More Soup Month: Sous Vide Chicken and Bok Choy Soup
It’s still Soup Month! Sous Vide Chicken and Bok Choy Soup is another soup recipe for these winter months! And it uses a cool cooking technique called sous vide (under pressure).
In sous vide, the food is typically vacuum-sealed in a bag and cooked to a precise temperature while in a water bath. Sous vide can also refer to simply precision cooking in a water bath without a vacuum bag as well.
In either version, it is difficult ( possible if you leave it in the bath too, too long!)to overcook the food with this method because the temperature cannot get any higher than the one you select.
Also, the food cooks in its juices so the results are flavorful and juicy. Also, since the temperature is set and stable, you can have some flexibility with your time in the kitchen. You don’t have to sit and watch your meal…
Sounds great, huh?
Sous Vide Equipment
You do need some equipment to utilize this cooking method. A precision cooker, vacuum storage bags, sous vide plastic containers, and mason jars all can be used when using this method. I will list some examples of the equipment here.
1. Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano
The precision cooker sits in a pot or tub of water and sucks up the water, heats it up to the temperature you set and puts it back into the pot or tub. It keeps the temperature of the water stable and circulating.
2. Rubbermaid Plastic Space-Saving Square Food Storage Container For Kitchen/Sous Vide/Food Prep
This container an be used for sous vide cooking similar to a large pot.
3. EVERIE Collapsible Hinged Sous Vide Lid Compatible with Anova Nano Sous Vide Cooker and Rubbermaid 12,18, 22 Qt. Sous Vide Container, Corner Mount (Fits Anova Nano Only)
You can use your Precision cooker in a big pot but some cooks suggest that you purchase a large plastic container for that purpose. This one is made for the Anova Nano precision cooker and helps with maintaining the temperature of the cook. It is also large so you can cook at lot of food at once. The vacuum sealer is used to seal the bags with the food in them.
4. Sous Vide Bags Reusable Vacuum Food Storage Bags for Anova and Joule Cookers – 3 sizes Sous Vide Bag Kit with Pump – 4 Sealing Clips – 4 Sous Vide Bag Clips for Food Storage and Sous Vide Cooking
You can place the meat or other food into these bags, vacuum seal, then place the bags into the water bath.
5. Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars 8 oz. – Set of 8 Canning Jars, with Airtight lids & Bands
6. Mini Mason Jars 4 oz. – Small Glass Jar with Lids – 15 Pack with Labels
You can also do sous vide cooking in Mason jars, Cooking meat isn’t appropriate in jars but you can cook fruits and vegetables. The jar needs to have an air-tight seal to use for this purpose.
Today’s Recipe: Sous Vide Chicken and Bok Choy Soup
Now that you have some information about sous vide cooking, here is a recipe to try,
Sous Vide Chicken and Bok Choy Soup
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 t. toasted sesame oil
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Soup Ingredients
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 4-5 green onions chopped (white and green parts separated)
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 10 oz. white mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 2 t. five-spice powder
- 1 T. fresh ginger finely minced
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 c. chicken broth preferably organic
- 3 baby bok choy trimmed and sliced
- 4 oz. rice noodles gluten-free
- Crushed red pepper flakes to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Fill a large container or pot with water and attach the sous vide circulator to the side. Set the temperature to 145°F and the cooking time to 2 hours.
- While the water bath heats up, drizzle the chicken breasts with the toasted sesame oil and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Place chicken breasts in an airtight plastic bag and remove as much air as possible while sealing.
- Once the water bath reaches the set temperature, add the sealed bag. (The bag will sink if enough air has been removed). Adjust the sous vide timer back to two hours, if necessary.
- 10 minutes before the chicken is done, heat the olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the white part of the green onions and garlic and cook, stirring continually, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet and sprinkle the five-spice powder and freshly grated ginger on top. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are golden brown, approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
- When to cook time is complete, remove the chicken breasts from the water bath and discard any liquid in the plastic bag. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and pat dry with a paper towel. When cool enough to handle, shred or chop the chicken as desired.
- Add the chicken, bok choy, and rice noodles to the skillet and continue cooking until the greens are wilted and the rice noodles are tender, but not too soft, approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately garnished with sliced green onions and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Learning to use this method will likely take some trial and error. There are numerous articles online with more details:
Have fun! If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments!
Loving Life — The Reboot!
Dominique
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