Everyone remembers someone telling them to eat some chicken noodle soup when they're sick. Well, when Josh and I get sick we reach for a low carb version of the classic Filipino dish arroz caldo con pollo—also known as chicken rice soup with ginger.
Of course, you know what that means ... yup, we are subbing that rice out for one of our favorite ingredients. Riced cauliflower. Now, since rice cooks differently than cauliflower rice that means some other changes to this comfort food dish. More on that later.
We first came across this low carb soup a few years ago when Josh decided to start making more Filipino food at home. He grew up eating Filipino food, but when we moved to the Northeast, we were away from family, and there is only one Filipino restaurant within an hour's drive from us. So, Josh and I started making it ourselves ... well, Josh does most of the cooking. I just get to reap the benefits and share them with you.
One of the first Filipino cookbooks we bought was Authentic Recipes From The Philippines. The book has since been updated to include even more recipes and is now called The Food of the Philippines. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to add some Filipino dishes to their dinner lineup. The recipes are easy to make and the less low carb ones are easily adaptable.
The soup isn't just great for when you're sick. It's a staple in the winter when we want something warm and hearty but still light and easy on our macros.
How to make chicken "rice" soup with ginger
The great thing about this soup is that it keeps well and some could argue tastes just as good, if not better reheated the next day.
The original recipe calls for 7 cups of water, but since we're using cauliflower rice we knock that down to 3 cups and use broth instead. That's because the rice in the original recipe absorbs a good portion of the 7 cups of water. Since we are using riced cauliflower, we have to control the water content up front.
Tip: If you find yourself really craving or needing to make this recipe but you don't have broth in your kitchen but you do have a type of broth protein powder, you can use that instead. Josh and I recently returned from traveling and wanted to make this soup, but hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. So, we subbed in some Keppi Bone Broth Protein Powder.
As a protein powder alone, it's pretty decent and has saved us in a pinch for other recipes calling for broth when we were out. Just be sure to mix it in warm or hot water, because mixing it into cold water can result in clumps.
Also, the original recipe wants you to thinly slice the ginger, however we prefer to leave it in chunks that can be fished out to minimize the risk of a face full of ginger when eating.
You can watch the video below for a one-minute explanation on how to make low carb chicken "rice" soup, or you can find the instructions written out below.
Ingredients:
1 lbs chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
4 tbsp (60g) oil
4 tbsp (35g) minced garlic
1 large onion, diced
2 inches (30g) fresh ginger (cut into chunks)
2 cups (680g) riced cauliflower
3 cups chicken broth
1.5 tsp patis (fish sauce)
Black pepper to taste
Limes halved to serve
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pot and sauté half of the garlic until golden brown. Then add the onion and ginger and sauté until the onion is translucent.
Add the cauliflower rice and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated and it has started sticking to the pan.
Slowly add the broth and be sure to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil for roughly 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat, add the chicken, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, fry the rest of the garlic in the remaining oil and set aside for a garnish later.
Once the chicken is cooked, add the patis, stir, and continue to simmer over a low heat for another 2ish minutes.
Salt (or extra patis) and pepper to taste, serve with limes and fried garlic.
Nutrition
The above recipe makes roughly 6 servings. **NOTE** I got these numbers after putting all the ingredients we used into my calorie tracker. Be sure to add this recipe to what you use to track your macros with the brand of ingredients you use for the most accurate count.
• Calories: 220.3 • Fat: 8.6 • Net Carbs: 9.7 • Carbs: 15.8 • Fiber: 6.1 • Protein: 22.5