Chicken Soup Recipes: China, Columbia and Bulgaria

When mom buried herself in the kitchen to cook a pot of her chicken soup recipe, she always finished with the same results. Chicken, broth, celery, carrots and noodles. There was never a different taste or texture to try or enjoy. Come to find out, nearly every culture has a version of chicken soup recipe. Some are quite interesting and all are unique.

Chinese Chicken Soup Recipe (Beijing Style Chicken Soup)

2 tb sesame oil

½ tsp turmeric, ground

2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped

2 tb chili paste

1 lb chicken breast, cooked

1 qt chicken broth

2 tsp sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup celery, chopped

1 package Ramen noodles, 3 ounces

1 cup lettuce, shredded

½ cup green onion, chopped

Heat oil over medium heat. Saute turmeric, chili paste and ginger for one to two minutes. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar and celery. Bring chicken broth to a boil and add Ramen noodles. Cook for three minutes, remove from heat and enjoy garnished with green onions.

Variations: This traditional Chinese chicken soup recipe tends to use whatever fowl is available - hen being the most common. Star anise, dried goji, and rice wine are added to some variations on a chicken soup recipe from China. The Ramen noodles can held off while the soup simmers for hours to meld the flavors more deeply.

Bulgarian Chicken Soup Recipe (Sophia Style Chicken Soup)

1 lb cut up chicken

¾ cup milk

3 ½ tb butter

1 tb cayenne pepper

2 tsp salt

3 garlic cloves

Just less than ½ cup vinegar

Hot chilis

Place chicken in a pressure cooker with enough salted water to cover and allow to cook for one hour. Take chicken out of pot and allow to cool for a few moments. Cut slightly cool chicken into small chunks after removing skin and bone and add back into the broth. In a skillet, melt butter with cayenne pepper until hot, but not burned. Pour butter into stock pot with milk. Stir thoroughly. Force garlic through a press and mix with vinegar. Garlic vinegar can be prepared well in advance. Serve this chicken soup recipe or Bulgarian chicken soup recipe with garlic vinegar and hot chilis.

Variations: In some parts of Bulgaria, this chicken soup recipe replaces the milk with yogurt. Other variations include adding flour and egg to thicken and replacing vinegar with lemon juice. The chicken can be replaced with veal tripe or pork tripe.

Columbian Chicken Soup Recipe -Ajiaco Bogotano (Bogota Style Chicken Soup)

¼ onion, sliced

1 bunch cilantro

6 green onions, white only

1 garlic clove

1 celery stalk

4 qt water

1 chicken, skin removed and quartered (3 ½ lbs)

4 chicken bouillon cubes

4 ears of corn

2 lbs red potatoes, peel removed and sliced medium

3 lbs Russet potatoes, peel removed and sliced medium

2 lbs Columbian yellow potatoes (papa criolla), peel removed and quartered

1 packet guascas, dried (0.35 ounces)

Salt

Pepper

½ cup cream, heavy

3 avocados, chopped coarse and tossed with lemon

½ cup capers in juice

Aji salsa

Wrap onion, cilantro, green onion, celery and garlic in cheese cloth and tie with kitchen twine. Place the cheese cloth in a stock pot with quartered chicken pieces, bouillon and water. Heat water to boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Skim chicken foam from the top of the water as needed. After 30 minutes, remove chicken from soup and cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken breast meat and set aside on a plate. Thigh and leg meat will not be used for this dish.

Turn heat to medium high and add corn and red potatoes to the broth. Boil potatoes for 10 minutes before adding the Russets. Cook for 20 additional minutes and add the Columbian yellow potatoes with ½ the guascas packet. Stir broth well. Turn broth down to low and allow to gently cook for about an hour. The broth for this chicken soup recipe will be thick.

Remove the corn from the pot and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Cut corn into 2 inch wide circles and add back into the simmering broth. Add the remaining guascas.

Take the cheese cloth from the broth and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with shredded breast of chicken, avocados, capers or Aji salsa.

Variations: Sour cream can be added to the top of this traditional Columbian chicken soup recipe. Variations on this chicken soup recipe includes bone-in hen, plantain, and other vegetables and is called Sancocho de Gallina. Some people even prefer to eat Sancocho de Gallina with lemon.

Everyone should have a hearty chicken soup recipe on hand. Whether you love the traditional or think it's time to change things up a bit, there is no doubt how well a chicken soup recipe has been working to heal for many generations.