Soup Name: Apple and Corn in Chicken Soup
Traditional Chinese Name:蘋果玉米雞湯 (píng guǒ yù mǐ jī tāng)
Introduction:
This is a family favourite. With apples and corn, the soup is sweet to taste and refreshing. It’s a neutral soup that’s ideal for pregnancy, confinement (with adding dragon’s eyes, Chinese Yams and a slice of ginger) and for children. It can serve as a meal and packed full of vitamins.
What Ingredients are required?
1 fresh whole chicken
4-5 whole apples
2 fresh corn
1 fresh whole lily bulb
1 dried tangerine peel
2-3 L of water
How do I prepare it?
- Prepare chicken for soup
- Begin boiling your soup water
- Boil a separate pot to blanch chicken
- Peel and wash lily bulbs
- Wash and cut corn and apples
- Wash and scrape tangerine peel
- When water boils, add all the ingredients together
- Boil for at least 2 hour2
- Serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
- Pregnancy, confinement and child friendly
- Helps reduce and eliminate coughs and phlegm
- Sweet and fresh to the taste
- Excellent source of Vitamins and hearty to eat
i have tried making this soup, but both the time the result is not so pleasant. the soup somehow tasted bitter. where have i gone wrong?
Dear souplovers,
A few things will kill the taste of this soup. Start with the smallest piece (or none at all) of the tangerine peel. Tangerine peels are actually VERY bitter ingredients and should be used in minimal amounts. Secondly, did you core your apples? My vendor tells me for any seeded fruits, to eliminate the core and seeds, as that will also cause bitterness. Other than that, I can’t see any of the other ingredients making it bitter. Definitely eliminate the tangerine peel as a start. Hope this helps and let me know how else I can assist. Lisa
great soup! the whole family really enjoyed it – the girls 3 and 1 loved it and kept asking for seconds! thanks
Hi there,
Can I subsitute fresh lily bulb with dried ones as I cant any fresh ones.
Thanks
Khim, absolutely! Fresh lily bulb is not a common ingredient (especially out side of Asia), so substituting is definitely a yes! Lisa
hi there
my mum taught me that with Tangerine Peel you need to soak the peel, until its supple then scrape off all or most of the white furry stuff. (pith) which makes things bitter. :)
hope this helps people with their Tong!
Drink Tong! Live Long!
hahaha
Eva
Hi! I was looking a remedy to my cough and cold, and since I’m 3 moths pregnant I wanted to be cured as natural as possible. Came across this page, I have all the ingredients, with the apples getting almost rotten, and decided to give it a try. Only left out the lily bulb coz I’m too lazy to run to the market. And the results are amazing!!!! Love the taste, and it cured me of my cough almost immediately! Tq tq tq tq!
Hi, can I leave out lily bulbs and tangerine peels in this soup? If I do, will it cause any major difference in taste-not so nice? What are the benefits of adding them?
Thanks!
Hi Thirsty, you can leave them out. Actually the tangerine peel is VERY BITTER, so leaving it out will make it taste better. Lily bulbs themselves are slightly sweet, but not sweet enough to make a significant difference. The benefits is that the tangerine peel helps eliminate phlegm and the lily bulbs help nourish the lungs and eliminate cough. If you aren’t so concerned on this and want to just enjoy the taste, you can remove them. Hope this helps and thanks! Lisa
Hi, I’m cooking a confinement soup for a chinese friend who just had a baby, Can I use orange peel instead of tangerine?
Hi Anita, are they dried orange peel? I’d say yes, but not the overly salty kinds that you buy as a snack! There are a few ways in which the Chinese process both orange and tangerine peels, although I suspect dried tangerine peels are more common than orange peels. Hope this helps. If you’re in doubt, skip this ingredient altogether. Lisa
So the chicken I have to put another pot to boil it and boil how many minutes?
Is it at last the chicken put inside the boiling water with the all ingredients.
Dear Joyce,
You don’t have to “Blanch” the chicken (put it in another pot of boiling water), but the objective is to clean the chicken of impurities and boil out some of the oil and “foam”. You only need to boil the chicken for about 3-4 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Hope this helps! Lisa
Hi LadyTong, I don’t know that I should add salt or sugar in the soup or thats all of the ingredient??
Hi Gina,
Don’t add sugar, but salt is OK to taste if you think it’s not salty enough. This is a mildly sweet soup by nature, so you can add more corn and apples if it’s not rich in enough for you. We do avoid adding salt or additives to soups just to have the natural flavors of the ingredients come out. Hope this helps and thanks for your support! Lisa
Hi Lady Tong,
I’m not an experienced cook. When you say prepare the chicken for soup, what does that entail? Thanks
Dear Kevin,
Sorry, this feedback is great so it helps us identify where we can improve. Preparing the chicken is similar to prep for cooking. This means when you buy it from the supermarket (as a whole chicken), you need to remove the internal organs, wash it and then quarter it. You can check on youtube for videos on how to quarter/cut whole chickens. That’s what we meant. But you can also buy the chicken pre-cut, so prep really is washing. Some people prefer not to have the chicken with the skin, so removing the skin is also an option. I hope this helps and answers your questions! Lisa
can we use this soup base to cook porridge or rice? will it still retain d nutrient or achieve d same remedy?
You can actually use any soup for porridge or rice – however, I would avoid fruits and melons (as they can potentially sour). Try to stick with herbal soups or chicken/pork based veggies soups such as corn and carrots. Hope this helps! Lisa
Hi Chinese yam with corn n carrot soup suitable for 7 mths old??
Dear Evelyn, absolutely! Yams and carrots are usually foods that are introduced to beginner eaters and the soup can be no different (just in a different format!). Enjoy!
Dear Lady Tong aka Lisa,
My guest was delighted with this recipe. It was so sweet and tasty. Thanks for posting this and i woke up with a smooth throat ^_^
This soup is just delightful. I only use a chicken frame and it is still so delicious. Thank you lady tong!
Thank you, Jessica! The chicken frame is perfect as well. Waste not, but brings out great flavour in the soup! Lisa
Hi may I know if instead of chicken can I use pork? Will it have the same effect and taste?
Dear Haqemy, yes you can! Actually, most soups have both chicken and pork (traditionally for Chinese soups). For this soup, it’ll work just fine with pork instead of chicken. Some can’t though, like chicken and ginseng or chicken double-boiled soups. Lisa
If I’m using dried lily bulbs, how many should I put into the soup? If I don’t have a whole chicken on hand, can I substitute it with some chicken drumsticks and pork bones? Thanks!
Hi Laura. For the dried lily bulbs, I usually just grab a handful (I have a small hand, so maybe 2 tablespoons worth?). And yes, chicken can be substituted for any chicken parts. Lisa
May i ask what kind of apples to add? Is normal Fuji apple alright with the skin removed? And also as for the dried longans and chinese yams, can i add them all into the soup at the same time?
Dear Brenda, I usually use fuji apples as well because they tend to hold their shape and form quite well (versus Red Delicious). You can do it with the skin removed, but the apples may disintegrate into the soup and become shredded. You can add the dried longans and chinese yam at the same time as well.
Can this soup be frozen ?
Dear Shirleen, yes! I’d suggest completely draining all the ingredients and keeping just the liquid to freeze, might be easier. You can freeze them in one cup portions as needed. Lisa