In our house, my husband and I have been calling this the COVID killer—my mom’s chicken and rice soup, called “cow pee-yuk” by Laotians. It’s a popular dish in Laos, where it’s often served at large gatherings of all sorts because it’s easy to make and can feed a lot of people.
No, it doesn’t actually kill COVID-19 so even if it’s impossible to find rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer these days, you cannot use this soup to disinfect anything. But, with its bone broth base and organic vegetables, it’s packed with nutrients that help build your immune system so your body can fight infections. Whenever anyone in our household is sick or feeling an illness coming on, we make this soup. But during this pandemic, we’ve been making it at least once a week and eating it for leftovers the next day to keep us healthy. Thankfully, my kids, age three and five, love it and so far, they aren’t tired of eating it once a week!
Those who know my mom knows that when she cooks, nothing is measured and she makes an insanely large quantity that can feed several households. She loves feeding friends and family and they love to be fed! So far, I’ve noticed anyone who enjoys chicken soup loves my mom’s chicken and rice soup. Friends have asked for the recipe so we’ve come up with a simple, measureable version that feeds our family of four and still leaves some leftovers. Here’s what you’ll need:
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 45-60 minutes
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb. organic chicken wings, drum sticks or parts of a whole chicken
• 12 cups water
• 2-3 tsp Real mineral salt
• 5 large organic celery stalks
• 1 medium organic onion
• 1 “square inch worth” organic ginger
• 1 cup organic jasmine rice (uncooked)
• Organic green onions
• Organic cilantro
• Organic lime
• Organic crushed black pepper
• Sprinkle of mineral salt for individual servings
DIRECTIONS
In a large stock pot, bring 12 cups of water, the chicken and salt to a boil. For ease, you can use chicken wings or drum sticks. My mom usually chops up a whole chicken, but she’s also making a large quantity in a gigantic pot. I’ve found that unless you can find a small whole chicken, it takes up way too much space in the pot. Of course, you can chop up the whole chicken and use half of it. Also, our family uses the Real Salt brand of mineral salt because it’s packed with trace minerals.
Chop up the onions and celery into small pieces and add to the pot. Take about a square inch worth of ginger, slice into coins and add to the pot. You are welcome to eat the ginger if you like the spice, but like the chicken bones, it’s more meant to simply add flavor and nutrition to the soup base.
After the soup is boiling, wash and add the cup of rice. Turn down the heat to a medium level and let it boil for another 10 minutes. Then turn down the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it slow cook for 45-60 minutes. The chicken and rice should be cooked within 45 minutes but the longer you let it slow cook, the more the chicken meat will fall off the bones. If you’re in a hurry as I often am, and the chicken is not falling off the bones yet, you can pull it with a fork and add the chicken and bones back into the pot.
While the soup is slow cooking, cup the green onions and cilantro. This is for garnishing individual servings.
Depending on how salty you like your food, you might find the soup base a little bland. You can add more salt to the pot but I usually just sprinkle some extra salt into individual servings so more people can enjoy it to their preference.
Another note: This soup is meant to be “thick” with rice. “Cow pee-yuk” literally translates to wet rice in English. But I promise, it doesn’t sound that weird and unappetizing in Laotian!
SERVING THE SOUP
Make sure to let the soup cool. (I sometimes cheat and add a cube of ice into my kids’ bowls to speed up the process and then let them drink the broth with a straw.) In each individual bowl served, sprinkle extra salt (if preferred), black pepper, chopped green onions and cilantro. Add a squeeze of lime to taste. Of course, these last ingredients are all optional so if you hate cilantro, forgo it. But I have to be honest; the squeeze of lime is a must in my opinion. Enjoy!
Let me know what you think! If you’ve had this at my or my mom’s house, did your version taste the same?
