Creamy Chicken Soup

In the good ole days, there would always be a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup in the corner of my larder. It's emergency food for whenever we were hungry and don't have the time to cook.  It tasted so good with the crusty bread or a roast chicken bought from the supermarket on the way home from a hard day at work.These days, I prefer to make my own creamy soup - it tastes better and more nutritious as I can control the amount of salt and fat (no cream) that goes into the soup.  On top of that, it's really easy to make.  Here's how I make my Creamy Chicken soup.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 serve)

• 400 ml of chicken stock

• 100 gm carrot (diced)

• 1 clove garlic (minced and fried in 2 tsp oil)

• 1 tablespoon fried onion (minced)

• 20 gm butter

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons evaporated milk

• 100 gm chicken thigh or breast

• Sprinkle of dried rosemary

METHOD

1. Make the chicken stock by boiling chicken bones (I use 6 chicken thigh bones) in 1 litre of water for 30 mins.  You should end up with 400 ml of chicken stock.  Remove the bones and strain the stock.

2. Add carrots and simmer for another 10 mins.  Then, chicken meat and salt to the stock and gently poach the chicken meat until cooked. Chicken is cooked when the meat is opaque.  Do not overcook the chicken.  Remove chicken meat and cut it into small cubes.

3. Heat butter in a saucepan and when sizzling, add flour and combine it with the butter until the flour is cooked (=roux).

4. Add chicken stock to the roux (a few spoonful at a time) and keep stirring to make a creamy sauce. Stir in the rest of the stock, fried onion and fried garlic.

5. Stir in cooked chicken cubes and evaporated milk.  Taste the soup and add salt, if needed, and pepper to taste.

6. Pour soup into a soup bowl and sprinkle some dried rosemary on top.  Serve with crusty bread.Note: This recipe will produce the creamy consistency I like.  If you prefer a creamier soup, add cream instead of evaporated milk.  Alternatively, add a teaspoon of cornflour mixed in a tablespoon of water at the end.