Hot Soup

CEBU, Philippines - Perhaps one of the best symbols of hospitality is offering someone a bowl of hot soup. It is quickly comforting, both physically and emotionally. Many lasting relationships have started from hot soup shared. .

Hot soup appeases wrenched guts, as it soothes tense nerves. That’s why misunderstandings are often ironed out over a bowl of hot soup. Fortunately, hot soup need not be complicated to make.

Green leaves – the edible ones, of course – thrown into boiling water and added with a little salt can already make a good soup. It’s no rocket science at all. Only that different people would have their different ideas on what a good soup should be, and so everyone have their own spin to the basic soup.

A good basic soup to have is chicken soup. Well, strictly, a basic soup would just be water and seasoning. But a basic chicken soup is a version that can be done quickly and simply – given that there are countless ways to make chicken into a soup.

And, traditionally, chicken soup is the go-to dish for energy. At least it’s so in the Philippines. In the rural countryside, especially, it’s so convenient to get chicken. Every household would have several “birds” roaming freely in the yard, and it’s so easy to catch one for a celebratory meal – say, birthday, anniversary, whatever – or when there’s an important visitor.

The basic chicken soup recipe is a no-brainer. A six-year-old can do it. And, thus, so do anyone older. The recipe here is the traditional; the soup is ready in an hour or less, without need for many ingredients. But everyone may have their own personal spins to it. (FREEMAN)