My wife is Chinese, and watching her cook is remarkable. The foods she makes are so full of natural medicines. I was eating a bowl of her chicken soup today and found a large chunk of ginger at the bottom of the bowl. Even with the ginger, it didn't taste much different than my Jewish Mom's soup.
Ginger is both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. The ginger needs to stay in large chunks with only a couple of sides sliced so it does not make the soup too strong. The ginger will aid in settling an upset stomach. It can also alleviate nausea.
Another great adaptation of the age-old medicinal chicken soup is to add fresh, chopped garlic to the pot of hot soup when it's done, and then let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes.
Garlic, one of the strongest anti-microbials, can kill bacteria, viruses, and fungus, but it is only effective if eaten raw. I like to add it at the end of cooking. That way, it is semi-raw and able to kill off microbes, but it still tastes good.
If you don't mind altering the taste of your Mom's chicken soup somewhat, then for a more potent medicinal brew, add the juice from one lime at the end. Lime added to garlic and ginger has been shown to inhibit many more potent kinds of microbes and pathogens.
Eating chicken soup is a really good idea for those cold, overcast, rainy days of fall and winter when viral, bacterial, and fungal infections start to become more prevalent.
Chicken Soup Recipe
2 cups egg noodles
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
5 cups chicken broth or 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 ribs (1 cup) celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small, fresh lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients except egg noodles, parsley, salt, and pepper in 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just comes to a boil (5 to 8 minutes). Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender (10 to 15 minutes). Add parsley and garlic and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Add noodles. Squeeze lime juice before serving.
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