Yemenite Chicken Soup Recipes

YEMENITE SOUP

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces and marrow bones on the bottom of a 6-8 quart stock pot. Add 12 cups water to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes, skimming the foam that rises to the top.
• Stir 2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tbsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and garlic cloves into the pot. Add the cilantro bundle and onion, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook for 90 minutes, keeping an eye periodically to make sure the simmer is low and bubbling but not boiling too rapidly. Stir gently a few times during cooking.
• After 90 minutes, use a pair of tongs to pull out the onion, the cilantro bundle and the two chicken breasts on the bone. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Pull the meat from the bones and shred it. Discard the bones and skin.
• Add the chicken breast meat back to the soup pot. Stir 2 tsp hawayej spice blend into the broth along with additional salt and black pepper to taste. I usually add about 1 tsp more of salt, it really makes the spices pop. Add the potato chunks to the broth. At this point, you can also add other vegetables if you wish, including small slices of carrot, celery, zucchini, etc. Bring back to a low simmer and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes more, or until the largest potato chunks are tender (and the other veggies, if you decide to add them).
• Scrape the marrow out of the bones and add it to the broth, if desired, or serve the marrow bones with soup to anybody who enjoys them. Serve each bowl with a few potato chunks, a chicken leg, and some of the other chicken meat. I usually remove the skin and cartilage from the chicken pieces prior to serving for a nicer presentation. Garnish each bowl with fresh chopped cilantro. This soup is usually served with schug alongside; it can be stirred into the broth to add more spicy flavor.
• In a heavy 6 quart pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium high. Sprinkle the meat chunks with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pan and sear it, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
• Pour meat into a bowl and reserve. Drain the excess fat from the pot. Add another 1 tbsp olive oil to the pot and add the chopped onions. Let the onions cook for several minutes until they are softened and brown, stirring occasionally and scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot as they cook.
• Add meat chunks back to the pot along with the marrow bones. Cover with 14 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, skimming any foam that rises to the top.
• Stir in 1/2 tbsp turmeric and 1/2 tbsp salt. Add the cilantro bundle and the garlic cloves. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook for 2 1/2 hours, keeping an eye periodically to make sure the simmer is low and bubbling but not boiling rapidly.
• After 2 1/2 hours your meat chunks should be quite tender. Remove the cilantro bundle. Stir 1 1/2 tsp hawayej spice blend into the broth along with additional salt and black pepper to taste (I usually add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp more of salt, but we like things on the salty side). Add the potato chunks to the broth. Bring back to a simmer and continue to cook for 15-20 minutes more, or until the largest potato chunks are tender.
• Scrape the marrow out of the bones and add it to the broth, if desired, or serve the marrow bones with soup to anybody who enjoys them. Serve each bowl of soup garnished with fresh chopped cilantro (optional). This soup is usually served with schug alongside; it can be stirred into the broth to add more spicy flavor.

YEMENITE SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Bring meat and water to a boil in a large pot. Reduce to medium and cook, covered for one hour. 2. In a food processor, coarsely grind the onions, parsley, and cilantro, and add to the pot. 3. Dice all the vegetables small and add to the pot (no time for dicing? No problem: shred them all in the food processor), with all remaining ingredients. Cook 2 more hours. 4. Adjust the texture and seasonings.

YEMENITE CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Hawaii spice mix: Toast cloves, coriander, black peppercorns, cumin, caraway, cardamom pods, and celery seed in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Shake occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat, then set aside in a bowl to cool completely.
• Grind spices finely, adding in turmeric, cinnamon, and salt. Sift through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. If not using right away, store the blend in a tightly sealed container for up to one month. Makes ½ cup.
• Chicken soup: Roughly chop onion, celery, garlic, and carrots. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, sauté vegetables in oil until soft and onions are translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add Hawaii spice mix and stir to combine.
• Add stock to the vegetables. Roughly chop parsley and cilantro (including stems) and add to the pot. Bring soup to a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt on both sides and add to the pot. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add diced potatoes and cook another 15 minutes, until chicken pulls from the bone and potatoes are tender.
• Assembly: Place a piece of chicken into a bowl. Ladle vegetables around the chicken, followed by a ladle of broth. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a drizzle of tahini. Serve hot.

YEMENITE BEEF AND CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, place water, beef and marrow bones and bring to boil.
• Lower heat and add garlic, onions, parsley and dill.
• Cut a cross in the tomato (do not cut all the way through) and add to pot.
• Cover pot and simmer 20 minutes.
• Add the chicken and bring to boil.
• Add carrots (peeled but whole), celery, curry and cumin.
• Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes until cooked.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, skim the layer of fat off the top. Fish out the chicken, remove the skin and bones, cut chicken into pieces and return chicken pieces to pot.
• Add zucchini, potatoes, hawaij and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered 10 minutes.
• Add lemon juice. Remove marrow. Garnish with cilantro.
• Good served with z'chug (Yemenite chili pepper paste) and hilbe (Yemenite fenugreek paste) to taste.

YEMENITE-STYLE MATZO BALL SOUP

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces and marrow bones on the bottom of an 8 quart stock pot. Add 4 quarts (16 cups) water to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes, skimming the foam that rises to the top. Discard the foam.When most of the foam has been removed, stir in 3 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tbsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp black pepper and the 3 garlic cloves into the pot.
• Take about 1/4 of your cilantro bunch and roughly chop it. Take about a tablespoon of the roughly chopped cilantro and mince it fine. Reserve the chopped and minced cilantro separately in covered bowls in the refrigerator until ready to use. Tie up the remaining cilantro in a bundle with kitchen twine.
• Add the cilantro bundle and halved onion to the pot, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a very low simmer. Let the soup cook for 90 minutes, keeping an eye periodically to make sure the simmer is low and bubbling but not boiling too rapidly. Stir gently a few times during cooking.While chicken soup is simmering, use a coffee grinder to grind together cumin, anise and coriander seeds along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Reserve spice blend.Also while chicken soup is simmering, make your matzo balls (instructions below).
• After 90 minutes, use a pair of tongs to pull out the onion, the cilantro bundle, the marrow bones and the chicken. Pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred into small pieces. Discard the bones and skin.
• Strain the chicken broth into a clean pan or large bowl, rinse the soup pot, then return the broth to the pot. This will remove any larger spice pieces or impurities for a prettier broth.
• Add the chicken meat back to the soup pot. Stir 1 1/2 tsp of the ground spice blend into the broth along with additional salt and black pepper to taste. I usually add about 1/2 tsp more of salt, it really makes the spices pop. Reheat the chicken soup to desired serving temperature. Stir in the roughly chopped cilantro that you reserved earlier.Scrape the marrow out of the bones and add it to the broth, if desired, or serve the marrow bones with soup to anybody who enjoys them. You may also discard them if you wish, their main purpose is to add flavor to the broth.
• In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to mix together the matzo meal, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. (For a matzo ball recipe without baking powder, click here.)
• In another bowl, use fork to mix together the eggs, oil or melted schmaltz, and minced cilantro.
• Pour egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together with a fork until just combined. Do not over-mix. Put the bowl of matzo ball mixture into the refrigerator and let it rest for about 30 minutes.Bring 12 cups of water to a simmer over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp turmeric, 1/2 tbsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp of the spice blend (instructions above) to create a spiced broth.
• Form the chilled matzo ball mixture into 1 inch balls (walnut-sized). Don't overwork the mixture when you roll the balls. You should end up with 15-20 matzo balls.Lower the spiced broth to an even bubbling simmer and drop the matzo balls gently into the liquid. Cover the pot tightly with a lid and let the balls cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the matzo balls are fluffy, soft, and cooked tender through the center. Keep the pot covered-- no peeking until 30 minutes have gone by!
• If you've followed instructions carefully, the balls should be floating on the surface of the water like billowy clouds of deliciousness. Be sure to cut into a test ball to check for doneness all the way to the center. If it is still dense in the center, continue cooking for a few more minutes.
• Serve each bowl of the Yemenite chicken soup with 2-3 cooked matzo balls. This soup is usually served with schug alongside, a spicy herb sauce that can be stirred into the broth to add even more flavor.If you don't plan on serving the whole pot of soup at one sitting, make sure you remove the matzo balls from the broth and let them come to room temperature before storing them in a separate container. If left to sit in the broth for too long, they'll become mushy.