Revitalizing Ginger and Chicken Soup

This has been a long and cold winter in Toronto, and a bit of a shock, because for the past few years, winter has been relatively mild.  There also seems to have been more colds and flues than usual this winter and so far, I have avoided them all. I have been relying on variations of this ginger chicken broth as a solution to the winter, adding different ingredients, depending on what is available.  Sometimes just greens, and maybe some chicken or not, other times frozen shrimp, mushrooms and greens. After a bowl of soup with this ginger broth as a base, I feel better almost instantly.

Because the broth takes time to make, and I never know when a I am going to need a pick-me-up, I like to keep single portioned containers of frozen broth in the freezer for emergencies. 

This past weekend I had guests in the country and dressed this basic soup up with chinese greens, poached eggs, and enoki mushrooms.  I served it with some of my red river bread for lunch.  

Revitalizing Ginger Broth with Greens, Chicken and Eggs

Ginger Chicken Broth

1 hand of fresh ginger,
2 sticks of lemon grass
1 large onion
1 head of garlic
1 stalk of celery, cut into a few large pieces
1 tablespoon of pepper corns
4 organic chicken backs, 
salt to taste

Additions to Broth

fresh green chinese vegetables, such as yu choy or bok choy and snow peas
chunks of pre cooked chicken
fresh eggs
fresh cilantro
hot peppers depending on your heat tolerance
cherry tomatoes
enoki mushrooms 
Sobo noodles

Wash the ginger and cut into about 1/8 inch slices.  There should be at least a half cup of ginger slices.  Slice the onion and smash the garlic cloves.  Cut lemon grass sticks lengthwise and smash.  Place all of these aromatics into a large pot, add the pepper corns and the chicken backs.  Cover with at least 4 quarts of water.  Bring to boil and then reduce heat to allow broth to simmer for a half hour.  Remove chicken bones, and take any chicken off of the bones, and set aside. Place bones back in broth and continue simmering for another couple of hours.  The liquid should have reduced by about half. Salt to taste.

Strain broth and discard bones, ginger, etc. 

Prepare sobo noodles. Rinse in cold water. 

Cut chinese greens into bite size pieces. coarsely chop cilantro, and finely chop hot peppers.  

Heat 1 cup of broth per person and poach eggs in the broth.

Place some noodles in the bottom of a large soup bowl.   Arrange some of the chicken pieces, a hand full of chinese greens and the mushrooms on top of the noodles.  Carefully place the poached egg on top.  Ladle the very hot broth used for poaching the eggs over the ingredients in the bowl.  Place cilantro, a few cherry tomatoes and chopped peppers to taste on top.  Let stand for a minute or two until the greens become a vibrant green and serve.