Recipes: Garlic Chicken Soup

The best comfort food when you are sick probably is a bowl of warm soup. But what could be better than Garlic Chicken Soup which can acts as a immune-system booster! Few weeks ago I was not feeling too well and get sick easily, coincidentally I stumble upon "阿基師 59元出好菜 蒜頭雞湯" on Youtube. As you may know, besides Gordon Ramsey, my other self-proclaimed cooking master is the famous Taiwan chef, 阿基師. So, read on to find out more about the recipe from my sifu! 😂😂😂

阿基师蒜头养身鸡汤

Garlic is consider as one of the superfood with many beneficial health effects. One of the active compound is the allicin, formed only when it is being crushed, chopped or chewed. The allicin also responsible for the distinct garlic smell. Not only it can boost the function of the immune system, garlic also may lower the risk of heart disease and prevent Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia (high anti-oxidant!). This is why the price of garlic has been skyrocketing! 

The recipe for Garlic Chicken Soup is pretty simple, garlic and chicken, literally. I bought both of them from Giant Hypermarket since it is nearby to my house. As you may see in the photo, the price per kg of garlic (RM13.99 per kg) is even more expensive than chicken thigh (RM9.49 per kg)! FYI, for bigger garlic bulb that you can get from morning market, the price even crosses RM20 per kg!  

Here're the ingredients I used:

Serving for 5

5 Chicken Thigh - around 1kg

5 Big Garlic Bulb - around 0.22kg

The amount of garlic supposedly to be 1/3 of the chicken, which means 1kg of Chicken with 0.33kg of Garlic. But again, you are the chef, you can do anything you like! 😁😁😁

Easy to Follow Procedures:

Deep fry 1/3 of the garlic so that when you mix it in your soup will be having a pleasant smell of garlic, rather than a bland chicken soup. Then put in your chicken thighs and garlic into a pot with boiling water (just enough for your chicken thigh to rest in). You may want to remove the top layer of chicken oil floating in the pot. Or you may choose to use 菜鸡 (free range chicken) which will be less fat or less oily.  

Depending on your personal preference, some times I do add in goji berries or wolf berries, or anything that is left inside my fridge. I always think that the best thing about cooking yourself is that you have the freedom to play with your ingredients.

Keep it boiling in medium heat for 45 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken thigh as well as your personal preference. 45 minutes is about right to cook the meat thoroughly where the meat comes off easily from the bone yet the sweetness is retained. Drizzle with few rounds of 绍兴花雕酒 (Shao Hsing Rice Wine) just before serving and voila! Simple and heart-warming soup, just the way I like it! 

How to Make it Better?

One thing to improve is that I found out that garlic should be crushed, let it seat for 10 minutes and add it towards the end of cooking so that we can preserve the maximum healing benefits. But of course if you could not withstand the pungent of garlic, then you just follow the procedures above. 

That's all! Simple right? Go try it out and let me know your version of Garlic Chicken Soup right below at the comment section!

Happy Cooking! :D