FOOD AS MEDICINE

July 27, 2025

Golden Get-Well Soup

Prime your immune system with this delicious soup from my favourite chef, Molly Baz!

This fabulous chicken soup kicks starts your immune system with loads of garlic, ginger and a therapeutic dose of turmeric (I like to use fresh turmeric if it’s available). The addition of rice brings it closer to a congee which has been used as a restorative and nourishing digestive tonic in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. The bone in chicken thighs add a healing bone broth element too – so much goodness in this soup. The lime and coriander elevate the flavours to the next level of sublime!

Serves 4 to 6

Produce:

10 spring onions
10 garlic cloves
1 (10cm) piece fresh ginger
Coriander leaves & tender stems

Meat:

750g bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Pantry:

2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tsp turmeric powder or 2 Tbs freshly grated turmeric
Course Himalayan salt
150g basmati rice
Freshly ground black pepper

Prep:

Thinly slice 10 spring onions crosswise, setting aside a handful of the dark green parts for serving.
Lightly smash and peel 10 garlic cloves.
Thinly slice 1 (10cm) piece of ginger lengthwise into planks. No need to peel it! Just give it a scrub with some water if it looks dirty.

Start the soup:

Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the spring onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric. Cook, stirring often, until the aromatics are softened and fragrant but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the chicken thighs, 1 Tbs salt, 2.25 Lt water and 150g basmati rice to the pot. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pot if the rice is sticking and reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer, until the rice breaks down and thickens the soup to a porridge-like consistency, 40 to 50 minutes.

Shred the chicken:

Using tongs, pluck out the chicken and transfer it to a plate to cool.
While the chicken cools, use a wooden spoon to fish around for the garlic cloves, which at this point will be very, very soft. Use the back of the spoon to smash the garlic against the wall of the pot to crush and incorporate it into the soup. Take out the slices of ginger at this point and discard.
Once the chicken has cooled, remove and discard the skin. Using two forks, shred the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Return the shredded meat to the pot and give it a stir.

Season the soup and serve:

Squeeze the juice of 2 limes into the soup,
Stir in 1 tsp of black pepper. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed.
Divide the soup amount soup bowls. Garnish it with the reserved sliced spring onion greens, some coriander leaves, a good crank of black pepper and an additional drizzle of olive oil.