Sopa de Limon Con Pollo- Lemon, Chicken and Rice Soup

Sopa de Limon, translates to lemon soup. I have loved lemons and limes since I was a very young child. So much so, that I had to stop eating them for a while. Not because I didn’t enjoy them anymore, but because the acid was wearing out the enamel on my front teeth! Oh no! It just seems that there were always fresh lemons or limes in mom’s kitchen. We loved to add a squeeze of acid on a lot of our foods, lol! For my siblings and me, it just made everything taste better. To this day, I still crave that little fresh acidic note in all of my sopas and caldos. It brings out the flavors of all the other ingredients.

This is not a traditional Mexican recipe, but has many traditional ingredients found in caldo recipes.

This recipe was inspired by the traditional Greek Lemon Soup that I have enjoyed many times in the past. Most times I have seen it prepared with orzo pasta, chicken as the base and very few carrots and celery. The lemon flavor is very prominent and the main reason I enjoy it so much. Many simple Mexican sopa and caldo recipes include carrots, celery, squash( chayote and or calabacitas), potatoes, corn and sometimes cabbage. All of those vegetables would be delicious in this recipe, in my opinion.

Why egg and cornstarch for the soup base?

Is it necessary to add the egg and cornstarch to the soup recipe. In my opinion, in my honest opinion, no it’s not. But, I love the consistency and texture it gives the soup base, Not too thick, but yet a little creamy without using heavy cream. Would I prepare the soup again? Definitely! I have prepared a variation of this recipe for many years, but the Mexican style version. I prepare mine with chicken pieces, zucchini, carrots and rice.

Start! Gather all of the ingredients. Wash the produce. Measure out other ingredients. Make sure the chicken is not frozen before you start! Lol!

A good knife and solid cutting board are a must! Chop, slice or dice all of the vegetables. I slowly improving on learning to sharpen my knives, finally!

I found these boneless chicken breast with the skin on and knew it would add delicious flavor to my sopa. If all you can find is bone on chicken breast, that is fine too. You will have to adjust the cooking process. You can still season and sear on each side. But you will have to add the chicken into the simmering broth once you add all of the ingredients to the sopa. After 20 minutes, pull out the chicken, shred the meat and add back to the soup.

Searing and browning the chicken with skin on as opposed to just boiling it, will add so much more flavor to the dish! All those bits stuck to the bottom of the pot will melt into the sopa base and be amazing!

Once you have mixed the lemon juice with the egg and cornstarch, you must temper the egg mixture. Tempering is when you will slowly stream in, whisking the whole time, hot broth. If you add the hot broth too fast, the egg will scramble.

Keep a digital meat thermometer handy anytime you wan to make sure the meat is at the right temperature. Especially when you are cooking chicken or pork. Plus you don’t want to overcook chicken breast because they will dry out.

A little rice or pasta goes a long way in recipes like this. One third cup of rice doesn’t seem like it would be enough, but it’s the perfect amount in here. Add to much rice and it will look more like a porridge instead of a sopa.

Cooking the chicken breast this way makes it easier to cube the chicken. But if you prefer shredded chicken, take two forks and shred the breast meat while it’s still warm.

You are in the home stretch and soon the sopa de limon will be ready to enjoy! I can’t wait to try some different variations using this as a guideline. I am imagining a shrimp version or a ground beef variation. Ooh, how about a mushroom with nopales version? I really enjoy the whole process of learning new variations.

I am trying to scale down the total servings on my recipes going forward. So, if you have a larger family, you may have to double up on the ingredients. We are only two and enjoyed this recipe for a few days. It just tasted better and better!

Sopa de Limon Con Pollo- Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and rice soup with the fresh taste of lemon!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course, Soups and Stews

Cuisine: Mexican-Style

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 33 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 3 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 Servings

Ingredients

• Avocado oil
• 2 boneless(if possible), skin on chicken breast 1 lb
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper to test
• ½ med. Onion 152 gr, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic 12 gr, minced
• 1 tbsps fresh ginger 6 gr, minced
• 2 sticks of celery 95 gr, sliced thin
• 2 med carrots 148 gr, diced
• 1 small chayote diced
• 1/3 c long grain rice
• 6 c chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• Juice of 1 large lemon plus 1 sliced thin for garnish
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsps cornstarch
• 2 tbsps parsley finely chopped
• 1 small jalapeño sliced thin

Instructions

• Season the chicken, lightly, on both sides. Set it aside.
• Prep all the vegetables. Pour the 6 cups of chicken broth in a medium saucepan and warm on low.
• In a large pot, preheat 1 ½ tbsps. of avocado oil at medium heat for 3-4 minutes. When it is hot, place the seasoned chicken breast skin side down in preheated oil. Sear for 5 minutes. Flip over, cover the pot. Reduce the heat to medium/low and continue cooking for 6-7 minutes. When ready, remove the chicken and transfer to the cutting board. Set it aside.
• In the pot where you cooked the chicken, add the onion, garlic, ginger, celery, carrots, and chayote. Stir well to combine using a wooden spoon. Scrape the bottom of the pot to incorporate all the bits and flavor from the chicken. Continue sauteing for 3 minutes.
• In a bowl, whisk the egg with the lemon juice. Then whisk in the cornstarch until there are no lumps. Set it aside.
• Pour the rice into the pot with vegetables and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Pour in 5 cups of the reserved warm chicken broth into the pot with vegetables. Take the remaining hot broth and slowly pour it into the lemon/egg/cornstarch liquid. Stir continuously as you pour in the hot broth, to temper the egg so it doesn’t scramble. Bring up to a light simmer. Taste for salt.
• Remove the skins from chicken breast and slice into ½ inch pieces. Add to the soup, along with the parsley and thin jalapeño slices. Stir well to combine and cook for 6-7 more minutes. Yields 5 servings.

Notes

Not only with rice, but this recipe would be delicious with any small pasta. 

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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