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Simple Chicken Soup

Simple Malaysian village-style chicken soup, with potatoes and carrots and broth infused with aromatic spices.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Malay, Malaysian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • ½ whole chicken cut into 8 to 9 pieces, see Note 1
  • 3 shallots roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
  • 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil OR chicken fat
  • 1 sup bunjut see Note 2
  • ½ tablespoon ground white pepper
  • 1 bunch Chinese celery stems and leaves separated, chopped, see Note 3
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 carrot cut into chunks
  • 2 potatoes cut into chunks
  • ½ tablespoon all-in-one seasoning powder
  • 1 chicken stock cube OR 2 teaspoons chicken powder
  • 1 ½ soup spice mix see Note 4
  • Fried shallots for garnish

Instructions
 

  • In your blender jar, add the shallots, garlic, and ginger, and fill with water up to about half of the level of ingredients.
  • Blitz into a fine paste. Set aside until ready to use.
  • Heat a large pot or wok over medium high heat. When sufficiently hot, sear the chicken pieces until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan.
  • Next, heat the oil or fat.
  • Add the blended ingredients, the sup bunjut sachet and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is fragrant.
  • Return the chicken to the pot, and sprinkle with the ground white pepper. Cook and stir for a few minutes.
  • Add the celery stems and water, and stir to combine.
  • Add the carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes.
  • Season with the chicken stock cube, seasoning powder and salt. Adjust to taste.
  • In a small bowl, mix the soup spice mix with a ladle or two of the soup, to make a smooth paste. Add to the pot and stir to thoroughly combine.
  • Garnish with the celery leaves and fried shallots.
  • Serve as a starter, or with steaming hot white rice.

Notes

  1. Or, use 1 kilogram of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  2. A spice sachet commonly used in Malaysian soup recipes, containing whole spices such as star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, and cloves.
  3. If unavailable, use 1 stalk celery, chopped
  4. Malaysian-style soup spice mix, containing spices such as coriander, fennel, cumin, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, lightly toasted to bring out the aroma and ground into a powder.