There is something about chicken soup, caldo de pollo, that always satisfies that longing to return home. And whether it’s the simple bowl of warm broth with minimal vegetables or the fully loaded chunky vegetables version, I love it!
The video is going to make you crave a big bowl of caldo de pollo!
Clean out the refrigerator type of chicken soup!
In my experience, the best soup recipes happen when you purge the fridge to use up excess vegetables. Chicken soup is what comes to mind right away when I need to clean out the extra produce that needs to be used up. Most of us can count on finding some form of frozen chicken in our freezer on any given day.
Are you a thigh fan or strictly breast?
No matter how I tried to ask that question, it came out sounding a little risky! Lol! For soup, I prefer to use bone on, skin on chicken thighs for the best flavor! Chicken breast can become too dry for my liking.
What about the vegetables?
Carrots and celery are a must for me! As a matter of fact, that is the version I remember the most as a kid. Add a giant spoonful of Mexican Rice, some fresh lime and some warm corn tortillas. The best! As you can see from the photos, I went for the fully loaded chicken soup on this day. Choose your favorite vegetables. There are no set rules for any given recipe. Not unless you are trying to recreate mom’s or abuela’s recipe, right?
The milk glass bowl reminds me so much of the dishes my abuelita had when I would visit her in Mexico.
Chicken Soup-Caldo de Pollo
Ingredients
- 2 liters of water
- 2 lbs. bone on, skin on chicken thighs
- 1 small white onion, 140 gr peeled, sliced in half
- 4 cloves of garlic, 28 gr
- 3 bay leaves
- 12 peppercorns
- Salt, to taste
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 ear of corn, 200 gr
- 2 carrots, 150 gr peeled, sliced
- 1 stick of celery, 84 gr sliced
- 1 poblano pepper, 92 gr large dice
- 5 small red potatoes(these were mini size), 180 gr sliced in half
- 1 zucchini, 186 gr sliced into half moons
- Handful of washed cilantro, plus more for garnish
- lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- After washing the chicken, transfer to a large pot and cover with water. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeño, peppercorns and salt, to taste. Bring the chicken up to a simmer, skimming the top as needed. Cook for 25 minutes once it is simmering steady. Remove the onion, garlic and bay leaves.
- After 25 minutes of simmering, add the corn, carrots, celery and poblano pepper. Bring back up to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes, add the potatoes, zucchini and cilantro. Bring back up to a simmer. Taste for salt. Cook for another 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through. Remove skin from chicken and leave as is or shred the chicken and discard the bones.
- Garnish with lime juice, chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and warm corn tortillas
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Very delicious and filling although it would’ve been easy to eat more than one serving. Really didn’t even need salt. Just added some juice from your pickled jalapeno, onion and carrot recipe.
Hi Brian! The vinegar from the escabeche has plenty of salt, so no need to add any extra salt. Super tasty adding escabeche!