egg-drop soup

I find myself coming down with a bit of a cold. When I'm feeling stuffed up and with a sore throat, the only thing I really want is soup. I usually make just a simple chicken soup with carrot and celery, but tonight I wanted something a little different. I ended up settling on egg-drop soup because it's loaded with protein and is very simple and inexpensive to make.

Egg-Drop Soup

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups water
3 eggs
1 bunch scallions
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 2-inch piece of ginger root
salt and white pepper to taste
toasted sesame oil to taste

Combine broth and water in a large pot, add salt to taste if desired. Smash six scallions and chop into thirds. Peel ginger and slice. Add scallions and ginger to liquid and bring to a simmer. Add chicken breasts and allow to poach in simmering liquid for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, remove and let broth simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Shred chicken and slice the remainder of the scallions. Remove ginger and scallions from the broth (I put a strainer over a large bowl and carefully dumped the contents of the pot into it, then dumped the strained broth back into the pot). In a separate bowl, beat three eggs with a whisk until combined, then pour the egg in a slow steady stream into the simmering broth while constantly whisking. Remove from heat and ladle into dishes. Add shredded chicken and chopped scallions, and drizzle toasted sesame oil across top, to taste.

It was a nice change from our usual soup, and filled us up for not a lot of money or effort, which is always nice. :) Plus, this soup fits nicely in with our Primal eating, as it's high-fat, moderate-protein and low carb, with no grains in sight!

apricot ginger glazed chicken

I got this recipe from this month's Cooking Light magazine, but I tweaked it a little...somewhat on purpose, and somewhat by mistake.

The recipe called for boneless chicken thighs, but all I had were breasts so I cut them into thigh-sized pieces. I browned them in some oil till they were cooked through, then removed them and made the sauce. The sauce consisted of apricot preserves (the recipe called for ginger preserves but said a combination of apricot and grated fresh ginger could be used instead), grated ginger, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. I ended up adding a little bit of chicken stock as well. I let it reduce down to about half, then added the chicken back to the pan for a couple minutes to coat it. I served it with brown rice with scallions, and steamed snap peas. It tasted a lot like a milder General Gao's Chicken from the local Chinese joint, except not so cloyingly sweet. I'd definitely make this again, though I think next time I might serve it with bok choy or cabbage, as the peas were quite sweet on top of the sauce.