Day 75: Chicken Soup For The Soul: Take Two

Earlier this week, my sister's stomach was upset (as you may have figured out by now, our stomachs are very sensitive, which is in part, why I started a healthier diet low on dairy and nuts, processed sugars/carbs, and with no gluten-based products or red meat). As most doctors will tell you, ginger is a very good natural aid for upset stomachs. So is garlic. Therefore, I decided to combine the two for a Chinese version of the feel-good chicken noodle soup! However, instead of just adding fresh ginger, I've joined the bandwagon of drinking kombucha tea (a fermented kelp based tea), and I love GT's brand of raw organic kombucha teas. For this soup, I used about half a bottle of the 'gingeraid' that he makes with fresh ginger and very little sugar (only 2 grams per 8 fl. oz.)! Some people don't like the taste of kombucha--it's rather strong depending on the length of fermentation, but I love it and Hannah couldn't even tell that there was kombucha in her soup! Plus, it did make her feel better, which was the initial goal. For those of you under the weather, check out this recipe and warm the cockles of your soul with chicken noodle soup!

Chinese Ginger-Garlic Chicken Egg Drop Soup with Tofu Noodles and Bok Choy
Makes about 8 cups

5 small frozen chicken breasts or 10 large breasts cut in half

1 bok choy, chopped into large pieces

1 c. minced garlic

2 c. GT’s raw organic kombucha gingeraide (kombucha tea with fresh ginger in it) OR 2 tbsp ginger pieces + 2 cups water 

2 c. low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 c. light silken tofu

1 c. white onions, chopped into 1/2” chunks

2 large eggs

1- 8 oz. package of tofu noodles (I used House Foods’ Tofu Shirataki spaghetti)

1 tsp guar gum for thickening

2 tsp Chinese five-spice

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp Sriracha sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1) Defrost the chicken breasts in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes and using a sharp knife, cut them into small strips and set aside.

2) In a large pot, pour in the kombucha, vegetable broth, and the "juice" from the defrosted chicken, and bring to a slight boil on medium-high heat.

3) Add in the Sriracha sauce, lemon juice, silken tofu and the spices.

4) Rinse off the bok choy and dump into the soup, turning down the heat to medium-low setting.

5) Cover the pot with a lid to let it simmer while preparing the onions and garlic.

6) Grease a small skillet with Pam olive oil and stir-fry the onions on medium heat with the minced garlic until they become translucent.

7) Add the mixture along with the chicken pieces into the soup and turn up the heat again until the broth starts to boil slightly.

8) Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl before stirring them into the soup.
9) Add the guar gum and really stir in so it doesn't congeal in the soup--this will thicken it a bit.

10) Once the chicken and eggs look cooked, turn off the heat and serve immediately!

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!