Jamaican Chicken Soup Recipe
Jamaican chicken soup is an authentic Jamaican meal traditionally served on Saturdays. It’s made with bone-in chicken, root vegetables, ground provisions, and dumplings, all cooked in a flavorful broth with a cock soup packet. It’s a hearty, wholesome soup the whole family will enjoy!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in chicken cut into 4-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp Caribbean green seasoning optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- ½ lb kabocha or calabaza squash peeled and cut into cubes
- ½ lb yellow yam peeled and cut into cubes (optional)
- ½ lb Jamaican sweet potato/boniato peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 large white potato peeled and cut into cubes
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into coins
- 2 corn on the cob each cut into four pieces
- 1 chayote peeled and cut into wedges
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp allspice berries/pimento seeds
- 2 scallion stalks
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper whole
- 1 Jamaican pumpkin soup packet
- 1 Jamaican cock soup packet removing noodles is optional
- 1.5 gallons of water
For the dumplings/spinners:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Clean the chicken with lime, vinegar, and water. Pat it dry. Season with green seasoning (if using), salt, and chicken bouillon.
- In a large pot, bring 1.5 gallons of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken along with the garlic and pimento seeds to the pot. Cover and boil for 10 minutes, then remove any foam that forms.
- Reduce the heat to medium. add the kabocha or calabaza squash and yam (if using) to the pot. Stir, then cover and boil for another 10 minutes.
- Add the Jamaican sweet potato, white potato, carrots, corn, and cayote to the pot. Next, add the scallion, thyme, and scotch bonnet paper. Then, stir in the pumpkin and chicken soup packets. Cover the pot – leaving a crack to avoid it boiling over – and boil for another 10 minutes while you make the dumplings.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Add water a little at a time until you can knead the dough into a tight ball. (The dough should not be too sticky to handle.) Pinch off a little of the dough at a time to make round dumplings or spinners (or both). For round dumplings, roll the dough into tight balls, then flatten into circles. For spinners, roll the pieces together in your hands (as if you are starting a campfire) to form long, skinny dumplings called spinners.
- Add the dumplings to the pot one at a time to ensure they don’t stick together. Very gently stir the pot. Partially cover the pot, and let the soup boil for a final 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat, and allow the soup to rest for 10 minutes. Stir before serving.
