This chicken vegetable soup is loaded with a variety of vegetables, roasted green chile and a spicy Chinese hot mustard powder. It's hearty, healthy and has a rich and tasty broth. It will have your family coming back for more.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, links and substitutions.
For the broth – Add 8 cups water to a large soup pot along with the herbs and spices (bay leaves, oregano, pepper, mustard powder and sea salt).
Bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Prep soup ingredients – While the chicken in simmering, chop the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Transfer to a bowl.
Chop the chile and cabbage. Add to the corn. These ingredients will be added near the end of cooking.
Once the broth has cooked, transfer the chicken to a plate to cool. Once cool, shred into bite size pieces. Measure out 2 cups. Save any remaining chicken for another meal.
Transfer all of the broth to a large measuring cup. You should have about 7 cups of broth. If you don't add water to the broth.
Add the chicken, corn, cabbage and roasted chile. If soup is too thick, add more water to get the consistency you prefer. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and taste for desired seasoning. Adjust if needed.
If you have time, let the soup cool then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. We all know that soup is better the next day.
When ready to serve, reheat. You may need to add a little more liquid so use water or make a broth with water and a little bouillon paste. Add only enough to provide the consistency you want.
To serve, top each bowl of soup with a bit of cheese and some crumbled chips or fried tortilla strips.
Mustard Powder - Chinese hot mustard powder has such a unique flavor that I love using it in this soup. However, you can use any hot mustard powder or if you don’t want the heat, use regular mustard powder. You might have to adjust the amount to your preference.
Sea Salt - I used an Apple Smoked Infused sea salt which added a touch of smokiness to the broth. However, a lime infused sea salt or any regular sea salt works as well.
Yellow Potato - My preference is a Yukon gold or any yellow potato. They have the creamiest texture and are easy to smash in the pot to help thicken the broth. BTW - I don't peel the potatoes because there are a lot of good nutrients in the peel.
Roasted Chile - For a less spicy soup, use the poblano or a medium roasted green chile. Adjust amounts to your desired tastes.
Cheese - A sharp or medium cheddar also works.
Fried Tortilla Strips - I prefer the tortilla strips over crumbled corn chips because they don't get soggy as quickly. To see how to fry tortilla strips, go to the link provided and scroll down into the migas recipe for the section on frying tortilla strips.
Vegetarian/Vegan Option - Replace the chicken with white beans. Start with dried white beans (Cannellini bean works best, you can use navy beans as well). Use the same seasoning as used for the chicken broth. Replace the chicken broth with bean broth from the cooked beans.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen