Vietnamese Chicken Soup

Cook once and eat it many times throughout the week. The broth in this soup is packed with nutrients and is easy to digest. This recipe was created by Dr Libby, Nutritional Biochemist, author and speaker. Dr Libby is a fellow advocate for eating a whole and real nutrient-dense diet.

| Serves 4-6 |

Ingredients

Stock

2kg chicken wings or whole chook

3 litres filtered water

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp coconut oil

Vegetables

½ head broccoli, florets and stems chopped into bite sized pieces

½ cauliflower, florets and stems chopped into bite sized pieces

1 whole red capsicum, julienned

2 medium carrots, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

200g snow peas cut in half

3 slices galangal ginger

3 slices fresh ginger

1 stalk lemongrass, smashed to release flavours

250g mung bean shoots

10 kaffir lime leaves, scrunched together to release flavours

1 bunch fresh thai basil, leaves removed and roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

Make the stock first. Place the chicken wings, water, salt and coconut oil in a large stockpot and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, skimming off the impurities as they rise to the surface.

Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 45 minutes (longer if you’re using a whole chook). Turn off the heat and leave to cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove from the pot and set aside. Drain and reserve the stock.

Remove the skin from the wings, remove bones and shred the cooked meat. Set aside in a separate bowl.

Return the stock to the pot and add the vegetables, both kinds of ginger and the lemongrass.

Heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and add the shredded chicken. Gently simmer until the vegetables are just tender, but still slightly crunchy.

Serve garnished with the bean shoots, chopped herbs and wedge of lime. Make sure you squeeze the lime into the soup for added flavour.