In China, tonic soups are served as a spiritual or physical pick-me-up, much like our Grandma’s Chicken Noodle Soup! This soup is a light chicken soup with just a hint of spice from the cinnamon and star anise.
Traditionally, tonic soups are made with dried mushrooms which would be soaked to form a broth and a whole chicken would be cooked in that broth along with medicinal herbs and spices.
We’ve simplified this traditional Chinese chicken soup to make an easy Chinese chicken soup that uses ingredients found in most grocery stores and to make this recipe easy to cook even if you have just 20 – 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Spices.
Ceylon Cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is the least sweet of the three cinnamons offered at SpiceTopia. It is mild and delicate with subtle floral notes.
We love using it in savory dishes like this tonic soup recipe.
Star Anise. Star Anise has a subtle sweetness with herbal notes.
Sometimes, star anise is said to have a black licorice flavor. Keep in mind that comparing true licorice flavor to a black jelly bean is like comparing a fresh cherry to a cherry cough drop. So if you think you won’t like Star Anise because you don’t like black licorice jelly beans, we urge you to give it a try anyway! Really, there is no comparison between the two!
Ginger. Slices of fresh ginger float in this broth, imparting a mild spiciness. If fresh ginger is not available, substitute 1 ½ teaspoons Dried Ginger Powder.
Find these spices and over 100 more at Spice-Topia.com!
Chicken. Traditionally a whole chicken (with feet, skin, and bone) would be used in this recipe. We’ve changed things up to use boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts. The recipe calls for ¾ lb of chicken, which is 1 – 2 chicken breasts or 3 – 4 chicken thighs. We prefer using chicken thighs as it adds just a bit of body to the broth.
Chicken Broth. Since this is a quick cooking soup, you’ll need to start with a chicken broth that you like. If you have a chicken bone broth, that is ideal.
Mushrooms. Use your favorite sliced mushrooms in this recipe. If you have access to dried Porcini mushrooms, adding a few to the soup will add a depth to the soup.
Vegetables and Fresh Herbs. Any greens and herbs you like can be added to this soup. We love baby bok choy with cilantro and green onions, but parsley, spinach, Chinese cabbage, or even mustard greens are also excellent choices.
How to Make Chicken Tonic Soup
The secret to the light nature of this soup is to never bring the soup to a boil. We know it sounds unimaginable to cook chicken without boiling it, but this recipe does bring the chicken up to the correct temperature to eat safely. Chicken should be cooked to 165°F or until no longer pink inside
We love eating this soup as is or over a bowl of rice or even adding cooked noodles. As we mentioned, it’s very versatile and easy to make your own!
Vegetarian or Vegan Tonic Soup Recipe
For a vegetarian or vegan tonic soup, substitute the fresh mushrooms for 1 ounce of dried shiitake mushrooms. Place mushrooms in a pot and cover with 6 cups of boiling water. Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Remove the mushrooms from the water, remove and discard the stems, and slice the caps of the mushrooms. Strain the soaking liquid and use for the base of your soup. Omit the chicken from the soup recipe.
Let’s Get Cooking
Tonic Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
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Cut the bok choy into bite sized pieces, separating the white stems and leafy greens.
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Trim chicken thighs of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces.
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In a medium pot, add the cinnamon, ginger, and star anise to the broth. Over low heat, steep the spices in the broth until you can smell their aroma, which should be 3 - 5 minutes.
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Add the chicken to the broth. Continue to cook the soup over low heat for about 5 minutes. The chicken will be white on the outside, but still undercooked inside. If the broth starts to boil, turn down the heat–or briefly turn off the heat. This soup should not simmer or boil.
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Add the stem portions of the bok choy and the mushrooms. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, which will be about another 5 minutes.
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Add the leafy portion of the bok choy. Cook for one more minute and remove from the heat.
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Sprinkle on cilantro and green onions as you serve the soup.
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Enjoy!