Mom's Trini-Style Chicken Soup

It’s that season yet again… non stop coughing, sneezing, and endless boxes of tissues galore. There are a thousand and one remedies for a dreaded winter cold but in my book, there’s only one that works with the added bonus that it tastes really damn good. Chicken soup is one of those quintessential dishes that invokes indelible childhood memories for any and everyone, and Soup Diana a.k.a Trinidadian Style Chicken Soup is most definitely in my pantheon of most favored food memories.

My mother Diana is of Portuguese, West Indian, and African descent - and as it so happens an incredible cook. Her style is a reflection of Trinidad’s eclectic culinary melting pot. Indigenous Indian, Chinese, Syrian, African, and British influences all have a seat at the table, which has resulted in one of the most delicious and diverse food cultures in the world. East Indians came to shore with their traditional spices and foods in tow, which once incorporated into the local cuisine created something entirely unique. The most noteworthy addition to the cuisine was curry. Like stews, any type of meat can be curried and is eaten mostly with roti. Some signature East Indian dishes include roti, doubles, aloo pies, chokas, and pholourie. Growing up in Trinidad, soup has always been a staple of the island’s food culture. African slave owners on the island aimed to feed the slaves as cheaply as possible. Thus, their diets consisted mainly of beans, starches and pauper cuts of meat. Africans also brought with them the technique of ‘one-pot’ cooking, which consisted of vegetables, meats, beans, and starches. This influence can be clearly seen in signature dishes like pelau, callaloo, and of course, our many soups. Whether it was Cow Heel Soup, Beef Soup, Tripe Soup, Split Pea Soup, Corn Soup, my mom’s bubbly cauldron was always brewing, and her version of Chicken Soup is still my undisputed favorite. Please don’t mistake Caribbean style chicken soup with the generic soup buffet variety. The broth is dense, flavorful, thanks to a whole chicken, which bubbles away with a matrix of fresh herbs, starchy vegetables, carrots, potatoes, onions, and corn. However it’s the addition of pumpkin which adds body and a subtle sweetness, along with ginger and garlic which is an ode to Cantonese/Chinese cuisine that adds a layer brightness and refinement to the dish. In other words this version is a rustic, bountiful affair, that blows way past first course status… it is THE meal, the star of the show.

My own love of cooking was spawned at an early age from watching my mom as she gracefully navigated the kitchen as she cooked, and hummed along to music from Julio Iglesias, Lionel Richie, or whatever Calypso song was blaring from the radio. I was mesmerized by her technique for breaking down whole cuts of meat, the way she chopped vegetables, and how she seasoned dishes from her seemingly  infinite spice rack purely by instinct. No measuring cups or spoons in sight. As a child anytime I got sick, my mom’s chicken soup was a pleasant source of comfort that I was always excited for. Sometime, if my mom was in an especially good mood, she would add a couple pieces of salted pig tail to the bottom of my bowl without telling me, knowing that it was my favorite part. Pipping hot, straight from the pot, this hug in a bowl was always just what the doctor ordered. Luckily it just so happens, I am in possession of my mom’s orange creamsicle tinged recipe box which I constantly dip into whenever I find myself craving a taste of my youth, a taste of home.