We eat for many different reasons. 

Obviously, we eat first and foremost to sustain life. Many simple foods, alongside water, can keep us alive if we lived on those alone. 

But we also eat for pleasure and as a shared experience with others. 

We also eat alone, and we can eat to numb pain and distract us from whatever it is we can’t deal with.

Mostly I eat to ‘nourish’ not just to simply stay alive.

I love the word nourish. It makes me think of growth, healing, strength, fuel. It’s more than just simply eating to survive, but thinking about what foods can actually nourish your body too. There is so much about our lives, and even our health at times, that is beyond our control. However, we can actively contribute to nourishing our bodies. How good is that!

I also eat for pleasure. The experience, the smells, the taste, the relationships that happen alongside the eating. 

If I ate for pleasure every day, my day-on-a-plate would look like dark chocolate covered liquorice, triple cream brie, coffee and red wine. Yep, I know, sounds awesome. But we all know what would happen to my health if that was all I ever consumed.

So, for myself, I eat mostly to nourish and a little for pleasure. 

I don’t think it’s a bad thing for us to stop sometimes and have a ‘health check-up’ with ourselves when it comes to our eating. Often a health crisis or illness will prompt that for you, but even if you’re fighting fit, it still could be helpful to make sure you are nourishing your body, to the best that your time, money and expertise allows. 

This soup is not just another dinner for the family because you have to feed them.

It’s a warm bowl of bright yellow goodness that will cheer up anyone on a dreary day and nourish your body at the same time.

My first experience with it was when I was really sick last year with the flu and a friend made a batch of it and dropped it over. I actually hadn’t been eating much until this soup arrived. Not only did the colour cheer me up almost immediately, but as I ate it, I could almost feel myself getting a little clearer and a little stronger. I ate it for days. 

This is the kind of soup that you will pick up the bowl when it’s nearing the end and drink the gold liquid until there is nothing left at all. Well, that’s what the boys and I did anyway. 

It will remind you a little of the broth you would eat in a really good laksa, so you could easily throw some more veggies or rice stick noodles into this to make it more of a substantial meal, or if your family are a little fussy about ‘just having soup for dinner.’

My only regret when I made it was that I didn’t double the recipe. So make a double batch and either give some away to anyone sick or struggling, or freeze it for when that cold is starting to come and you want to nip it in the bud before it takes hold. 

This recipe is originally from Quirky Cooking by Jo Whitton, (a thermomix cookbook for people with food sensitivities) but as I don’t own a thermomix, I just made it the old fashioned way in a soup pot and it turned out just fine. 

Chicken, Coconut and Lemon Soup

2016-03-01 20:37:33

Serves 4

A nourishing and fragrant chicken soup with loads of ginger, turmeric, garlic and lemon.

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

1. 4cm cube of fresh ginger, peeled
2. 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3. 3 garlic cloves
4. 6 sprigs of fresh coriander, plus a few leaves extra to garnish
5. 2 spring onions, ends trimmed and chopped into quarters
6. 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
7. 1 litre good quality chicken stock
8. 400 gram can coconut milk
9. juice of 1 lemon
10. 2 tablespoons fish sauce
11. 400 gram chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and chopped into small cubes.

Instructions

1. Place ginger, turmeric, garlic, spring onions and chilli in a food processor and blitz until a fragrant and bright green paste forms.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add the paste.
3. Cook, stirring so it won't stick, for a few minutes or until the smell is just amazing and it's softened and sizzling.
4. Add all the other ingredients, except the chicken pieces, and put a lid on the pot.
5. Bring to a boil and then add the chicken pieces, turn the heat down so your soup is on a gentle simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid and another 10 or so with the lid off.
6. Garnish with extra coriander leaves if you desire.

Notes

1. You could add rice stick noodles and some chopped asian greens to the soup towards the end of the cooking to make it more of a substantial meal.

By Jo Whitton

Adapted from Quirky Cooking

Adapted from Quirky Cooking

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