Simple Malay Chicken Soup

What is a soup? Basically, a soup is simply meat, usually chicken or beef, and vegetables combined in water, juice, or any liquid. Soups are broadly classified into two categories: clear soups and thick soups.

Clear soups are those simply made by boiling meat and vegetables in water. Thick soups are soups thickened by adding ingredients such as cream, butter and flour, just to name a few. Soups are delicious, nutritious, and easy to make. Soups help you get the nutrition you need when your appetite fails you.

First, a couple of rules you need to know when making soups (yes, even simple stuff has rules):

Use a tall and narrow stockpot to minimize water loss from evaporation. The last thing you want is a dried-up soup. Start with cold water. This helps in getting the flavors from the meat and vegetables to blend and fully develop. Remove all blood from bones by soaking in water for at least 20 minutes as you don't want a cloudy soup. Use ripe vegetables for more flavor. Simmer only to prevent getting a greasy and cloudy soup. Remove foam as it forms to prevent the soup from clouding. To slowdown evaporation and intensify the flavor, do not cover the soup while cooking. To prevent bacterial contamination, cool the soup as fast as possible if not consumed immediately. Do not cover hot soup after removing from heat as bacteria could multiply in between the soup's surface and the lid.

Malaysia's multicultural society is reflected in its cuisine. As such, Indian and Chinese influences have helped shaped Malay cuisine to what it is today. Spices are widely used in Malay cooking including soups.

Malay chicken soup recipe (for two to three persons):

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken, cut into 6 pieces 1 to 2 large onions, quartered 2 to 3 large tomatoes, quartered 2 carrots, diced 3 to 4 large potatoes, cut into 8 pieces each 3 to 4 ribs celery, leaves included, cut into 2 cm pieces 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed and diced Ginger (about 4cm in length), sliced thinly 2 whole cardamom seeds One cinnamon stick (4 to 5cm in length) 3 to 4 cloves 1 star anise 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp black pepper salt to taste

Method:

Clean and remove any blood from chicken. If need be, soak chicken in a large bowl of cold water for about 20 minutes to remove all traces of blood. Place chicken in a large stockpot. Add all ingredients except onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery and salt. Cover with cold water. Bring just to a boil and skim off fat and foam. Reduce heat to simmer, uncovered.

When chicken is half-cooked (after about 15 minutes), add onions, tomatoes, carrots and celery. Keep removing fat and foam. Let simmer for a further 30 minutes. Taste and add salt. Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with fried shallots and chopped green onions. Simply sedap (Malay for delicious).