Chicken-Ginseng Soup

The Chinese believe cold drinks are harmful to the digestive system, so soup is served not as a first course, but as a beverage with a meal. Because it's more readily available than fresh ginseng, we tested the recipe with ginseng tea.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 2  tablespoons  diced peeled fresh ginger
• 6  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3  cups  water
• 3  (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  cups  fresh or frozen yellow corn
• 4  bags ginseng tea or 2 sliced ginseng roots
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  white pepper

Preparation

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic cloves; sauté 2 minutes. Add chicken; sauté 4 minutes. Add water and broth; bring to a boil. Stir in corn and ginseng tea; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

188 (29% from fat)

Fat:

6.1g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.2g,poly 2.5g)

Protein:

18.2g

Carbohydrate:

16.9g

Fiber:

2.4g

Cholesterol:

36mg

Iron:

0.9mg

Sodium:

209mg

Calcium:

33mg