Grandpa's Chicken Soup

No, I am not referring to my grandfather but the grandfather of the author of The Terenganu Peranakan's Cuisine. Thanks to my uncle, I am now the happy owner of this gem of a book. Being a Terengganu native, I am really pleased that someone has published a cookbook on our peranakan cuisine. There are some dishes featured in the book which I am not familiar with but I will be cooking from this book and sharing it with you from time to time.

Thumbing through the cookbook, I decided to try this simple soup first. It is pretty much like "sup bunjut" with the use of spices like cardamon, cloves, cinnamon and star anise. Though so easy to cook, this soup is very flavorful and tasty. I did not follow the recipe exactly because I was too lazy to fry the chicken, shallots and potatoes separately. I also decided to add carrots and celery for more vegetables.

The original recipe calls for the chicken pieces to be marinated with shallots and black pepper and then fried till half cooked. It is then removed from the pan and then the onions and potatoes are fried. The half cooked chicken, onions and potatoes are then added to a pot of boiling water together with the dry spices. The soup is then seasoned with soya sauce, salt and MSG. A cornflour mixture is added at the end to thicken the soup. I don't use MSG in my cooking and neither does my mum. But my grandma swears by it. Grandma once told me to cook a dish, take a portion out, add MSG and taste the difference between the one with and without MSG. So far, I haven't experimented yet :)

The original version of this soup would have a more intense taste from the fried marinated chicken. Perhaps I will do it that way the next time I cook this soup. My lazy version still tasted very good and I love this soup a lot!

My Grandpa's Chicken Soup
Recipe source : Adapted from The Terengganu Peranakan's Cuisine (page 45)

Ingredients :
- 4 chicken legs, cut into 16 pieces
- 6 shallots, cut into quarters
- 1 big onion, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 4 cardamoms
- 5 cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon (2 inches)
- 4 potatoes, cut into quarters
- 2 carrots, cut into wedges
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 liter water
- 2 cubes chicken stock (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste.

Method :
1. Heat oil in a saucepot.
2. Saute onion and shallots until wilted.
3. Add star anise, cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fry until fragrant.
4. Add celery, carrots and potatoes and fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add chicken and stir with the vegetables.
6. Add water and chicken stock cube and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked and vegetables tender.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

Note : I did not add salt as the chicken stock was salty enough.

This post is linked to Cook-Your-Books #2 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.