The All-time Best Soup for a Cold
The following recipe is the best soup for a cold, so make sure to stock your fridge with all the necessary ingredients. You’ll feel better after a few bowls of this delightfully warming soup!
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken bone broth
- 1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced thinly
- 1-2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 1 medium onion, sliced into small pieces
- 4-5 pieces of dried Astragalus
Instructions:
- In a pot, add the garlic, ginger, and onions and olive oil. For extra flavor, add a few chopped mushrooms.
- Cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are soft.
- Add the stock and Astragalus bring up the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for another 20 minutes, and discard the Astragalus.
- Enjoy hot and store the remainder, refrigerated, for a few days.
You can keep the broth in the fridge for a few days. Sip on this delicious broth throughout the day as you would a cup of tea. For a filling meal, add some barley, lentils, and root vegetables into the mix.
While you may be tempted to use bouillon cubes, it’s much better to make your own broth. You’ll find a recipe chicken bone broth and a veggie broth below.
Homemade Chicken Broth
This recipe is incredibly nutritious and delicious. It makes about 4 quarts, but you can freeze it for up to 1 year. While the recipe above is the ultimate best soup for a cold, feel free to use this broth to make a hearty peasant soup, bean & sausage soup, or westernized miso soup.
Ingredients :
- 2 whole chickens
- 1 pound chicken feet
- 1/4 cup apple cider, white, or white wine vinegar
- 6 to 8 quarts cold water, or as needed to cover ingredients
- 4 cups ice cubes
- 3 carrots, peeled and halved
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 onions, peeled and halved
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 bay leaves
Instructions :
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Remove the wings, thighs, drumsticks, and breasts from the chickens. Set aside.
- Place the carcasses and innards on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Roast until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Place the bones, feet, and vinegar in a stockpot or slow cooker, at least 10 quarts in size, and cover with the cold water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- Once simmering, reduce heat to low, cook for 30 minutes, skimming and discarding the scum that rises to the top.
- Add the ice and skim off any fat that congeals on the top along with any other scum or impurities.
- Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 hours, adding more water as necessary just to keep the bones covered.
- Add the carrots, onions, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves and simmer for another 5 hours.
- Continue to skim off any impurities; add water as necessary to keep the ingredients covered.
- Gently strain or ladle the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a container.
- Fill your sink with ice water. Place the container of broth in the ice bath to cool for about 1 hour.
- Use the broth right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Remove any fat that has solidified on the top before using.