What Goes Around

Contributor Jim Dixon of Real Good Food has been under the weather lately, and nothing soothes a throat or a tummy like chicken soup. His recipe for quick relief, which I'd like to call "Uncle Jim's Cure-All Elixir," looks like it would be good any time!

I’ve been fighting something nasty the last few days. It might’ve been the short-lived flu-like bug that seemed to hit everybody that was home for the holidays, or maybe just food poisoning. At any rate, all I wanted was chicken soup, and that meant a batch of this:

Not Exactly Instant But Quick Chicken Soup

Put 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cheaper and better flavor than breast meat) in a couple of quarts of water, add sea salt, and start cooking. While it’s coming to a boil, chop an onion, carrot, and some celery (I never buy a whole bunch, but instead cherry-pick the inner stalks from the loose celery in the New Seasons produce section so I get the tasty leaves, too). Toss it in, then chop a half head of green cabbage (and all this chopping should produce relatively small bits that fit into a soup spoon). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Use tongs to fish out the chicken thighs and set them aside to cool a bit. Taste the broth, add more salt if necessary. I also add a splash of fish sauce (or even a few diced anchovies), a little soy, and a healthy dose of Crystal or Frank’s (both Louisiana-style vinegar hot sauces).

Tear or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the broth. If you like noodles, add some now, but sparingly if you want the soup to have some broth. Ditto for rice. Cover and let simmer gently until the pasta or rice is tender.