Ginger-garlic chicken noodle soup
Can it set you free?
Ariel at is hosting a raffle of cookbooks and other food-related prizes to raise money for those affected by the LA fires. All proceeds will be divided between the LA Food Bank and World Central Kitchen Relief Team. The deadline to enter is tonight at 9PM EST.
Soup. Who knew?
I am gradually welcoming soup into my kitchen after long being lukewarm on the matter. I appreciate that it can be made, transported to a friend’s house, and warmed up all in one pot. I love that we can eat it together on the couch or on the floor fireside, the bowl warming our hands and our bellies. (Alright, our souls, too.)
There has repeatedly been this kimchi-lentil stew with some combination of cooked farro, broccoli warmed in the soup during reheating, a steamed and halved sweet potato to soak up the spicy broth, chopped raw bok choy, and a fried egg.
’s quick chicken pho is outstanding, but as I write this I’m making her less-quick version. Some days I really do feel like getting lost in a big pot.There has been Ina Garten’s super classic lentil vegetable soup with spinach stirred in at the end and a dollop of Dorie Greenspan’s super classic ricotta spoonable on top.
There’s been fried toast and poached eggs sitting in chicken broth, as well as Samin Nosrat’s butternut squash and green curry soup topped with toasted coconut, peanuts, and a funky chopped salad with raw crunchy vegetables.
There has also been this spunky chicken soup, which has an undercurrent of chickeny savoriness that doesn’t require simmering bones and cartilage for hours. Instead you brown boneless chicken thighs in a not-skimpy amount of oil, then simmer the chicken in store-bought broth, soy sauce and vinegar until the chicken is tender and the broth is tangy.
For soup to be as cozy, comforting, and wonderful as its followers say (“soup can set you free!”), ideally the bowl has a mix of stuff so that every slurp is a little different. For the stuff part of this chicken soup, there is chicken as well as broccoli and any noodles, but if you don’t have or want noodles or broccoli, use whatever you’re feeling — whatever will help you warm to soup if you’re not there yet. (The “things to add” section after the recipe has some ideas to start you off.)
