Peruvian Chicken Soup

Once you’ve gone through the time-consuming but relaxing process of making chicken stock, a quick chicken soup becomes your best friend after a long day.

This one was inspired by the Peruvian staple, but once you get the hang of the flavors and technique, any variation of spices and ingredients could be plugged in. Think of the wide range of great chicken soups out there…Mexico, Japan, France, etc. Adjusting flavoring and ingredients towards those directions is easy with this base recipe.

(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients

• 1 quart Chicken Stock
• 1 chicken breast, poached while making chicken stock then shredded
• 6-8 small fingerling potatoes, sliced thinly into coin shapes
• 1 Anaheim chile, seeded and diced
• 1 Serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 TBSP Aji Amarillo paste (optional)
• Fish sauce, cumin, and cayenne, to taste
• Olive oil, salt, pepper (duh)
• Lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. When making the chicken stock, add a chicken breast towards the latter end of the process and poach for about 20 minutes. Remove and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
2. Shred chicken breast, slice potatoes, chop garlic, onions, and chiles and set aside.
3. Add cilantro, about 2 TBSP of olive oil, and a splash of fish sauce to a small blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to dish and set aside. Alternatively, you could just add finely chopped cilantro to the soup at the last minute and stir in, but the cilantro oil comes in quite handy for other purposes too.
4. Heat 2 TBSP oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onions and sweat for about 3 minutes. Then garlic for about 1 minute, then peppers and sliced potatoes for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Once this base is aromatic and somewhat browned, add cumin, cayenne, and fish sauce to taste, roughly 1/2 tsp of each. Cook for about 2 minutes more.
6. Add the Aji Amarillo paste and the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir everything, bring to a simmer, and add the shredded chicken.
7. Continue cooking for 10-15 minutes on low heat to let everything integrate. Serve in warm bowls and stir in about 1 tsp of the cilantro oil.