Healing Asian chicken soup, sous vide

This is an adaptation of our version of Healing Asian chicken soup. Our goal was to improve the taste and texture of the chicken but, along the way, we thought perhaps we could simplify it, too. We ended up creating something a little different than we intended.

The result is a slightly different soup with some appealing qualities; gently poached vegetables and meat in a scented broth. The quality of the original ingredients will shine through, so purchase the best produce you can find.

Although we haven’t done any formal testing, it could be argued that this is likely even more healthy than our original adaptation. The lower temperature of the water bath and the closed environment retain more vitamins.*

Time

2 hours total: 30 minutes attended, 1 hour 30 minutes unattended

Difficulty

easy

Yield

1800 g (servings 3 –4)

Ingredients

Weight

Volume

Procedure

Coconut oil

18 g

4 tsp

Turmeric, ground

2.3 g

1 tsp

Cumin, ground

1.6 g

½ tsp

Coriander seed, ground

1.2 g

½ tsp

Cinnamon stick, whole

4 g

1 regular

Star anise, whole

4 g

2 regular

Combine in a vacuum pouch and seal sous vide. Set aside.

Chicken stock

375 g

1½ cups

Scallions, thinly sliced

240 g

1 bunch

Ginger, minced

40 g

2 tbsp

Garlic, minced

12 g

4 cloves

Coriander, root and stems, finely chopped

7 g

2 sprigs

Sweet potato, ⅕" / 5 mm dice

400 g

1 regular

Carrots, ⅕" / 5 mm dice

220 g

2 regular

Button mushrooms, quartered

90 g

6 regular

Combine in a large bowl and mix.

Transfer to vacuum pouches and seal sous vide.

Add to water bath along with spiced oil pouch A.

Cook at 84°C / 183°F for 45 minutes. (For a firmer texture on the bok choy stems, pull them after 15 minutes.)

Keep warm, between 59°C / 138°F and 74°C / 165°F, until ready for service.

Chicken stock

125 g

½ cup

Corn, kernels

160 g

2 cobs

Baby bok choy, stems, ⅕" / 5 mm pieces (reserve leaves)

120 g

2 heads

Vacuum seal and cook sous vide at 84°C / 183°F for 15 minutes.

Keep warm, between 59°C / 138°F and 74°C / 165°F, until ready for service.

Chicken breast, whole, blanched 5 seconds and jaccarded

300 g

2 whole

Chicken stock

250 g

1 cup

Tamari

20 g

4 tsp

Mirin

10 g

2 tsp

Salt

5 g

1 tsp

Combine in vacuum pouch and seal sous vide.

Cook in a water bath at 59°C / 138°F for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Chicken stock

250 g

1 cup

Bring to a boil. Cover and reserve at a simmer.

Baby bok choy, reserved leaves C

74 g

2 heads

Divide leaves among serving plates.

Strain cooked vegetables BC and reserve liquid in the jug of a blender.

Divide vegetables between serving bowls.

Strain cooked chicken D and add liquid to blender.

Cut chicken into ⅕" / 6 mm dice or 0.1" / 3 mm slabs and divide between serving bowls.

Add hot stock E to blender.

Add spiced oil A to blender and mix at high speed for 1 minute. Strain (optional).

Divide liquid between serving bowls.

Coriander leaves

to taste

Sesame seeds

to taste

Garnish.

Original: 2014. Adapted: 2016.

Notes

The vegetables and spiced oil can be kept in their pouches and held in the same bath temperature as the chicken until ready for service. If you only have one water bath, cook the vegetables and oil first and then rapidly cool the water bath using cold tap water. Hold the vegetables and oil while cooking the chicken.

The bok choy stems are softer than the original version of this recipe. An alternative approach is to stir fry them just prior to service, or pull them from the water bath after 15 minutes.

Is there any advantage to marinading the vegetables (without stock) prior to coocking?

Does brining the chicken help? Combine the 300 g chicken with 300 g water and 6 g salt and store in the fridge for 5 days.

* Goto, M., Hashimoto, K and Yamada, K. (1995) ‘Difference of ascorbic acid content among some vegetables, texture in chicken and pork, and sensory evaluation score in some dishes between vacuum and ordinary cooking’. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi, 42 (1), 50–54.

Making ahead

Cook and vegetables and infused oil AB. Blanch, jaccard and cook the chicken D.

Nutrition

Serving size 600 g; calories 380.1 kcal, kilojoules 1592.1 kJ, protein 26.9 g, carbohydrates 40.6 g, sugar 14.5 g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 5 g, unsaturated fat 4.8 g, trans fat 0 g, fiber 8.3 g, cholesterol 51.8 mg,

Type soup

Author bhsimon

Yield

Servings

–

Serving size 450–600 g

Serve	Per serve
Energy (kcal)	380.1
Energy (kJ)	1592.1
Protein (g)	26.9
Fat (g)	10
Carbs (g)	40.6
Sugars (g)	14.5
Fiber (g)	8.3
Sodium (mg)	1230.1
Cholesterol (mg)	51.8

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