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This chicken and rice soup recipe features an aromatic broth flavored with garlic, ginger and shallot. Tender sweet potato slices and jasmine rice bulk up the simple soup, while a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and tons of fresh cilantro bring even more bold flavor.
Ingredients Needed
- Aromatics: shallots, garlic and ginger
- Pantry: olive oil, jasmine rice, soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil
- Fresh: limes, sweet potatoes, cilantro
- Cooked Chicken or leftover cooked turkey
How to Make Chicken Rice Soup
- Sauté the shallot in olive oil until starting to brown.
- Stir in the rice and cook briefly to toast, about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until rice has slightly swollen.
- Add the sweet potato and simmer until tender.
- Stir in the cooked chicken, soy sauce, lime juice, and oyster sauce.
- Top servings with fresh cilantro, toasted sesame oil, and black pepper.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the rice: as the rice cooks, it will release starch into the soup and create a delicious silky broth. Too much starch and the broth will become overly cloudy and will muddy the other flavors. To avoid this, rinse the rice in a fine mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
- Toast the rice: add the rinsed rice to the sautéed shallot and cook until the rice has dried and starts to slightly toast, about 2 minutes. This brief toast will add depth of flavor to the soup.
- Chicken: for a super quick dinner, use rotisserie chicken in this soup. And for a more homemade version, use chicken breast. If you go the homemade route—add two raw chicken breasts to the pot with the rice and simmer until cooked through, they should be done cooking when the sweet potatoes are tender. Remove the breasts from the soup, shred, then add back to the pot.
- Avoid boiling the soup: instead of bringing the soup to a boil, keep it at a simmer throughout the whole cooking process. You may be tempted to move the cooking process along, but simmering is important for achieving a tender, not mushy, texture in the rice and sweet potatoes.
- Season to taste: before serving, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed with salt, pepper, and additional lime juice. Bear in mind, each serving will be topped with more pepper, so you can go light on that.
- Finish with bold flavors: this soup is bold and aromatic from the garlic, ginger, and shallot. But each serving should be topped with a generous amount of cilantro, toasted sesame oil and black pepper for the best results. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, try parsley or even basil.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze the cooled soup in a glass container with a tight fitting lid or in resealable zipper-lock bags. Reheat soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat until simmering.
If you’re making this soup with the intention of freezing it, I recommend under-cooking the sweet potatoes slightly so they don’t become mushy when reheating.
Variations
- Use leftover cooked turkey instead of chicken.
- Swap carrot in for the sweet potato.
- Add frozen peas.
- Use lemon and parsley instead of lime and cilantro.
- Make it a creamy chicken and rice soup by adding half-and-half or coconut milk.
- Stir in some greens, like baby spinach or escarole.
- Use brown rice instead of jasmine rice.
Serve With
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Brothy Chicken and Rice Soup
Description
A brothy aromatic chicken soup that's perfect for busy weeknights and cold weather.
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Ingredients
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 (2-inch) knob ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- Kosher salt
- 2 small sweet potatoes washed and cut into ½-inch thick rounds
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken or turkey*
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- Fresh cilantro
- Toasted sesame oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium. Add shallot and sauté until starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add rice, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, and 8 cups water; season with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until rice has started to swell 8–10 minutes.
- Add sweet potatoes and simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until soup is thickened and potatoes and rice are tender, 15 minutes. Add chicken and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice, soy sauce and oyster sauce; season with salt to taste.
- Divide soup among bowls. Top with cilantro, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, and black pepper.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat soup over medium-low, adding water to thin as needed.
Notes
Don’t have leftover chicken? Use rotisserie chicken OR cook two raw chicken breasts in the soup. To do this: add two raw chicken breasts to the pot with the rice and simmer until cooked through, they should be done cooking when the sweet potatoes are done cooking. Remove the breasts from the soup, shred, then add back to the pot.
Adapted from a recipe by Andy Baraghani for Bon Appetit.
Nutrition
Serving: 1¾ cupCalories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 14gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 501mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1g
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