Ginger Chicken Soup and Baked Spiced Asian Pears

The Recipe:

Ginger Chicken Soup

48 oz chicken broth
1 package (about 1 1/4 pounds) thin sliced boneless, skinless, chicken breast fillets
2 large carrots, coarsely shredded
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger (about 1 ginger root)

Optional Add-Ins:
8 ounces cubed super firm tofu, drained well
2 slivered green onions
2 cups thinly sliced, then coarsely chopped, Napa cabbage
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
3 ounces fresh snow peas, each cut diagonally in half
2 teaspoons sriracha hot chili sauce
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1. In large saucepan, combine all ingredients except optional add-ins; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. With tongs, transfer chicken to cutting board. With two forks, shred chicken.
 2. If desired, stir in any optional add-ins into hot broth; cook up to 5 minutes over medium heat until add-ins are heated through and/or vegetables are tender. To serve, divide chicken between each of the four soup bowls. Ladle soup over chicken.

Active time: 15 minutes          Total time: 20 minutes      Serves: 4

The Cook's Comments

For this recipe, I ended up using the following optional add-ins: tofu and green onions. I also ended up grilling the chicken first instead of boiling only.

Simplicity

Like the other recipes I have posted on here so far, this dish is also very simple. Although you may not want a young kid making it all by himself, he could easily help out

Complications and Suggestions

For those using tofu: not everyone may know how to prepare tofu. Before cooking with it, you will need to drain it. To do this, wrap the tofu block in two layers of paper towels and set on a plate. Place another plate on top of the wrapped tofu and set a 20 oz can on top. Leave for twenty minutes.

I would highly suggest doubling the ginger for this recipe. Although 4/4 thought the soup was good, we all agreed that it needed more ginger. Two of us also thought it would have been better to add the chili sauce. I also ended up chopping the green onions instead of slivering them, but that is a personal preference.

Taste

As stated above, all agreed it tasted good, but needed more of the ginger spice since it was barely noticeable. Both the useless assistant (who has done little but eat so far) and I think a little heat from the chili sauce would have made it perfect as well. Please note, the useless assistant does not tend to like spicy food so this suggestion does not come from someone with a hot palette. 

 

The Recipe:

Baked Spiced Asian Pears

2 Asian pears (apple pears), cored, cut in half, then cut into 1/4 inch thick slices (about 3 cups)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Nonstick cooking spray

4 ginger snap cookies, finely crushed

1 cup vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, gently toss apples with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add juice over apple mixture and toss until well combined.

2. Spray 9 to 10 inch cake pan or glass pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange pear slices in rows, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until pears are tender but firm. Serve pears over a scoop of ice cream.

Active time: 10 minutes        Cooking time: 25 minutes     Serves: 4

The Cook's Comments

Simplicty

Again, this dish is incredibly easy. The hardest part was slicing the pears. This would be a great dish for a kid to make with a little help with the chopping the the oven use.

Complications and Suggestions

Although the original recipe has the ginger snaps optional, I cannot imagine the dish being as good as it was without it. Also, some may be tempted to leave out the ice cream. Do not do this! The pears are pretty dry by themselves and the ice cream balances it out to perfection.

Taste

This wasn't a favourite dish, but it was still pretty tasty, especially considering how easy it was to make so I could see this being made again.