Welcome to The Storied Recipe! I host a unique podcast where every guest gives me a recipe that’s significant to their culture, life, and memories. I make, photograph, and share the recipe with you. I invite you to listen to Ashley and her mother Precious's story as you make their Jamaican Chicken Soup recipe.
Ashley and her mother, Precious, shared this recipe with us, along with memories of 4 different generations of women making the soup in a cozy Brownstone house in New York City.
Precious began cooking for her siblings before she was a teenager. After she left Jamaica at 14, she cooked for 10 people every day in her new home. This soup was a staple and made Precious feel as if a piece of Jamaica had been transplanted into the middle of the city.
As Precious raised Ashley, Ashley's grandmother and great-grandmother were often in the home, along with aunts, and uncles, and cousins. Ashley remembers the sound of the pumpkin-thickened broth boiling and bubbling in the background as she slid down the banister with her cousins.
According to Precious, this is the soup Jamaican's serve to to the sick. And it certainly must be one of the most nourishing dishes imaginable! We all know about the healing properties of bone broth. In addition, this soup serves up vitamin-rich vegetables like pumpkin, chayote squash, potatoes, turnips, and carrots.
The dumplings are a rich, tasty addition, and although I can't claim to have made them properly (despite Ashley's advice and watching several YouTube videos), it didn't matter - everyone still fished them out to eat them first!
The one point I must reiterate from Ashely and Precious: If you use the Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper, take it out as *soon* as it begins to soften. I left mine in too long and the result was way too spicy for some of us!! My mistake - they warned me! It was no problem; I froze individual servings for the two members of my family that love spicy dishes. So, never fear: every last drop will be eaten by grateful, hungry people! 😉
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Episodes Related to this Jamaican Chicken Soup
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Ep. 070 - Jamaican Chicken Soup
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Recipe
Jamaican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Soup Ingredients
- 1 whole Chicken, broken down (8-10 pieces) *See Note 1 for substitution
- 1/2 small Pumpkin, peeled and diced *See Note 2 for substitution
- 1 Onion, diced
- 4-5 Carrots, peeled and sliced (thick slices)
- 1 Cho Cho (aka chayote squash), peeled and diced *See Note 3 for substitution
- 4 Fresh Corn, break each into 2-3 pieces *See Note 4 for substitution
- 4-5 Potatoes (golden works best), peeled and diced
- 10-15 sprigs of Thyme
- 3 Scallions
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper *See Note 5 for substitution
- 1 packet Jamaican Cock Soup Mix *See Note 6 for substitution
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
- 2 tbs Oil sunflower oil, canola oil, etc.
Cornmeal Dumplings
- 1 cup White flour
- 1/3 cup Cornmeal
- 2 large pinches of Salt
Instructions
Cue Up The Episode!
- Make sure you listen to Ashley and Precious's episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast, Jamaican Chicken Soup with Ashley and Her Mother Precious while you make their amazing Jamaican Chicken Soup.
Make The Recipe
Make the dumplings
- In a large bowl mix flour, cornmeal and salt. Add warm water in a slow stream while mixing with your hands until it just comes together. Roll into a dough ball and knead until mostly smooth. Divide the dough into equal sized balls and set aside.
Make The Soup
- Place chicken pieces in a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss.
- Put a large soup pot on the stovetop and heat to medium high heat. Add oil and onions. Cook onions 1-2 minutes until translucent.
- Add chicken, skin side down, to the onions and cook 3-5 minutes to cook the skin but not brown it.
- Add pumpkin, thyme, scotch bonnet (whole pepper), scallions (whole), soup mix, salt and pepper to the pot, fill the pot with water ¾ of the way full. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Roll the dumplings into circles, form a fist with your hand, and do a rolling motion so that it is a flattened circle (~½ inch thick) with a slight well in the center. Stir the pot, slightly mash pumpkin and add dumplings one at a time.
- Stir so that they don’t stick together. Cover and cook for 8 – 10 minutes.
- Keep an eye on the Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers. You do not want them to burst because the soup will be too spicy for some people. (As Precious says, “It will turn into Pepper Pot Soup”, another dish entirely.)
- Add potatoes, cho cho, corn and turnips, cover and cook for 10 minutes.;;Add carrots to the pot cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, until knife tender.
- Stir the soup, lightly mash remaining pumpkin and some potato to thicken the soup.
- If chicken is cooked, turn off the heat. If not, cook just a little longer. You do want the chicken to be cooked and slightly falling off the bone, but you do not want the potatoes and carrots to be mushy. It is not necessary to remove the skin.
- Remove the scallion, scotch bonnet and thyme.
- Enjoy a comforting bowl of soup!
Notes
- Note 1: Substitution: chicken legs and thighs (bone-in/skin on – 8-10 pieces)
- Note 2: Substitution: Diced butternut squash or 1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
- Note 3: Substitution: ½ cup diced turnips
- Note 4: Frozen corn kernels if not using fresh corn (only add 5 minutes before the soup is done if using frozen)
- Note 5: Substitution: 1 habanero pepper or habanero hot sauce to taste
- Note 6: Substitution: 2 cubes chicken bouillon
Wonderful cook says
Absolutely delicious! My whole family loved this chicken soup. It will definitely be in my regular rotation.
admin says
Oh, I'm so thrilled to hear this!! We loved it also and I'm so grateful to Ashley and her mom for sharing this amazing cherished recipe from their home! Thanks for taking the time to comment - it means a lot!