Chicken Ginger Goji Berry Soup
By Michael · from our van kitchen
This was the first soup we ever made in our pressure cooker, and the first time we used it at all. We had just bought it, and a lot of you had been telling us to try one. So in Salt Lake City we went to an Asian supermarket in Chinatown, picked up ginger, goji berries and more white pepper, and I got the soup going in the van before we drove to Park City, Utah.
The idea was simple: let it cook while we drive. It was cold and raining that day, so we weren’t getting any solar, and the van’s battery was low. I ran the pressure cooker off our portable power station instead, set it to 25 minutes on high pressure, and we hit the road. It started snowing as we got into the mountains, and when I checked on it near Park City, it was done. It used about 30% of the power station’s battery.
This is a pretty simple recipe. Chicken, ginger, garlic, goji berries and water. That’s it. Spencer helped me put things in.
How it came out
When I opened the lid it smelled really good, and it looked really good too. We kept it in the pot and had it later that night for dinner, after a stop at the library.
The recipe I followed didn’t call for any broth, so I seasoned it at the end with a little white pepper and a little salt. Then Spencer decided to help with the salt too, and poured a lot of it in. I thought he messed up the soup. It was still drinkable.
Our verdict: not bad. It’s a very light soup, a little on the lighter side, but it’s pretty good, and the white pepper and salt really add to it. For a first try it was super easy to make, and I’d call it a success. This one opened up a lot of ideas for soups and stews in the van. You can watch me make it.
What I’d do differently next time
- More chicken. I’d add maybe half a pound more chicken and keep about the same amount of water.
- More goji berries. A little more than I used.
- Something for depth. Maybe some mushroom to bring out the flavor. I also think I could have added a broth instead of only water.
The flavor is good as it is, but you can always add more to make it stronger and richer.
If you want to see more of how we cook on the road, here’s how we cook dinner while driving in the van.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken legs (drumsticks)
- A few slices of ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic
- A few goji berries
- 5 to 6 cups of water
To finish
- A little white pepper, to taste
- A little salt, to taste
Steps
- Put the chicken drumsticks in the pressure cooker pot.
- Toss in a few slices of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic.
- Toss in a few goji berries.
- Add 5 to 6 cups of water. We filled ours up to the max line.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 25 minutes.
- Let it release the pressure naturally. I didn't touch it.
- Open it up, add a little white pepper and a little salt, stir it in, and taste. Adjust to how you like it.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
