Feel Good Simple Soup

Even when I am at the sickest of sick, I always seem to have enough strength in me to make chicken broth and turn it into some sort of comforting soup. There is something deeply therapeutic about standing over a stockpot full of chicken, vegetables and garlic, breathing in the salty plumes of steam. I came down with a flu on Tuesday and wanted nothing more than a perfect bowl of something chicken. I had roasted a chicken on the weekend (lucky me) and decided that a good broth was the best place to start.
After a slow-moving morning of lemon ginger tea and snoozing, I plunked the chicken bones in a stockpot with a large, quartered onion, three carrots cut into chunks, and a few ribs of celery, cut into large pieces. I also added about 5 cloves of garlic, with the skin still on. I filled the stock pot up with cold water, enough to generously cover the bones, turned the heat onto medium high, and waited for it to come to a boil.
Snooooze, sip, read.
I'm reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being right now, can't put it down. Thank goodness for riveting literature when one is ill!!
After the stock came to a boil, I turned it down to simmer (medium low) and let it cook away, uncovered for about 2 hours. When I woke up from my nap my apartment was filled with the comforting smell of nourishment and steamed up windows. I strained the broth into a bowl and let it cool for a couple of hours. The fat formed a film on top of the broth, and I just skimmed it off with a spoon.
After I make chicken stock I always sit in this place of possibility: what kind of creation will come out of this batch?
I wanted something quick, easy and that would get my blood moving. Lots of ginger and garlic. I decided to use the template of the Vietnamese Beef Ball soup that I can make in my sleep and would jab someone with my elbows to eat (it's that good) but I made it with ground chicken instead of beef, and I was really lazy about rolling them into balls. Good news: it turned out great.
I mixed a pound of ground chicken with lots of minced garlic (5 cloves), ginger, fresh chilies, soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, minced cilantro and minced green onions. I brought my stock up to a boil, and reduced it to just a bit higher than medium. For the first round of chicken balls, I did roll them, but even by the time I had rolled enough to fit on a plate, I was getting lazy and really just spooning them onto the plate. I slid about 25 balls into the hot, bubbling broth, stirring occasionally until they rose to the top. I removed them with a slotted spoon and set aside. For the second round, I couldn't be bothered to roll each one out, so the process looked like scooping up the chicken mixture on a spoon with my right hand, using my left palm to shape it into a sort-of ball, and then dropping it into the broth. It turned out fine - gave the soup a sort of rustic look (or an "I'm really sick and lazy and my balls look sloppy look"- I'm not quite sure). When those were finished cooking, I removed them and then seasoned the broth. I used soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper and lime juice. Remembering that the chicken balls would be salty, I kept the broth simple. I added a bit of bok choy and torn up basil leaves, and cooked them until crisp and tender. I served the hot broth poured over the chicken balls, with the greens piled on top, and some beansprouts as garnish.
I impressed myself with this one. The broth was rich and complex, the chicken was fresh and bright, with the ginger and cilantro giving it a good zing. The fresh lime livened up the soup and the sprouts provided that gratuitous crunch that I can't seem to get enough of. I ate it for dinner last night, breakfast this morning...and I'm fairly certain I am going heat some up for a spot of lunch. The perfect, feel-good soup!!