12 Clove Chicken Garlic Soup – How to Make It

This is my own recipe, developed over several years of trial and error, for garlic chicken soup with dumplings.  Be warned – as you might expect, this is one for the truly dedicated garlic lovers only.  Of course you may prefer to dial down the number of cloves you throw into this delicious broth.  But really, that simply misses the whole powerful, pungent point of the recipe.  Start crushing those cloves, and get the full effect!  Remember that garlic has been suggested to have some health benefits.  

Now, to begin:

INGREDIENTS (for two people).
4-6 chicken drumsticks (preferably free range and organic).
12 garlic cloves
400g mixed frozen vegetables (broad beans and string beans are good).
25g flour (white wheat flour).
Splash of light soy sauce.
Generous amounts of black pepper.
Large pinch of salt.
Fresh chopped parsley or puree from tube (2 tsps).
Small knob fresh ginger.
200g chopped fresh field mushrooms (optional).
1 tbsp tomato puree (optional).

DUMPLINGS
You can use pre-mixed packet herb dumplings (my usual choice) or the following:

50g suet.
150g-200g white wheat flour
Pinch of suet
1 tsp mixed herbs.

INSTRUCTIONS
1  Take a large, stout pan and place the chicken and frozen vegetables in it, along with enough cold water to almost cover them.
2  Bring to a fast boil and keep at a fast boil for at least ten minutes.
3  Reduce temperature, apply a well-fitting lid to the saucepan and bring to a slightly bubbling simmer for another 40 minutes.  Check liquid levels periodically and top up if getting low.

PREPARE THE FOLLOWING TO ADD AT THE END OF 40 MINUTES
4  Mix the 25g of flour with a  little water.
5  Crush the garlic cloves finely.
6  Grate the fresh ginger finely.
7 Chop the mushrooms (if used) and microwave on high for two-three minutes.  (Two if enough 'liquor' is produced, three if still slightly uncooked).
8  Prepare the packet dumpling mix as instructed, or alternately use the prescribed ingredients as follows:

Combine the 150g-200g of flour, pinch of salt and mixed herbs in a small bowl.  Mix in the suet and stir in half a cup of water.  This should result in a loose, slightly wet mixture.  If it is still dry then add some more water.  Prepare this just before the end of the 40 minutes the soup has spent simmering.

9  At the end of the 40 minutes you may wish to fish out the drumsticks and remove the skins as some people dislike having them floating in the soup.  (This still leaves extra fat content in the soup, however: if this is a concern to you you may prefer to remove the skins prior ot cooking.  This is a disagreeable job, however and I don't do this myself.  You could always use skinless chicken breasts instead).
10  Add the garlic, flour and water, soy sauce, pepper, salt, parsley, ginger, mushrooms and tomato puree to the soup.  Stir well.
11  Take the dumpling mix, portion it out into approximately dessert spoon size portions, and put the portions into the soup.  Apply the well-fitting lid and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes (or as per the packet if using packet mix).  The end result should be aerated like a crumpet, savoury, fluffy and light.
12  At the end of cooking, serve with perhaps a few extra twists of black pepper, and crusty bread if you fancy a little extra starch!

Enjoy your garlic-laden soup, remember all the health benefits being explored by researchers, and take some breath mints around with you the next day!

Copyright Ollie Hicks, 2009.