This turmeric chicken soup loads up on aromatics, plenty of ginger, and lots of turmeric for a comforting, warming bowl of soup
I was on the phone with my mom today, and she asked what I was cooking for dinner. I told her I was cooking chicken soup, to which she responded, “How much chicken soup do you eat?!” I thought about it, and yes, I do eat a lot of chicken soup. It’s my favorite thing. I’d even go so far as to say if I had to choose one thing to eat every day, it would be good chicken soup. When chicken broth is good–like really good–I could eat just that with the shredded chicken in it and call it a day.
This turmeric chicken soup goes a little beyond that. It has an ultra-flavorful broth with plenty of ginger, turmeric, and aromatics. The result? A rich, flavorful broth that you will love.
How to make this turmeric chicken soup recipe:
Like most of my chicken soup recipes, you need plenty of time to let the broth develop good flavor. Fortunately, most of the cooking time is inactive.
What you need
- Homemade chicken broth: To make the broth, you’ll use a whole chicken along with a shallot, a few sprigs of thyme, and celery. Broth always tastes best when it’s made with those scraps in your fridge, so get creative here. Throw in a few carrots, fennel stalks, or the dark green parts of leeks. If you have parsley that’s about to go bad, chuck it in the pot.
- Aromatics: You’ll use carrots, celery, onion, scallions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric as the soup base.
- Soup: After the aromatics, you need just red lentils, homemade broth, shredded chicken, and lemon juice. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
How to make it
- Step 1: Start with the broth. Simmer the chicken with aromatics for a couple of hours. Shred the meat from the bones and strain the broth.
- Step 2: Fry up the soup aromatics. Cook the onion, carrots, and celery first. Next, add the garlic and scallion whites. Then, add the ginger and turmeric and cook until just fragrant.
- Step 3: Add in those lentils. Pour in the broth and shredded chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender.
- Step 4: Finish it up! Add a few of the scallion greens and finish with lemon juice.
Turmeric Chicken Soup
This turmeric chicken soup loads up on aromatics, plenty of ginger, and lots of turmeric for a comforting, warming bowl of soup
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Servings: 6
Calories: 512kcal
Equipment
- Stockpot
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
Chicken broth:
- 3½ pound chicken, neck and giblets reserved for another use
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 1 shallot, peeled and quartered
- 3 ribs celery, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 3½ teaspoons of salt, plus more if needed
Soup:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into half-moons
- 4 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 8 scallions, minced; white and green parts kept separate
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1½ cups dry red lentils, picked over and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare the broth:
- Place the chicken in a large stockpot with thyme, shallot, and celery. Cover the chicken with about 12 cups of water; use enough to fully submerge it. Add 3½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 hours until the chicken is fully cooked.
Shred the chicken:
- Turn the heat off. Using tongs, carefully transfer the chicken into a large bowl. Pick the meat from the bones once the chicken is cool enough to handle. You can add the skin to the soup if you like or discard it. Reserve the carcass for stock if you like.
- Strain the broth into a large bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Wipe out the pot and return it to the stovetop. Discard the spent broth aromatics.
Make the soup:
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8–10 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and scallion whites and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the ginger and turmeric and toss to coat. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the lentils and cook for 1 minute. Add a big pinch of salt.
Simmer the soup:
- Pour in the reserved broth–you should have about 8–10 cups. Add the shredded chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Taste and add crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in half the minced scallion greens and the lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
To serve:
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining minced scallion greens. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 69g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 339mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 21mg
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