At this time of year, when winter’s grip is loosening but still hanging on, I like to make food that will warm my bones and give me the energy to push through to spring. Chicken soup fits the bill, and while I generally make a chicken soup or broth with bones, using chicken legs can increase the flavour and body. Legs have skin and fat, which carry extra flavour, and has a good amount of meat that can be shredded from the bone to add to the soup. I recommend using whole legs in your next soup!
Chicken and Rice Soup with Ginger
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4 whole chicken legs
1 large onion, peeled, and cut into quarters
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 knobs ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (each “knob” should be thumb-sized)
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, washed and roughly chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 cups cooked rice (jasmine works well, but you can use any type)
Method
- Place all the ingredients (except for the rice) and a large pot and fill with enough cold water to cover the ingredients by an inch.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1.5 hours, skimming the surface of the soup often to remove impurities.
- Cool the soup down for 2 hours, or until the chicken is cool enough to handle. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and reserve the liquid in a clean pot.
- Using your clean fingers, separate the skin and bone from the chicken leg meat. Add the meat to the strained broth. Discard the remaining solids from the strainer.
- Add the cooked rice to the broth and chicken meat and bring back to a simmer. Stir and serve immediately.