Chicken & Rice Soup with Ginger & Toasted Sesame
/This recipe is a republish from 2016, originally inspired by a lunch at a little Korean shop, and long due for an update. If you hadn’t tried this one before, now’s the time! It’s bolder and tastier than ever.
Located in an otherwise uninviting strip mall, “A Cup of Peace” is one of the few places in Boulder serving Korean food. While I have no idea what they put in their recipe for chicken soup, one bowl was enough to inspire me to make my own. An extremely simple soup, the broth is robust with umami, in part because it is doused with soy sauce and sesame oil (which is like liquid gold in the kitchen, isn’t it?).
In a time where we all need a little added comfort in our lives, chicken soup seems like a sort of staple. A healing, cozy staple. Perhaps because I haven’t eaten much of it, classic chicken noodle soup has never been my thing. But the flavors here are very much my thing. (In case you forgot already, toasted sesame oil is liquid gold status in my cupboard).
Chicken & Rice Soup with Ginger & Toasted Sesame
Serves: 6 | Active Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
Directions:
- In a large soup pot, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and ginger, and sauté a few minutes, until golden.
- Pour broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and (optionally) fish sauce to the pot, and stir.
- Bring soup to a simmer, and add chicken breast. Continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. (If using Instant Pot, see note below)
- Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chicken from the broth. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Then, add it back to the soup.
- Slice zucchini and summer squash into half-moons. Add zucchini, squash and the dried white rice to the soup, and return to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the vegetables and rice are tender, about 15 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, toast sesame seeds: place in a skillet over low heat. Shake the pan every minute or two to stir the seeds. Watch closely to avoid burning, and remove seeds from heat once lightly golden. Set aside.
- Remove soup from heat. Stir, and optionally season to taste with salt (depending on your broth, you may not need any salt!). Stir in half of the green onions, and drizzle with toasted sesame oil.
- Ladle into bowls, and garnish with additional green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.