If you have a dreaded January cold, a hot bowl of chicken soup can ease the suffering. Over time, many mothers and grandmothers have said it will also help cure you. Were they telling the truth, or, like the soup, just soothing you?
Sources I checked conclude it could be both.
On the soothing side of the equation, when you have a cold it’s important to keep hydrated. Chicken soup will help with that. The steam from it and the hot liquid can also help loosen and give you relief from nasal congestion. Also, chicken soup is one of those ultimate comfort foods and you just feel better after a bowl.
As to whether, beyond short-term relief, chicken soup has medicinal power, the idea that it does dates back to ancient times and continues today.
In 1993, Dr. Stephen Rennard, a pulmonary expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, conducted a now often-cited study on chicken soup to scientifically determine its curative effects.
Part of his desire to conduct the study was because he, too, had family members ladling up praise for chicken soup. For years he watched his wife simmer up her Lithuanian grandmother’s chicken soup when a cold struck the family. Rennard used that soup in his study, which is documented on the university’s website at unmc.edu/publicrelations/chickensoup.htm. You’ll also find a video on how to make that soup and it looks pretty wonderful.
That website says colds are a result of infection in the upper respiratory tract, which causes inflammation. It adds that, although colds are not completely understood, it is believed the inflammation contributes to cold symptoms.
Rennard theorized if soup can stop or reduce inflammation, it might reduce a cold’s symptoms. His focus was to find out if the movement of neutrophils would be blocked or reduced by chicken soup. Neutrophils are the most common white cell in the blood that defends the body against infection.
His work revealed that chicken soup might indeed contain a number of substances, including an anti-inflammatory mechanism, which could ease cold symptoms. The research was not able to identify the exact ingredient or ingredients that did that. But because all ingredients used had activity, it was theorized that it was the complete mix of things, the “concoction,” that brought beneficial effects.
My own mother believed in serving chicken soup to cure a cold, but her version always had noodles in it. Her thinking was the hot soup would make you feel better, and the noodles would help fill you up.
I’ve bought into that idea over the years, but as you’ll see by today’s recipes, use two approaches. Sometimes I’ll make what I call classic chicken noodle soup, which is simply rich broth, bits of chicken, noodles and a bit of chopped parsley. Other times, when I really want to clear things up, I’ll make an Asian-style chicken noodle soup with palate-awakening hot and sour flavours.
Will either soup cure a cold? You’ll have to try them to see, but I will guarantee that they’ll at least make you forget about your cold for a while.
The preparation for both soups begins by making what I call double-strength chicken broth. It is made by simmering chicken thighs and vegetables in chicken broth, reinforcing that broth’s flavour and, perhaps, its cold-curing powers. The added bonus is that you also end up with some tender, cooked chicken to add to the soup.
If you have a cold and are too sick to make soup yourself, and are not blessed to have a loved one make it for you, grab a tissue and be happy about this news. Rennard’s work also found that many canned chicken soups might also calm a cold. They won’t be as wonderful as homemade, but that won’t matter if you start feeling better.
RECIPES
Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
Serve this classic and comforting soup to soothe a cold, or to just feel better about life on a dreary day.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: About 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
4 1/2 to 5 cups double-strength chicken broth (see recipe on page C3)
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1 to 1 1/2 cups egg noodles (see Note)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Place the broth and chicken in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add the noodles, return to a simmer and cook until noodles are tender, about six to eight minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper; stir in the parsley and serve.
Note: The egg noodles used in this recipe were the bite-sized type sold in the bagged pasta aisle of supermarkets.
Eric’s options: For a stronger herb taste, instead of parsley, use an equal amount of snipped chives or chopped fresh tarragon.
Hot and Sour Chicken Noodle Soup
This Asian-style chicken noodle soup has palate-awakening, hot and sour flavours that should help clear up a cold, at least for a little while.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: About 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
4 1/2 to 5 cups double-strength chicken broth (see recipe below)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp Asian-style chili sauce, or to taste
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 to 3 baby bok choy, trimmed, separated into leaves, washed, and coarsely chopped
1 (300-gram) bag fresh, thin Asian-style egg noodles (see Note)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the noodles. While it comes to temperature, place the broth, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, chicken and bell pepper in a second pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Add the bok choy and cook two minutes longer.
While the bok choy is cooking, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about one minute. Drain the noodles well and divide among four large soup bowls. Ladle the brothy chicken mixture over the noodles. Top with green onion and cilantro and serve.
Note: Fresh Asian-style egg noodles are sold at Asian food markets and in the produce section of some supermarkets.
Double-strength Chicken Broth
Simmering bone-in chicken thighs and vegetables in chicken broth gives the resulting liquid a rich and awakening flavour perfect for soup. The added bonus is that you also end up with some tasty cooked chicken to add to it.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Makes: About 5 cups
6 1/2 cups homemade or store-bought chicken broth or stock
400 grams chicken thighs
(about two large)
1 small celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
• a few whole black peppercorns
Place all ingredients into a tall, narrow pot and pour in 6 1/2 cups broth or stock. Bring to a gentle simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface). Simmer, uncovered, for one hour, or until the chicken thighs are cooked through and the meat almost falling off the bone.
Remove from the heat. Use a slotted spoon to lift the thighs out of the pot and onto a plate. Cool thighs to room temperature. Strain the broth into another pot. You should have about five cups.
Remove the chicken from the bone and cut the meat into small cubes. Skim the fat from the surface of the broth. Both are now ready to use in either of today’s chicken noodle soup recipes.
Eric Akis is the author of the book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.