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I Love to Cook -

My wife and I are sick as shit and of course the best thing to have when sick is chicken soup. I make mine with barley rather than noodles because it's more filling and the barley holds its texture better - noodles eventually fall apart. This is designed to treat cold symptoms. The key thing here is the ginger and spice, which will feel great on the throat, and also make your sinuses clear out.

Here's my recipe:

- One whole chicken (roasted for more flavour, but not required)
- two carrots, cut into small pieces
- half an onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 serrano chiles with seeds, minced (more or less as desired; spice is GREAT when you have a cold)
- A thumb of ginger, minced
- a few sprigs of thyme
- star anise
- a bay leaf
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- salt and pepper

Put the whole chicken in a pot, cover with water, and simmer until the chicken falls apart, probably an hour. Skim any grey froth from the top. Remove the chicken to cool. If you want af at-free stock, let the stock stand until the fat collects at the top and skim that off. But a bit of fat makes for a nicer soup.

Fry the onions, garlic, chiles, ginger, thyme, and the whole star anise at low heat in some oil until soft and tasty-looking. Add a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. While they're frying, pull the meat from the chicken carcass, ensuring there's no bones.

Strain the stock through a sieve (or cheesecloth) onto the vegatbles, add the chicken, barley, and bay leaf. Cook at medium, uncovered, until the barley is soft. Taste and adjust salt level appropriately, it will likely be under-salted and need more.

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That looks good enough to eat even when one isn't sick. Hope you all feel better soon.
CaptainCanadia · 41-45, M
Thanks! And so do we.