I made lemon grass flavored clear chicken soup in summer, when my daughter had all 4 of her wisdom teeth taken out. They were growing completely sideways and were giving her pain. After extraction she was advised not to eat anything for several hours and then to start with liquid or pureed foods, anything that doesn’t get stuck in the cavities. During that time I could not take any picture of the soup but this past week when she was feeling under the weather she asked me to make that soup again.
You don’t feel like eating much when you are sniffling, sneezing and have sore throat. Drinking hot liquids is one of the thing that helps to relieve symptoms, move mucus and keep you hydrated. But a good bowl of salty soup can do wonders and make it easier to recover from flu symptoms by giving your body the energy and nutrients it needs to fight the cold. At such times, it’s quite handy to have broth at home. If it is homemade, then that’s well and good, if not even boxed broth is delicious to transform into healthy soups.
This is a light, fresh, zesty soup with plenty of flavor. The slow cooked juices of lemon grass and ginger helps soothe the sore throat and warm you from inside. Lemon grass has a citrus flavor that goes really well with spicy ginger. The whole house smell fantastic, and the best of all it is fast and easy to prepare. I threw in some precooked shredded chicken, even though you don’t clearly see in the picture, it tastes wonderful in the soup!
Hope you like it!
Lemongrass infused chicken clear soup really does make you feel better when you have cold.
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth, homemade or store bought
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 4-6 lime leaves, deveined and cut into fine slivers
- 1" piece ginger
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- cooked shredded chicken
- lemon wedges
- Vegetarian option: Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth and shredded chicken with 4-5 shitaki mushrooms
Instructions
- Discard the tough outer layer of the lemongrass, and cut the soft inner part into small pieces.
- Place the lemongrass stalks and the ginger in a mortar, and crush lightly with the pestle.
- Pour the broth in a medium saucepan and set it over medium heat. Add the lightly crushed lemon grass and ginger.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes to infuse the broth with the lemongrass and ginger.
- Add salt and black pepper. Leave lemongrass and ginger in the soup or pour into serving bowls without it or strain if you want (they do add flavor when left in the soup).
- You may squeeze a little lemon juice into the soup for more flavor.
- Add shredded chicken, garnish with lime leaf slivers.
- Rinse mushrooms and soak in 1 1/2 cup warm water for about 10 -15 minutes (You can use the same water with broth).
- Remove stems and thinly slice the mushrooms. Add it to the simmering soup after 10 minutes (step 4) and cook further for 10 minutes,
Kitchen Belleicious
the soup looks divine. Warm and inviting. I love a good clear soup for those cold days or sick days or just when i need a little pick me up! This is yummy with the lemongrass flavor.
Monica
I love this! Thank you! You’d have to make me gallons of this and I just might pretend to be sick to get some. I love the flavor of lemongrass and this sounds like a wonderful get-well remedy. I also love how easy it is – thanks for sharing it!
Choc Chip Uru
What a warming and delicious soup, I bet it is perfect during sickness when you just don’t want to eat!
Lemongrass is a great ingredient to add!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Shirley Tay (Blackswan)
Love the combination of all the ingredients, especially the goodness of the soup. Smells refreshing, dear!
Juliana
This is such a aromatic way to serve chicken broth…I can only imagine the lemongrass flavor…awesome recipe blander…
Hope you are having a great week 🙂
Easyfoodsmith
From your description the soup sounds fantastic and I can imagine how good the house must have smelt. And yes, I can spot the chicken sitting comfortable at the bottom of the bowl.
Maggie
I can smell the fragrant from lemongrass when I read through your recipe! It’s such a great idea to add lemongrass into the chicken soup. I like Thai style soup but this one is really hearty and great to have any time.
It’s difficult to find fresh lemongrass here, may I use the dry one? I feel they are less flavorful sometimes…
Balvinder
I am sure you can, I haven’t used it myself, But I read it in a food discussion in food community (google+) that it works well. Thank you for appreciating!