Soupendous Comfort
Chicken rules the roost when it comes to a bowl of goodness
By Laura Yee, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 8/15/2003
Chicken soup rates high as a comfort food and as an antidote for many ills. With its restorative power, it appears on menus in many forms: clear, brothy and light; studded with vegetables or swimming with noodles; puréed and smooth; basic or boldly seasoned and spiced.
Marlene and Nick Pryslak serve several soul-satisfying versions of chicken soup at 14-seat The Art of the Chicken, their seven-year-old Ludlow, Vt., restaurant, where the namesake bird has a role in nearly every appetizer, sandwich, salad and entrée. Chicken noodle and chicken with wild rice are mainstays from the soup side of the menu, both loaded with sliced chicken, carrots, celery and onions. In winter, the Pryslaks add heartier soup options such as chicken chowder and chicken-and-corn chowder. For fall-foliage tourists, Nick, a construction worker turned self-taught chef, is developing chicken vegetable soup with more heft.
“People
come in and say, ‘I need some chicken soup for my wife;
she’s got a cold,’” he explains. “Or
maybe they order chicken soup just because it makes them feel
good. It’s a food everyone can relate to.”
Chicken soup can be as simple as a golden, rich and intensely flavored stock. From such humble beginnings as chicken bones, vegetables and water come many paths to personalization as chefs reach to aromatics, spices or ethnic influences for inspiration.
Adding gingerroot to chicken soup provides a clean, Asian flavor while a squeeze of lime and some cilantro hints of Mexico. Various pasta shapes can replace noodles, and seasonal vegetables or even cubed tofu provide flavor and textural interest.
At
Territorial Bar & Grill in Cave Creek, Ariz., the Southwestern
theme carries to its soup selections. Sonoran Ranch Chicken
Soup is fortified with breast meat, squash and roasted peppers,
and finished with avocado and crispy tortilla strips. Southwestern
cuisine gets a different interpretation at the Atlanta Bread
Company. The Smyrna, Ga., concept regularly offers Southwestern
chicken as a soup of the day. Its version is creamy with chunks
of vegetables, chicken and salsa-like flavors.
Sometimes, though, inspiration simply can be a desire for fun. Sheryl Borish, chef-owner of Marathon Grill in Philadelphia, serves chicken matzo ball soup in brandy snifters.
Chefs agree that whatever twists are applied to classic chicken soup, the base is the most important part. The best beginning ensures a happy ending with customers, Pryslak says.
| Stock
options Prepared chicken stocks can accommodate many flavor profiles, from regional American to global ethnic. • Try varied pasta shapes—such as orzo or other small varieties—to give chicken soup a different character. Jasper White’s Summer Shack adds alphabet pasta to chicken soup, making it popular with kids and adults. • Steep lemongrass in chicken soup and stir in unsweetened coconut milk for a Thai taste. Use Thai chiles for a hint of heat and garnish with a squeeze of lime for contrast. For a more filling soup, add chicken. At the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, chicken soup is the base for several Asian-inspired dishes, such as a chicken version of Vietnamese pho. • Use vegetables to suit the season. During summer, add squash, tomatoes and green beans. Try winter squash, potatoes, turnips or Brussels sprouts during colder months for heartier renditions. • Heat up chicken soup with the help of chiles. Alison on Dominick Street in New York City adds dried Jamaican hot pepper to chicken soup, while beets, sage and rosemary accompany the usual carrots and celery. |
Water and chicken parts such as backs and necks for flavor are the agreed-on stock starters. After that, variations are many.
Trim chicken parts of fat and include backs for flavor. Don’t bother with breast meat since it adds minimal flavor to stock. Some chefs add chicken feet because the gelatin they contain adds body to the broth. However, too much of this good thing can lead to a gummy stock. The traditional stock-making method includes vegetables and a bouquet garni of various spices and herbs, such as bay leaves, black peppercorns and parsley. For optimal chicken flavor, some chefs forego these additions or include them toward the end of the cooking time, which usually is two to three hours. Bring water with chicken parts to boil, drain and discard water, and refill the stockpot with cold water and mirepoix and bouquet garni, if using. The method results in cleaner, lighter stock. Bring stock to boil and lower heat so that a simmer barely breaks the surface. A rigorous simmer results in a greasy mouthfeel and cloudy stock. Slices of gingerroot can add a bright, subtle flavor to chicken soup. Refrigerating stock before using it makes it easier to skim fat from the surface.
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