As you may have guessed, I am a terrible human to be around when I’m sick. I’m very specific about my needs, but usually I can go out and deal with them on my own. When I’m sick however, “specific” becomes “extreme pain in the you-know-what,” which, coupled with my inability to get up off the couch, generally leads to problems.
Exhibit A: the almost-meltdown I had while making this Asian chicken meatball soup. It’s no fault of the soup: in fact the soup is lovely and this story has a happy ending. But hear me out.
This all began earlier this week, when Smitten Kitchen posted a delicious-looking recipe for chicken wonton soup that I wanted to make immediately. I got distracted by another soup (equally delicious, can’t wait to share my version with you), and then fell sick. The can’t-lift-your-head-up-except-to-sneeze kind of sick, which calls for extensive vats of brothy soup.
For lunch, I ordered soup dumplings and wonton soup. It was … meh. The soup dumplings were excellent, with the perfect ginger-scallion hit that I love, especially when sick.* But the wonton soup was really bland and really disappointing, and I knew I’d have to dust off that Smitten Kitchen recipe and give it a try myself.
The original recipe is easy enough, but I wasn’t about to sit there and make wontons with a low-grade fever, so I just turned the filling into meatballs. I increased the ginger and scallion in the meatballs and in the broth, and added some chili-garlic paste to the meatballs (that spice really cleared out my sinuses). I also added mushrooms and snow peas for bulk, but you could do whatever vegetables you like: shredded carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, etc. Noodles would also be excellent here, and I may add some ramen to the leftovers.
But a little bit of effort was rewarded BIG. This Asian chicken meatball soup (… I didn’t know what to call it) is full of flavor — no blandness here. I kind of wanted to bathe in the broth, which is rich with mushroom, chicken, scallion and soy sauce flavors, plus the glorious spicy-sweet ginger. The meatballs were tender, full of flavor and just enough sustenance for me to muster up the energy to make dessert (foreshadowing!). With a swirl of spicy chili oil, it was perfection, leading to that oh-so-rare moment where my sick self got exactly what she wanted.
*I LOVE fresh ginger (I think it’s an Indian thing?), and when I’m sick, I buy it by the pound. My go-to “get better in an instant” tonic: bring 2 cups water, two lemon quarters and an inch of peeled ginger to a boil on the stove. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes, until it’s drinkably hot. Drink all day and all night, until you feel 100 times better. (Add a touch of honey if you need it.)
Yield:
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You can easily make this gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs (or put 1/4 cup rolled oats in a food processor and pulse a few times to get oat crumbs).
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, drained and sliced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped scallions
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1–1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1–1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced scallions
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon chili-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
To finish
- 4 ounces snow peas, picked over
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- chili-garlic paste and toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Brown the shiitake mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside.
- Add the broth, ginger, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes.
- While the broth simmers, make the meatballs: in a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, five-spice powder, chili-garlic sauce, salt, pepper, egg and breadcrumbs until just combined. Form golf ball-sized meatballs, and place them on a lined baking sheet (you should have 18).
- Carefully drop the meatballs into the broth, then simmer for 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and snow peas, then simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls, then top with the scallions and chili-garlic paste or sesame oil if desired.
Notes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
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