Some of my best childhood memories was seeing my dad spend hours in the kitchen making me this soup if I had a cold or other sickness (like that one time I had chicken pox). Knowing my dad was willing to give up his afternoon to make this comforting and nutritious soup (and many other foods for no occassion at all) is the reason I now spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for my family. Why wouldn’t I want to keep a “cure-all” soup as a secret family recipe? Although it doesn’t truly cure anything, it is a tasty, comforting soup that is packed with a variety of nutrients to help your body fight what ever is ailing you — chicken and egg whites for lean protein and other vitamins, spinach and potatoes for B6, folate, zinc, iron, and other minerals, garlic and ginger for anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, carrots, onions, and celery for vitamin A and other benefits, noodles for a little boost of carbs to fuel the body to carry these nutrients through the bloodstream. This recipe is totally customizable — as long as you at least keep the chicken, carrots, celery, potatoes and garlic. I usually simmer this in a big pot on the stove low and slow but if I’m making it for myself I go the easy route and use an InstaPot (pressure cooker). This recipe is for the low and slow method; for an Instapot, just toss all ingredients in the pot, push the “soup/broth” setting. After the InstaPot beeps, wait 30 minutes to let it naturally de-pressurize which makes for more tender meat, then release remaining pressure, shred the chicken with tongs and a long fork, discard bones (or save to make more broth later) then serve.
Ingredients:
Around 1 lb bone-in chicken thighs (skin on or off)
1/4 cup iodized kosher salt (table salt ok too just less nutritious)
2-3 egg whites (save the yolks for another recipe or boil and crumble it as a salad topping)
2-3 whole carrots (peeled and sliced to medium thickness)
2-3 stalks of celery (chopped medium thickness)
Half of any type of onion (diced fine)
2-3 cloves of garlic (minced or pureed)
1 teaspoon ginger (grated, pureed, or powdered)
1-2 Russet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-2 inch chunks)
1.5 cups of any type of noodles (I like to use Papadrelle, Cavatappi, Elbow Macaroni, or Wide Egg Noodles, but it really is what ever I have on hand even if I have to break Spaghetti or Fettuccini Noodles into thirds)
2 cups spinach
Optional: 1/2 TBSP of dried oregano
Optional: 1 TBSP of fresh or dried parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
Step 1: In a big pot of water filled almost 3/4 of the way full place the chicken thighs with a generous amount of salt (or about 1/4 cup) and bring to a rolling boil without a lid — carefully watch for boil over and turn heat down if needed.
Step 2: With a slotted spoon or ladle remove impurities (foamy fat that rose to the top if you kept the chicken skin on). Put lid on then turn heat down to medium-low to simmer for 3-5 hours, depending on how much you want to wait. The longer it simmers, the more nutritious and flavorful the broth.
Step 3: Remove any more extra fat that may have rose to the surface. Add all other ingredients, except the spinach and noodles; simmer for another hour with lid on.
Step 4: Add noodles and cook until noodles are just a bit more cooked than al dente or about 15 minutes.
Step 5: Turn heat off. Slowly pour in the egg whites while stirring gently. Serve! Hope your loved one feels better soon!