Chicken Satay Soup

I fully intended to take pictures of this gem but Brian thought that the Clemson-Georgia Tech game in Tampa was a more appropriate place for the camera. Alas, hopefully words will adequately describe the soup.

Brian and I eat a lot of Asian-inspired food, usually some sort of stir-fry concoction thrown together because its quick. I put together this soup from a bunch of leftovers we had, but I'll describe it as if it was from scratch since I'm not going to assume anyone has these leftovers in his or her fridge.

First make a satay-like sauce, or really any Asian-like sauce with peanut butter. The one Brian made included peanut butter, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper flake. Usually satay sauce usually includes coconut milk, but we didn't have any of that. Just make the sauce to taste, you'll need about a half cup.

Then, cook your chicken in the satay sauce. I used leftover grilled chicken tenderloins. Grilling the chicken adds another dimension of flavor that is delightful, but its perfectly fine to just cook the chicken in a with the satay sauce anyway that's easy for you. You'll ultimately want the chicken in bite sized pieces but you don't necessarily have to chop it before cooking.

Next, mince some garlic and fresh ginger root. I used about 3 cloves of garlic because I ♥ garlic and maybe an inch of ginger root. The ginger really spices this soup up, so you don't want to leave it out.

Then, amass your vegetables. I used 1 julienned red pepper, 3 chopped celery stalks, 1 diced onion, 1 chopped bunch of bok choy, a handful of snow or snap peas and 3 sliced carrots.

Lastly, defrost, steam or otherwise cook 4 to 6 store-bought pot stickers, flavor of your choosing. If you can't find these at your local grocery store (I should know, the "nice" Publix near me doesn't stock them) you can always find them at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.

Now, put this baby together. In a stock pot, an 8 quart will be plenty of space, cook your garlic, ginger and veggies. I left mine a bit crisp-tender because I like them a bit crunchy. Add your cooked satay chicken. Stir it all up and add as much stock as you'd like. I think this soup does well if its a bit thin, since the satay sauce makes for tasty broth. Bring this to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 10-20 minutes and give it a taste. If the broth seems a bit dull, add more satay sauce if you have any left or maybe some soy sauce. Once you like the taste of the broth, add in the cooked pot stickers. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so and enjoy! Each soup serving should have one pot sticker in it.