It’s been cold here in Los Angeles the past couple of weeks. My grandchildren are coming over today and I want to make something warm and delicious for them to eat.
My grandmother always made caldos (soups) for us on cold or rainy days and it was always delicious, healthy and perfect for the weather. I always loved her soups, caldo de rez, caldo de pollo, pozole, menudo, sopa de tortilla, sopa de albondigas, etc. it was always good and made me feel warm, happy and safe.
I’ve made it a tradition to always make either caldo de rez (beef soup) or caldo de pollo on the first rainy day. It was something my children always looked forward to.
My grandchildren, Jasmine and Aiden’s favorite soup or caldo is caldo de pollo, they love my chicken soup and I love to make it for them. I like the idea of making them feel as safe, warm and protected as my grandmother made me feel.
Caldo Pollo/Mexican Style Chicken Soup
1 package of chicken thighs, washed, trimmed and patted dry (traditionally, they use a whole chicken cut into pieces, but I like the thighs)
2 bunches of fresh carrots, washed, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
about 2 pounds of small red potatoes (you can use russet and slice into quarters – Jasmine likes the red ones)
half a stalk of celery, washed, trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
2 ears of white corn on the cob, cleaned and sliced into chunks
5 Italian zucchini squash or Mexican squash, washed, cut into thin slices or 1 inch chunks
5-7 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled
1 cabbage, quartered
1 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro
5 leaves of fresh sage
salt to taste
water
Wash and trim the chicken, pat dry and place in a bowl or plate and set aside. Wash, trim and chop all your vegetables, setting the longer cooking ones in one bowl with the quick cooking veggies in another. The potatoes, carrots and corn go in one bowl, the zucchini and celery go into another. The quarters of cabbage are put to the side.
Quarter the onion and peel the garlic. Set aside.
Chop the cilantro and set aside.
Fill a stockpot with water about three inches from the top of the pot. Turn on the heat to high and bring the water to a boil.
Once the water is bubbling, lower the flame to a low simmering heat. Add the salt*, quartered onion, garlic, chopped cilantro and the sage leaves. The amount of garlic can vary with the type you use, or the size of the cloves. We like lots of garlic so we I use a lot.
Add the chicken pieces one by one, scooping out water with a ladle if it rises too high. You don’t want your soup boiling overI would say that erectile dysfunction is a problem that can affect not only a man but also his partner. viagra generika http://appalachianmagazine.com/2018/09/11/the-legend-of-the-gray-man-appearing-before-a-hurricane/. Simmer covered for about an hour and a half, till the chicken is falling off the bone.
Scoop out the garlic cloves and the sage. Skim off the fat. Scoop about 3 cups of the broth and set aside. You can always add more water if the soup doesn’t have enough. One of the things I do that my grandmother didn’t, is to remove the skins from the chicken pieces at this stage. I think it makes the soup taste better to leave it on during cooking, but once it’s cooked, I remove it.
Once the soup is cleared of garlic, sage leaves and the fat you can start adding the vegetables. Add the potatoes first, then the carrots, then the corn. Make sure your water line doesn’t go up to high. Cover and let simmer slowly for about 15 minutes.
Add in the celery and let simmer for another five minutes. Lastly, add the quarters of cabbage and the zucchini, turn of the stove and cover. Let the soup sit for about ten minutes, till the zucchini is cooked and the cabbage just wilted.
Serve over a bowl Mexican-stye rice with a dollop of the chile salsas of your choice and a squeeze of fresh lemon. We like it with steaming hot corn tortillas.
*I use fine crystal sea salt, about 2 tablespoons for this much soup. It can vary though, so start with a little and slowly adjust to taste.
18 comments on “Jasmine & Aiden’s Caldo de Pollo/Mexican-Style Chicken Soup”
Muchas gracias!!
Vivo en Houston, saludos!!
thank you for your receipes. I want to cook traditional Mexican food and its great to be able to find it on line.
My husband’s grandparents are not well so I decided to try & make caldo de pollo. Not having ever made it , I searched the web. I checked out a few recipes but this one appealed to me the most. Not only did abuelita enjoy it but my husband and kids RAVED about it. THANKS for sharing. : )
I love this recipe; it reminds me when I lived in northern state of Sonora in Mexico, is almost the same ingredients my Mom used in her Caldo de Pollo, thanks a lot, is delicious…!!!
Is geting hot here in Arizona, but this will be our dinner tonight, sorry I cant wait until cold weather…
I made this recipe but on a smaller scale. It was absolutely delicious. It was authentic in taste, so flavorful, and healthy. Thank you for the recipe.
I’ve never made caldo de pollo before and thought I’d give it a try. I came upon this recipe and tried it. It came out so yummy and my husband was thoroughly impressed! =] Thanks for sharing!!
Making caldo today, I saved this recipe and am refering back to this site to do the finishing touches. I have made caldo before and it comes out good, but with this recipe I feel it will come out great. The main ingredient as mentioned is love, and time; you lhave to give the caldo time to simmer to perfection.
I’m bad on cooking, well not bad I just dont like cooking…I got sick from the flu and I’m pregnant, since I shouldnt take any medicine I decide to try some caldo de pollo…I search over 10 different recipes, but this one is the one that seems to be more delicious and easy explain to make also more original…so I’m going to give it a try…I let u know later if I like it : ) Thanks for sharing your recipes : )
It had been a long time since I’d made caldo de pollo so I thought I’d search the Internet for some help. I came across this recipe this afternoon and loved your easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photographs. I followed your directions and the soup was a hit! Thank you!
Excellent recipe! Very easy to follow and it came out PERFECT! Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you for reading! Glad you liked it.
MUCHAS GRACIAS POR SU AYUDA!
QUE BUENO Y TAMBIEN DELICIOSO! :]
So delicious – just like my mom & grandma make it 🙂
Wow. This recipe looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it but snowed in and don’t have sage. Is there a substitute for sage that I can use?
You can omit the sage
Thank you so much for this recipe it is AWESOME!!! I have this in my favorites!!
OMG i made this and its sooo delicious!!!! I did some things a little different, my sister is from Africa and when she makes her home land soups they blend the tomatoes and most vegetables. I took this idea and first cooked the tomatoes, onions, chiles and garlic cloves in a little oil then blended them and put it in the rest of the stalk i used. It was sooo good my entire family ate it and had seconds. Yum Yum!
Delicious ! Just the way my mom made it when me and my brother and sister were little kids thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂