Hot and Sour Soup Chicken

Ingredients:
75 g chicken breast meat
113 g presoaked sea cucumber
1 fresh squid (about 113 g)
2 dried black mushrooms
1 beancurd
1 srig spring onion
1 egg
4 cups stock

Ingredients for simmering:
2 slices ginger
1 sprig spring onion
1 tbsp wine

Seasoning:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp caltrop starch
2 tsps white vinegar
1 tsp chilli oil
½ tsp salt
2 tbsps water
dash of pepper
½ tbsp cooked oil

Instructions:
Rinse chicken breast meat. Remove membrane from squid. Soak and trim mushroom. Pat dry beancurd. Shred the above ingredients.
Wash and blanch sea cucumber in boiling water. Add simmering ingredients. Parboil for 15 minutes. Remove and shred sea cucumber.
Wash and dice spring onion. Beat egg.
Boil stock. Add ingredients (except spring onion and egg). Bring to the boil. Stir in seasoning, egg and spring onion. Serve hot.

Southwestern Chicken Soup

A great tasting chicken soup.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
Poached Chicken
- 1 whole chicken - approximately 3 1/2 pounds
- 1 large onion, peeled
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, chopped or 2 cans chopped green chilis
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour salt to taste
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped sour cream for garnish

Directions:
Remove giblets from chicken.
Discard the liver.
Rinse the chicken with cold water.
Put the chicken, onion and giblets in a large stockpot.
Pour in enough cold water to cover the chicken by 1 inch. Approximately 3 quarts.
Put in the garlic and herbs and allow to boil over medium heat.
Skim off the foam, reduce to a simmer and cook for one hour uncovered or until the chicken is cooked through.
Keep skimming off the foam as the chicken cooks.
Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow it to cool.
With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and giblets, thyme and bay leaf.
Reserve the chicken broth.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until soft.
To this add the cumin, coriander and oregano and stir, cook for one minute.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and flour.
To that, add one cup of the chicken broth to make a roux.
Add this to the saucepan as well as the remaining chicken broth.
Season with salt and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the shredded chicken, chilies and cilantro. Cook five more minutes.
Serve with sour cream and cilantro.

*Great served with Smoky Chile Cornbread
(www.recipetips.com)