Philippine comfort food. My mum and grandmother served this dish whenever someone in the family has a cold or fever. I made a couple of healthy substitutions. Use organic ingredients if possible.
6 pieces of chicken thighs
1 Tbps of minced lemon grass (bought frozen at the asian supermarkets)
1 medium sized fresh ginger root (sliced into chunks)
1 cup brown rice medley + 1 cup quinoa (in lieu of 2 cups white jasmine rice)
1 medium sized fresh lemon, skin washed then sliced into chunks (in lieu of kalamansi)
4 cups organic low sodium chicken stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
fresh cilantro (chopped)
fresh basil (chopped)
1. In a rice cooker, combine rice + quinoa + low sodium chicken stock.
2. Rub coarse salt all over the chicken thigh pieces. Rinse with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Then transfer into a large pot.
3. Add the sliced ginger, minced lemongrass, and 6 cups of cold water into the large pot holding the chicken. Cook in low heat for about 30 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture, then throw in the lemon pieces. Cook in low heat for another 10 minutes. Skim the grease off the top of the broth, if there are any. Keep the pot cooking under low heat (#2 setting)
4. Carefully remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Meat should be very tender and fall off the bones very easily. Use a fork to remove the skin. Detach the meat from the bones. Set this aside.
5. When the rice+quinoa mixture is cooked, scoop this out of the rice cooker, and add this to the pot of chicken broth. Add the de-boned chicken meat, chicken bones, fresh basil, fresh cilantro back into the pot. Add the fish sauce to taste. Allow the soup to cook in low heat for another 30 minutes, sirring occasionally.
6. Remove the chicken bones, sliced ginger, and sliced lemons before serving.
7. Serve the soup with fried minced onions or pork floss (optional).
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