chicken corn soup with poached egg

The older I get, the more I realize that food really is medicine for your body. I really have to watch what I eat if I want to feel my best. I can feel how my body reacts to certain foods as soon as I eat it, especially sugar. I miss those days where I could inhale a whole bag of chocolate (my absolute weakness) and still feel great. If I did that now, you would probably find me near comatose under my desk hopped up on sugar and caffeine. That sentence totally contradicts and totally doesn’t make sense but you know what I mean 🙂

The other day, my little guy woke up with the sniffles, and I knew chicken soup was in order. I’m not sure why it works but chicken soup really does make the sniffles, coughing, itchy scratchy throat seemingly disappear much faster. However, I’m not a big fan of the traditional chicken soup. I appreciate it’s magical healing power but I think it’s boring and uninteresting. Who says that being sick means having to eat a boring meal? I mean, aren’t you suffering enough just being sick? I think when you have been in bed all day starting at the ceiling you need some kind of excitement on your plate or in this case, a bowl.

My little guys shares the same sentiment when it comes to chicken soup. Every time I make the traditional chicken soup, he will eat it but only because he doesn’t want to be rude (atta boy!) and well, he can’t cook for himself yet. But I can see he’s totally uninterested in his meal, and I can’t blame him since I didn’t take much pleasure in making it (can I say that out aloud?). I believe that when you put love into a meal it really does come out tasting better. That’s why my mom’s meals taste so much better to me because I know she put in that motherly love. I think a lot of us can attest to that our mom’s/dad’s cooking is the best because of that extra ingredient: parental love.

As I was searching for a new recipe, I came across a couple of recipes that seemed interesting and comforting. So I decided to make a hybrid version of a few recipes plus a touch of my own. It’s a very light and versatile soup. The next day I added some spinach when I was reheating it. You can easily add some rice or pasta to make it more heartier.

Needless to say, my little guy was all better the next day. Hooray for chicken soup!

Chicken Corn Soup with Poached Egg

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 med onion, med dice

2 tablespoon ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 black pepper

2 cups fresh corn or frozen corn (use the cobs in the stock, if making your own stock)

6 cups stock

2-15oz creamed corn

3 cups chicken, shredded

• poached eggs

lime, green onion and cilantro to garnish

Directions:

On medium heat, add 2 tablespoon of oil and sauté the onions, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh corn and cook for 2 minutes. Add stock, creamed corn, shredded chicken and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Ladle soup into a bowl. Gently lay poached egg on top. Garnish with green onion, cilantro and squeeze of lime.

*Poached Eggs:

eggs

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Bring water to a simmer in a medium size pot. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Crack egg into a small bowl. Stir the water so creates a whirlpool effect.Gently drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool.

Cook for 2 minutes. Set the cooked egg on top of a paper towel to drain. Repeat for rest of the eggs.

Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

3.5 lb chicken

3 stalks green onion

1 med onion, cut in half

1 whole garlic head, cut in half

3 jujube (optional)

2 corn cob (if using fresh corn for the soup)

water

Combine all ingredients. Add enough the water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil on high. Drop the heat to low and let it simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Take chicken out and let cool. Strain stock through a strainer. Shred the chicken once cool.

Yields about 11 cups of stock.