Low Fat Chicken Soup with Arrowroot and Chinese Yam

This low fat chicken soup uses lean chicken breast meat, arrowroot and fresh Chinese yam. No cream, no butter, no oil, no other animal fats.

This is a great soup for people concerned about weight gain because it has bulk and thus satisfies your hunger pangs.

Arrowroot 粉葛 (fen ge) and Chinese yam 山药 (shan yao) provide complex carbohydrates and will help keep you full much longer. Some people tend to avoid all carbohydrates when they are dieting. The theory is that the body will burn fats if there are no carbohydrates to use as fuel. The problem is they become hungry very quickly and it is hard to fight the urge to eat when hungry pangs call. A moderate amount of complex carbohydrates is still necessary. 

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of tender chicken breasts
• 2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch for marinate
• 150g fresh Chinese yam 山药 (shan yao)
• 300g fresh arrowroot 粉葛 (fen ge)
• 150g carrot
• 1 slice of ginger
• 1 stalk of coriander
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 2 litres of homemade stock

If you cannot find fresh Chinese yam or arrowroot, replace with potato. Omit the ginger if you do not like it.

Directions (Stove top)

1. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, marinate with soy sauce and cornstarch
2. Peel the fresh Chinese yam and cut into bite-sized pieces (wear gloves)
3. Peel the arrowroot and cut into bite-sized pieces
4. Peel the carrot and cut into bite-sized pieces
5. In a soup pot, bring the homemade stock to a boil
6. Add the Chinese yam, ginger, carrot, arrowroot into the stock
7. Cook for about 15 minutes and add the chicken pieces
8. Simmer on gentle heat for about 30 minutes. The fresh Chinese yam, carrot and arrowroot will turn soft and fall apart if the water is boiling too vigorously. Once the water boils, lower the heat to a medium simmer.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve

Happy cooking!