to sell you and if so, buy 1 or 2 more for the stock. Get the best quality chicken you can.
- Lemongrass usually comes in two forms – whole stalks that are sold loose and mostly in Asian grocery stores or in those little plastic herb packages already cut into approximately 4″ stalks. Either way is totally fine. You just want to use about 8 to 10″ of lemongrass so one large stalk cut down or 2 to 3 of those pre-cut stalks.
- See Recipe for De-Fatting Procedure.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Flu Fighter Chicken Stock
- 4 pounds organic bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces cut into 9 pieces (see NOTES)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- water to cover plus about 1"
- 10 inch piece lemongrass sliced in half
- 4 medium shallots cut in half lengthwise (skin on)
- 1 head garlic cut in half across the middle (skin on)
- 4 inch piece ginger root peeled and sliced lengthwise
- 1 bunch scallions white and darks separated, whites cut lengthwise (greens reserved for soup)
- 3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
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Begin by placing the cut up chicken parts in a large stock pot with no more than 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Cover with water by about an inch - usually about a gallon plus 2 to 3 cups) and let sit for at least 30 minutes while you prep everything else. The point of this is for the apple cider vinegar to extract minerals and calcium from the bones to make your stock even more of a nutritional powerhouse. Read here for more on that!
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Meanwhile, grab lemongrass, shalltos, garlic, ginger and scallions.
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Start by separating the scallion greens from the whites. Reserve the greens for a soup or stir fry and slice the whites lengthwise in half.
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Grab the shallots and without peeling, trim the ends and slice down the middle lengthwise.
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Peel ginger root (I like to use a teaspoon. You just pull it along the peel and it pretty much slides right off.) and slice into long pieces, exposing the inner flesh.
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Cut lemongrass into 4" stalks if not already done and cut the stalks in half lengthwise.
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Finally, slice the entire head of garlic, leaving skin on, across the middle.
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Toss all of the cut aromatics into the pot and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. I suggest starting with 2 and tasting later to add more. Bring to a boil and skim foam off the top for 5 to 10 minutes or until it's all gone.
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Once foam subsides, lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, for a total of 3 hours.
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At the beginning of simmering, set a timer for 45 minutes to pull out the 2 breasts and 2 thighs. We want to poach those in the broth and don't want them to get overcooked. Let them cool a bit, pull off the meat and return the bones to the pot. Chop breast and thigh meat up into bite sized pieces and store in a container in the fridge or freezer for future soups (or other dishes).
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When cooking is done, taste and adjust salt if necessary. Allow to cool and pull out chicken parts. Set aside to cool so you can pick the meat off remaining bones to use for the soup or tacos or chicken salad (whatever you want - it will be a bit dry though).
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Once stock is a bit cooler, strain into another pot, discard aromatics and refrigerate to allow fat to settle to the top.
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The next day, pull the pot out of the fridge. You will see a layer of fat settled on the top of the soup.
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Grab a small bowl or cup and a large spoon. Gently ladle off the fat and discard (some people like to save this to cook with).
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Your stock is ready to be used or frozen for future use. Enjoy and stay healthy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Bigg Sisq says
What a great idea to get your flu fighting stock made and frozen while you feel good! I make my own stock but have never thought of including lemongrass. Great idea!
EverydayMaven says
Right? Who has the energy to do such a thing when they are sick? It’s either that or have someone else make it for you!
Lorne Marr says
Thank you very much for the recipe. Wish I would have found it earlier. I’ve been lying in bed for a couple of days and besides medication I’ve tried almost everything. I know ginger is enormously healthy, but I don’t like its taste at all. Despite of it, I’ll give it a try.
EverydayMaven says
Sorry to hear you are under the weather and hope you get better quickly! This soup doesn’t have an overwhelming ginger taste but I suggest cutting the ginger back just a touch and adding more garlic to suit your palate.
shea says
I’m so glad I happened upon your blog and saw this recipe a few days ago.Guess who’s coming down with……something…..? Making it now. The only rating I can give so far is 5 stars for the incredible smell filling the house :), crossing my fingers for the miracle healing. Thanks for sharing!
EverydayMaven says
Thanks and welcome Shea! Just keep drinking it out of a mug. Stay healthy 🙂
shea says
….amazing…..yum!
EverydayMaven says
Awesome Shea – so glad you loved it! 🙂
shea says
…happy to report that, after 48 hours, I’m feeling back to good health. As you said in the introduction, I’m not sure if it was the stock, but I’ll take that chance again if I start to come down with a cold or flu. I’m a believer. 🙂 Thanks again!
EverydayMaven says
That is AWESOME!!
Kristi Rimkus says
What a great idea! I’ve never cooked with lemon grass before. This is definitely a must make recipe. I use chicken stock all the time in place of some of the fat in recipes.
EverydayMaven says
Kristi – Lemongrass has such a great flavor. If you like Thai, you will love it!
Hannah says
I’m so glad you are feeling better – many yucky germs floating around right now. Chicken broth is perfect medicine! I have a bag of odds and ends of veggies saved for broth making and you are inspiring me. This version sounds absolutely delicious!
EverydayMaven says
Thanks Hannah – it seems everywhere I turn someone else is sick. Looks like it’s going to be a long, broth-filled winter 😉
Tony @ Simple Awesome Cooking says
Isn’t this combination fantastic? I’ve been making a broth with massive amounts of garlic, ginger and lemon to drink whenever I start to get a cold and it has always helped.
EverydayMaven says
Couldn’t agree more Tony!
Lara says
Thanks for sharing the link to the broth and stock page. Do you have any more educational links to share? Health education is the name of the game if your a foodie.
Thanks again!
EverydayMaven says
You are welcome Lara! I post links now and then so stay tuned…
Heather @girlichef says
I make something similar that I call a “restorative broth”. It is a life-saver in the cold months! This sounds perfect.
EverydayMaven says
I think every family has some version – it would be interesting to see a compilation and note the differences across cultures / generations / regions!
Asmita says
The chicken stock looks so flavorful! Wow, I love that you added lemongrass and ginger to it.
EverydayMaven says
Thanks Asmita – there is nothing like homemade stock!