The Healing Powers of Chicken Soup

In the 12th century the great physician and philosopher Maimonides prescribed herbal baths and chicken soup as remedies for the common cold.

More than 800 years later, the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that Maimonides was right. Researches found that chicken soup was a mild antibiotic and decongestant. Chinese healers to this day also use chicken soup to treat colds, though they do add some herbs, like ginseng, to their brew.

Here’s one of my favourite chicken noodle soup recipes. To boost its cold fighting properties add 1 tablespoon grated ginger and 3 cloves crushed garlic.

Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

150 g cooked chicken, diced
2 carrots, peeled, diced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
150 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
50 g raw egg noodles
1,5 litres chicken stock
5 ml salt
2 ml pepper

Bring stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the carrots, celery, spring onions, salt, pepper and optional ginger and garlic. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and noodles. Add the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve at once.