Chicken Rice Soup (Canja) Recipe

Chicken Rice Soup (Canja) Recipe

Makes 3.84 L

  • 1 stewing hen (about 1.36 kg), cut into 6 pieces
  • 60 mL olive oil
  • 227 g rough-cut Standard Mirepoix
  • 14 g chopped ginger
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 or 2 malagueta chiles or jalapenos, chopped
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • Salt, as needed
  • Ground black pepper, as needed
  • 3.84 L Chicken Stock
  • 1 tbsp/15 mL palm oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 85 g long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
  • 454 g corn kernels, fresh or frozen
  • 43 g cilantro, roughly chopped
  1. Blot the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and brown until golden on all sides, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.
  2. Add the mirepoix, ginger, bay leaves, and chiles. Saute over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly colored and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
  3. Return the chicken to the pot and add the rosemary, salt, pepper, and stock. Bring the soup to a simmer at 85°C, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
  4. Remove the soup from the heat. Remove the chicken pieces and reserve until cool enough to handle. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids.
  5. Let the strained stock sit for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Degrease the stock and discard the fat.
  6. Remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken. Cut the meat into medium dice. Reserve it to garnish the soup later.
  7. Heat the palm oil and garlic in a soup pot over medium heat just until fragrant. Do not allow the garlic to brown. Add salt, pepper, the strained stock, and the rice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is just al dente but still slightly undercooked, about 15 minutes.
  8. Add the chicken meat and corn and simmer until the corn is tender and the chicken is heated through, 5 minutes more.
  9. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish the soup with the cilantro and serve in heated bowls or cups, or rapidly cool and refrigerate for later use.