Emily VanderLaan’s soup delicious soup shows just how much chiles and ginger go together!

Chicken and Rice Soup with Chiles and Ginger

• ¾ lb. Open Acres® Chicken Thighs, skinned and deboned
• 7 cups Our Family® Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 shallots, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp. sugar
• One 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchstick-sized pieces
• ¾ cups Our Family® White Rice
• Juice of 1 lime (or 2 tbsp. lime juice)
• 1 tbsp. Our Family® Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 Serrano chile (mild) or 3 Thai chiles (hot), depending on your spice preference
• 2 scallions
• 3 tbsp. Our Family® Spanish Peanuts

1. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup hot water. When sugar is fully dissolved, add ginger. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
2. Bring chicken, stock, shallots, and garlic to a boil in a medium stock pot. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, approximately 20 minutes. Discard shallots. Transfer chicken to cutting board and cool. Shred chicken once cooled.
3. Bring stock mixture back to a boil and add rice. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until rice is tender (approximately 25-30 minutes).
4. Add shredded chicken, lime juice and soy sauce back to stock pot once rice has cooked. Optionally add salt, pepper, and/or more soy sauce per your preferences.
5. Prepare the soup toppers. Remove ginger from the sugar water and place in small dish. Chop scallions finely and place in a small dish. Cut up the chile of your choice (Serrano for those who like mild, Thai chiles for those who like it hot) and place in a small dish. Using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin, crush Spanish peanuts and place in a small dish. Place all dishes on the table so diners can customize their soup to their liking.

“This recipe is one that my oldest friend Elyse and I have honed to perfection. We have been friends since age 8 and even now that we are both married and busy with careers, we find ourselves in the kitchen regularly. This soup is our favorite for when one of us is feeling under the weather or in need of a warm hug that only a friend or a good bowl of soup can provide. It’s backbone is a classic chicken and rice soup, but we’ve added some elements from our favorite cuisines – like ginger to sooth a cranky tummy and crushed peanuts like our favorite Thai dishes.”

— Emily VanderLaan, Grand Rapids, MI

View the winning recipe for Fiocchi Family Pasta e Fagioli here!