Chicken and Watercress Soup with Ginger and Smoked Ham Recipe

Recipe created by Andrea Reusing
Oprah.com | From the April 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

A kick of ginger enhances chicken dumpling soup.

Get more Asian-inspired twists on your favorite dinner recipes

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. chili sauce, such as Sriracha
1 (5-inch) piece ginger, peeled; 3 inches finely grated (1 Tbsp.), remaining 2 inches reserved
1 small bunch cilantro, stems finely chopped (5 Tbsp.), 1/3 cup leaves reserved
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper, preferably white, plus more to taste
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
5 cups chicken broth
2 bunches watercress, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped, divided
1/2 cup thinly sliced smoked ham (about 3 ounces), in bite-size pieces
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

For the best flavor, use a ground-chicken mix this is half dark and half light meat.

In a medium bowl, stir together chicken and egg until sticky and very well combined. Add sherry, soy sauce, chili sauce, grated ginger, cilantro stems, 1/8 tsp. pepper, and 1 tsp. salt and mix well.

Drop dollops of the mixture onto a large plate, shaping them with a spoon to form 18 or so
1 1/2-inch meatballs. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Julienne reserved ginger, and chop cilantro leaves. In a large pot, bring broth, julienned ginger, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil. Gently add meatballs, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add watercress stems, cook for 30 seconds, and then add ham, cilantro leaves, watercress leaves, and scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Printed from Oprah.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013