I Am Sick Soup

Thanks to Sean, my refrigerator generally has some sort of reasonably fresh stock in it. That wasn't always the case, but my freezer has almost always contained some kind of frozen chicken parts or bones or something. When I got sick, I wasn't interested in the kind of effort involved in chicken stock (particularly back in the bad old days, before I discovered my butcher would sell me bags of chicken backs, when I was using a whole bird), but I did want some chicken soup. I originally made Hot and Sour Soup, using water, but upgraded to this.

In a medium sauce pan, place the following:

Tabasco Sauce
Soy Sauce
Chicken Parts
Mushrooms
Tree Fungus
Ground Ginger
Black Pepper
Rice Vinegar

Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Adjust seasonings. Consume.

As I started to feel a bit better, and wanted something other than mushrooms and spiced broth (I did not eat the chicken), I'd add some vegetables.

Chop:

Carrot
Celery
Mushrooms
Cabbage
Onion
Bell Pepper

Or whatever else you happen to have handy. Generally, I'd toss in some vegetables, add more water, simmer for a while, and then pull off another round of liquid with whatever I had just cooked. I never really skim this. I just take care not to disturb the stuff that drops to the bottom. It's muddy, but it works relatively well, when I'm not interested in exerting a lot of effort, and it adjusts nicely to cravings as I get better. You can toss noodles or rice in, if you like, also.

Created January 28, 2002
Updated January 28, 2002