Chicken Soup D.I.M. - The Recipe!

The chicken soup I made the other day was sooo delicious that I decided to share the recipe with you all.  Like my blog says, what I like you can too, so get your pot and ladle and get your butt moving.

Get these ready before cooking :

1. Your pot should be large enough to hold 3 liters of water (That’s 2 bottles of mineral water, use it, it’s more trustable than what comes out of your tap)
2. One whole chicken, cut into small pieces because big pieces look ugly, take more time to cook and do not absorb the spices well. Let’s say the size of cigarette boxes. When cooked, they are going to be smaller in size
3. Potatoes, 3 pieces of them. Peeled and cut into 4 pieces. If possible, use Russet Potatoes (pix below). When cooked, it’s body is more tender and easily breaks to mix with the broth making it thicker and more delicious. 
4. Celery Sticks, 3 stalks. You don’t want to eat this. I used this for its aroma. They need to be bruised and just thrown into the broth. When about to serve, take them out and discard.
5. 3 carrots, sliced accross.
6. 1 small tub of plain yoghurt (a must, otherwise your soup tastes like the one at kenduris), 2 sacks of ‘Sup bunjut Adabi’, 4 chicken stock cubes.

Now for the broth :

A.      The Paste :

2 inches length of mature ginger, the kind with that hard look and feel to it.

5 cloves of garlic.

5 thai shallots. Other kinds of onions or shallots just wouldn’t do. They lack aroma.

Pound these using mortar and pestle, for that special texture. Or a blender can do almost. When turned into paste, mix with 2 spoons of ground blackpepper.

B.      The Spices:

2 whole star aniseed (bunga lawang)

8 pieces of cloves (bunga cengkih)

5 pieces of cardamom (buah pelaga)

2 cinnamon sticks (kulit kayu manis)

Prepare this while cooking :

Shredded spring onion and shredded, crispy fried thai shallots. Not only for garnishing, it enhances the taste.

Now, let’s begin :

1. Heat 3 spoons of oil in the pot. Saute The Spices until they pop, immediately add The Paste. Suitably, after the aroma exudes, add a bottle of mineral water (1.5 liter). Wait till boil.
2. When boils, add ‘Sup Bunjut Adabi’ sacks and chicken stock cubes.
3. Add chicken pieces and celery sticks together. Wait till boil again.
4. Add yoghurt. Add water accordingly to your desired thickness of the broth. Not more than 3 liters of water should be used. Wait till boil again.
5. Lastly, add potato pieces and sliced carrots. 5 extra minutes will do for the potato to cook.

Stir the broth frequently while cooking. Don’t forget, salt to taste. A spoon of caramel (kicap pekat) is optional. The whole process takes approximately 45 minutes. The broth should turn into thicker soup by this time. That’s the way I like it. When finished, take the celery sticks out and discard.

Serve with sprinkles of shredded spring onion and shredded crispy fried thai shallots. This should feed 4 mouths satisfactorily. Eat with bread dipped in it, if you like.

Here are some tips : If you like your soup to be hot, you may add bruised ‘chilli padi’ into individual bowls. Those who don’t, just don’t. If you want thicker soup, add more yoghurt.

I hope you feel the urge to try this because I do feel it myself now!

p/s : I add Malay names for the spices, for I got confused sometimes.