Not all westerners take comfort in Chicken Noodle Soup. I happen to be one of those who doesn't. So when I'm sick and Chicken Soup is recommended to me by all my friends, asian and non-asian, I'm usually at a crossroads. Do I go ahead and eat western style chicken soup or save my taste buds? I looked on the internet to find a recipe for some Asian Style Chicken Soup recipes, but came up almost completely empty handed. I decided then and there that I would make my own recipe and share it with others who, like me, does not prefer to eat Western Style Chicken Soup. While some of the ingredients are the same it has a very asian twist, and incorporates flavors that are to me comfort food. This soup is very good for the sick, but also just nice on a cold autumn or winter's day.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Thigh Cut Into Small Pieces

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Carrot

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Mushrooms (any will do, I used Shiitake and Shimeji)

1/2 Small Potato Chopped into Small Cubes

1/4 Cup Parsley, Chopped Finely

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1-2 Tsp Soy Sauce (To Taste)

1 Tsp Sake (Rice Wine)

1 Tsp Mirin (Sweet Cooking Wine)

Pinch Sugar

Dash Garlic Powder

Dash Onion Salt (To Taste, If you like saltier add more, if not omit)

To Taste Black Pepper

Instructions:

Chop and prepare all the ingredients above. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, sake, and mirin into a pot and turn on medium-high heat. Add the chicken, carrot, mushrooms, and potato to the pot. Stir occasionally while waiting for the broth to boil. Once the broth boils, turn heat down to medium and add the sugar, garlic powder, onion salt, and black pepper. Stir to incorporate and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the carrots and potatoes are soft. Add the parsley and stir one last time. Serve the soup, piping hot for a sore throat or warm for a feverish patient.

Servings: 2 Small, For Someone Sick. Double the batch to make 2 normal servings.

Tip:

This soup can easily become too salty, always check the salt level after you add ingredients that contain a lot of salt (ie: Soy Sauce, Onion Salt). If the soup becomes too salty add more sugar. Sugar and salt balance each other, so if the soup becomes too sweet add a bit of salt, and vice versa. The best tip is to not have to balance the flavors though so be careful from the start!

Alternative Ingredients:

If you have a favorite vegetable go ahead and add it. Daikon (Japanese White Radish), Peas, and Onions will also work well in this soup. The ingredients are not fixed so have fun and play around with it. If you don't have a certain ingredient just use what you have on hand.

Serving Suggestion:

This soup pairs exceptionally well with Croissants and Onigiri. My suggestion is to serve it with a Croissant at the beginning or end of your sickness (or if you are not sick) because the rich buttery flakiness of the croissant tastes delicious. If you are at the height of your sickness serve it with some plain salted onigiri because it will be less likely to upset the stomach and the light taste of the onigiri will be a comfort and allows some of the richness of the broth to be soaked up.