We are back! The Soup Sisters have been on a hiatus for a while (more than 4 years, according to this blog), but have finally been resurrected in the midst of what is hopefully the winding-down of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We met on March 28th via Zoom. Five kitchens participated, and another one popped in to say hello. The soup, a New York Times recipe written by Ali Slagle, was a success. I picked it from a few I floated back in August when we last tried to start this up again. It fits into everyone’s diet preferences, mainly that it is easily made low-carb and it doesn’t include red meat or pork. Several chefs said they wouldn’t have picked it out on their own but were pleased with the results. I think that’s a great review on it’s own — trying something new is part of the fun of this interactive project.

In our house, we didn’t make the rice to keep it lower carb, but others did. And although we included the jalapeño, Kevin and I didn’t find it too spicy (we prefer no more than medium-spicy, usually). Everyone decided the meatballs should be smaller, to make them easier to eat in a soup. Fish sauce was the one ingredient that gave some people trouble. It is generally not too difficult to find in the Asian aisle of grocery stores, but as it isn’t a familiar ingredient, it can be confusing to know which one to buy. Any work, but we prefer Red Boat, which is recommended by our favorite recipe creator and chef, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (4-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 jalapeño
  • 2 pounds ground chicken
  • 1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, a few whole leaves reserved for serving
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or coconut oil, plus more as needed
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 5 ounces baby spinach
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
  • Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

PREPARATION

  1. Using the small holes of a box grater, or a Microplane, grate the ginger, garlic and jalapeño (or finely chop them by hand). Transfer half to a large bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 teaspoon salt. Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but do not overmix.
  2. Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch meatballs (about 2 ounces each). In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on two sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat, adding oil as needed.
  3. Once all the meatballs are browned and out of the pot, if the oil is burned, wipe it out and add a bit more to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved ginger mixture and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, sugar and the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

We’re on the calendar for another Soup Sisters cooking event on Sunday, May 23rd. Nancy is picking the recipe — we’re looking forward to it!

Photos provided by Christicat:

A Note from Sewsie:

Dan and I had a wonderful time cooking with the other Soup Sister participants during our recent gathering. I definitely give this recipe a great big thumb’s up! It was pretty easy to make, unique, and very delicious. I was afraid it might be too spicy, but it was not at all – despite including a whole jalapeño pepper (although I admit I carefully removed the seeds and membrane.) Something new for us in our kitchen was using canned coconut milk. We had not cooked with it before, and I think it could be a useful addition to our pantry. We used a cookie scoop to form the meatballs. That really worked wonderfully, although I do agree that I would prefer smaller meatballs. Perhaps that gives me a good excuse to get a smaller cookie scoop! For serving, we microwaved some frozen riced cauliflower as a rice substitute. Then we ladled the soup over it. That worked perfectly! Yum!

A Note from HoosierRoots:

This Soupster joined in the fun from Indiana. I used our 2″ cookie scoop to make the meatballs. Next time I would use a smaller scoop. I had only used coconut milk once before. I was surprised it was solid at the top, but it all mixed in. We made a slightly bigger batch, which gave us dinner for a second night. As often happens with soups, it was even better as a leftover.