There’s chicken soup, and there’s “sup ayam”. While the simpler, Western-style chicken soup is comforting and enjoyed by many, nothing beats the spice-infused brew of a Malaysian-style chicken soup.
There’s something about the addition of cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and lemongrass that brings an extra level of comfort to Asian tummies.
And, it is not all that difficult to make, although it does require an hour or two over the pot to ensure your chicken cooks perfectly and the flavour is infused into the soup.
Enter slow cooker chicken soup. This genius invention makes cooking so easy – just dump everything into the slow cooker in the morning, head to work, and come home to a perfectly cooked meal.
Ok, we admit, there a few steps of preparation before you can seal the slow cooker nice and tight, like frying the spices to release their aroma.
However, this doesn’t take very long and will make a world of difference to your chicken soup.
Ingredients
• 1kg whole chicken (cut into 12) or chicken pieces (bony parts preferred, like drumsticks or wings)
• 170g (2) carrots, cut into batons
• 360g (3) potatoes, cubed
• 300g (3) brown onions , peeled and cut into 8 segments each
• 20g (½ bunch) parsley, cut fine
• 30g (½ bunch) spring onions, cut fine
• 25g (2 tbsp) cooking oil
• 2 litres water
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
Aromatics
• 100g (1) red onion, peeled and quartered
• 18g (3 cloves) garlic, peeled
• 15g (2”) ginger, peeled
• 120g (2 stalks) celery, peeled and cut into smaller chunks
• 20g (1 stick) lemongrass
Spices
• 7g (2 sticks) cinnamon
• 2g (3) star anise
• ¼ tsp (5) cloves
• ½ tsp (4) cardamom
• ¼ tsp (10) black peppercorns
• ¼ tsp (10) white peppercorns
Optional topping
• Fried shallots
Aromatics and spices
• Roughly blend garlic, ginger and shallots to a medium-coarse consistency. You want them crushed, but not fine. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Next, blend celery until smooth. Use a little water to aid in this process if necessary. Set aside.
• Using a pestle or the flat part of a large knife, bash lemongrass on a chopping board or solid surface until it splinters.
Preparing slow cooker chicken soup
• In a slow cooker, heat oil on the sauté/sear high temperature setting. Once the oil is hot enough, add in all spices and prepared aromatics except for the celery. Fry until fragrant for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Next, add the blended celery and let it cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add chicken pieces to the slow cooker and cook for about 5 minutes, just to par cook the chicken. Rotate the chicken pieces so all sides are evenly par cooked.
• Add carrots and potatoes next, followed by water, salt and pepper.
• Cover your slow cooker and cook for 4 to 5 hours on high temperature, or 6 to 8 hours on low temperature.
• Go to work, take a nap, watch for your favourite TV show, do your laundry, etc.
• 1 hour before the timer is up, add large onions, pushing them into the soup. Close your slow cooker and leave it alone.
• 30 minutes before you finish cooking add half the parsley and spring onions. Reserve the rest for garnishing.
Serving
• Slow cooker done? Remove cinnamon sticks and lemongrass before serving. Also, give your soup a good stir especially if you’re dishing it out into individual bowls so you will get a nice mix of soup, spices and vegetables.
• Serve your slow cooker chicken soup with fresh parsley and spring onions for garnishing, and sprinkle a generous dose of fried shallots. The soup is great paired with rice, nasi impit, or crusty bread for a comforting meal. For some heat, add some sambal kicap.
Extra tips
• If you’re out, add the brown onions at the same time that you add the potatoes and carrots. They’ll be extra mushy, but still fine.
• If you’re out when the slow cooker completes its cooking, add parsley and spring onions when you get home and let it cook for an additional 15 minutes. Optionally, you can also set your slow cooker short of 30 minutes the first time around and add the additional time along with the parsley and spring onions when you get back.
No slow cooker? No worries. Check out our Chicken Soup Recipe: A Malaysian Take on a Wholesome, Hearty and Comforting Soup.
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com
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