This rich chicken soup contains yoghurt and shredded chicken for protein, hearty wild rice and a delicious paprika garlic butter. I first tried this at one of my local Turkish restaurants. I loved it, and knew I had to learn to make it myself. It’s such an easy soup to make. Great for lunches, or when you’re feeling under the weather, and it also makes an impressive starter.
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Key Ingredients
(see below for full list of ingredients)
- Chicken Fillets and Chicken Stock: The base of the soup is chicken stock. The shredded chicken meat makes it more fulfilling.
- Egg Yolk and Yoghurt: Add a slight thickness and creaminess to the soup, though it’s not as creamy as most british soups which normally contain cream. The yoghurt also adds a slight tanginess which works well with the paprika and garlic.
- Wild Rice: The rice gives this soup more substance and makes it really hearty. Traditional recipes use white rice however, I use wild rice in my version as it has a slight nutty flavour that balances well with the rest of the soup flavours.
- Paprika Garlic Butter: Think of this as a soup garnish, but it gives the soup flavours more of a wow factor and adds a lovely red/orange colour to the soup.
How To Make Turkish-Style Yoghurt Soup with Chicken and Wild Rice
Step One: In a small saucepan bring 240 ml water to the boil. Add in 90 g wild rice and lower the heat. Simmer with the lid on for around 50 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Step Two: In the meantime add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large saucepan on a medium heat add one medium onion diced and cook for around 5 minutes until softened.
Step Three: Add in one carrot diced and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Step Four: Add in 500 g chicken thigh or breast fillets, along with 1 litre chicken stock, and simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Step Five: Drain and remove the chicken fillets. Use two forks to pull the meat apart so that it is shredded. Set aside.
Step Six: Strain the chicken stock. Discard the carrot and onion.
Step Seven: In a large bowl add in 240 ml plain yoghurt, one egg yolk and 2 tbsp plain flour. Whisk together until smooth.
Step Eight: Spoon the chicken stock into the yoghurt-egg yolk-flour mixture around 2 tablespoonfuls at a time to begin with and whisk thoroughly. Gradually add in more and more stock until all the stock has been incorporated. Really go slow with this step so that the egg doesn’t curdle.
Step Nine: Add this mixture back into the saucepan along with the shredded chicken and cooked wild rice. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Step Ten: Make the paprika garlic butter. In a small frying pan heat 2 tbsp unsalted butter over a medium-low heat. Add in 3 cloves garlic crushed, 2 tsp paprika and 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper. Fry for around 3 minutes until the garlic starts to go brown.
Step Eleven: Either add the paprika garlic butter mixture to the rest of the soup and stir in, or dish the soup into four bowls and drizzle decoratively with the paprika garlic butter.
How To Serve Turkish-Style Yoghurt Soup with Chicken and Wild Rice
- This can be eaten as a meal on its own.
- You can also serve this with crusty bread.
Tips for Making Turkish-Style Yoghurt Soup with Chicken and Wild Rice
- You can substitute white rice (basmati or long grain) for wild rice. In fact this is a great dish for using up leftover cooked rice.
- You can also substitute the chicken fillets with cooked chicken (like left over roast chicken), just add the cooked chicken in at the end with the rice.
- Be sure to add the stock to the yoghurt-egg yolk-flour mixture very gradually to prevent the egg from curdling. Really be patient with this step – it’s totally worth it.
- You can also make this dairy free by substituting the yoghurt with oatgurt, and you can substitute the butter with olive oil.
- If making this as a cold and flu remedy add in an additional 2 crushed cloves of garlic at Step Four when the stock is added to the pan.
Turkish-Style Yoghurt Soup with Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe
| Serves: 4 | Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 55 minutes |
INGREDIENTS
- 240 ml water
- 90 g wild rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 500 g skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 240 ml plain yoghurt
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp paprika
- 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
- Bring the water to the boil, add in the rice, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook the rice with the lid on for 50 minutes.
- In the meantime add the olive oil to a large saucepan and heat on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook for around 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the carrot and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Add in the chicken and the stock. Cover with lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken fillets and use two forks to pull the chicken apart shredding the meat.
- Strain the stock. Discard the onions and carrot.
- In a large bowl add the yoghurt, egg white and flour, and whisk well until smooth.
- Spoon a little stock into the yoghurt-egg-flour mixture and whisk. Gradually add in more and more stock whisking well until the mixture becomes more liquid and all the stock is incorporated.
- Add this back into the saucepan with the shredded chicken and cooked rice, and place on a low heat to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted add in the garlic, followed by the paprika and cayenne pepper.
- Add this paprika garlic butter mixture to the rest of the soup. Stir and serve.
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