Watercress and Chicken Soup for the week
- Yield 4 servings
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Total 40 minutes
Watercress and Chicken Soup for the week sits in the Soups section of Regbie. The card serves 4 servings. Plan on 40 minutes from the first measure to the plate. The amounts and the method are both written on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 4 servings
- ½ pound fresh watercress, or two containers of Go Green hydroponic/living watercress, washed and drained
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil, ghee, or fat of choice
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼” coins
- 4 large shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt, to taste
Method
Grab your watercress and cut off the root end if you’re using the living stuff. Rinse the leaves well in cold water and spin dry in a salad spinner. (Or just pour off the washed leaves in a colander.)
Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into strips, and put them in a bowl. Tip in the coconut aminos, sesame oil, and fish sauce, and stir to make sure the marinade is well distributed. (If you’re a rockstar meal planner, you can marinate the chicken for up to 24 hours in advance. But if you’re like me, you can do this right before you make the soup.)
Warm the avocado oil in a large saucepan over a medium burner and chop up the rest of the vegetables.
When the pan is hot, toss in the shallots, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the shallots and mushrooms are softened (about 5-10 minutes).
Tip in the broth, and bring to a boil over a hot burner.
Tip in the chicken and bring everything back up to a boil. Lower the heat to low (or just enough to maintain a gently bubble) and cook for 5-10 additional minutes, or until the carrots have softened and the chicken is cooked through. Boneless, skinless chicken breast will cook faster than thighs, so you may need to fish out the chicken first if the carrots aren’t yet as tender as you want ’em. Thighs, on the other hand, are more forgiving if you overcook them, so you can leave them in the pot until the carrots are cooked through.
Lift the pot from the heat and mix in the watercress. As soon as the watercress is wilted, season to taste with more salt and/or fish sauce.
Ladle it up and dig in!
Kitchen notes
- Instant Pot pressure cooker directions: Use the Sauté function of the Instant Pot to cook the vegetables in steps 3 & 4.
- In place of steps 5 & 6, add the broth and chicken to the Instant Pot and program the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 2 minutes.
- Manually release the pressure when the soup is finished cooking.
