Here are five steaming stews and soups that can help alleviate flu and keep you feeling nourished in this season.
When the sniffles and sneezes come on, it’s time to fight back. Unfortunately, while nothing can really cure a common cold totally, one can alleviate the harsh symptoms of a cold with warming foods and brews. And a study says chicken soups can fend off the flu virus. A compound present in chicken soup called carnosine is said to strengthen the immune system to fight off the congestion and inflammation.
So, with the cold season still lurking about, indulge in these easy-to-make-recipes; this could be just what the doctor wants.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:-
Ingredients:-
- Butter – 1 tablespoon buttter
- Onion – 1/2 cup chopped onion
- Celery – 1/2 cup chopped
- Chicken broth – 3 cups
- Chicken boiled – 1 cup, cut in small pieces
- Egg Noodles – 1/2 cups
- Carrots – 1 cup sliced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Method:-
Melt butter and now saute the carrot, onion, bay leaf and celery in it for few minutes. Add the chicken broth, thyme and seasoning and boil. Now, add the noodles and chicken pieces to this and cook on low flame for about 15 minutes.
HOT AND SOUR CHICKEN SOUP:-
Ingredients:-
- 100 g Chicken, cut into small pieces
- 1 carrot sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- Bamboo shoots – 1/2 cup bamboo, drained
- 2 Spring onions chopped
- 3 Red chilies
- 1 tsp Corn flour
- 1 Egg
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- Few fresh ginger, sliced thinly
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Pepper
Method:-
Combine the chicken, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, red chilies, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic and boil. In bowl mix the corn flour and vinegar and keep aside. Now, increase the heat of the chicken broth and add in the cornstarch and water. Add egg drops by drizzling the egg into the boiling mixture. Simmer and add spring onions.
PUMPKIN SOUP WITH CHICKEN:-
Ingredients:-
- Chicken broth – 8 cups
- 1 kg Chicken breasts cubed
- Pumpkin – 2 cups pureed
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 large carrots
- 1 tbsp Fresh sage
- 3 cloves Garlic
- a pinch of Marjoram
- 1 tsp salt
Method:-
Add all the ingredients except for herbs and salt to a pan. Simmer this for about 40 minutes and add the herbs and seasoning. Simmer again for the same time or until chicken turns soft. Serve with crusty bread.
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP:-
Ingredients:-
- 3 Chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- 2 tbsp Green chilies
- 1/2 cup diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup boiled Red beans
- 1 chopped Onion
- 1 tbsp Lime juice
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
- 1/2 Pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 Tortillas
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method:-
Combine the oil, onions, and garlic in a pain. Add the chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, and shredded chicken to it. Boil and simmer for half an hour. Now, add lime juice, cilantro and cumin to this. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cut the tortilla into strips and fry them. Ladle the soup into bowls and add the tortillas to them.
THAI LEMON CHICKEN SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK:-
Ingredients:-
- I packet Thin noodles
- 4 cups Chicken broth
- 2 Chicken breasts boneless, cut into strips
- 1-2 Red peppers
- 3 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/4 cup Lemon juice
- 4 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1 cup Coconut milk
- 1 cup Spinach
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Method:-
Boil and drain the noodles. Add the broth, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of the fish sauce and some pepper to a pan. Sprinkle salt to it and simmer. Add noodles and for a few minutes then remove them and set aside. Now, add mushrooms to the broth. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer for about five minutes. Stir in the spinach, cilantro and the remaining 1 tbsp of fish sauce. To serve, add some noodles into a bowl and add soup into it. Garnish with pepper.
MAKE YOUR OWN CHICKEN STOCK:-
Put a chicken with an onion, celery, carrots, garlic pods, bay leaves, white peppercorns and salt into a large pan. Add about five cups of water and heat it. Simmer for an hour and then remove. A skin will form on the surface of the liquid; skim this off with a slotted spoon, and discard. Transfer to an airtight container and use or refrigerate.
NOTE:-
There are two kinds of stock – brown and white. The former is made from roasted chicken bones while the white stock is not. The brown stock also has a richer flavor.
