Chicken Soup with Garlic and Sour Cream, or the Romanian ‘ciorba radauteana’, a fantastic soup that makes a great natural cold and flu remedy. Soothing and delicious, this easy healthy soup will become a family favourite.
I could never refuse a bowl of soup, cold season or not. It can be your best friend and nurse you like no one else when you feel poorly or just looking for some comfort. And chicken soup must be one of the most appreciated soups around the world.
This recipe is considered one of the finest and most loved soups in Romania. Although you can tell it has some garlic in it, the taste is not strong at all. And the lemon and sour cream give the soup a lovely fresh touch. Even children love this soup, it’s that yummy.
How to add sour cream to soup without curdling
Now, this soup is so easy to make. But, to get the results you are after, you have to follow a few simple steps. No shortcuts though, otherwise the soup won’t have the consistency you need.
It might still taste ok, but there is the danger that the soup will curdle big time. Don’t ask me how I know it 😀 These tips apply to this soup mainly, but they are also good for any other soup recipes that use sour cream.
The sour cream must be at room temperature before you add it to the soup. If refrigerated, take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you cook. Add the sour cream and egg to a bowl, mix well, then add a ladleful of soup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4-5 ladles of soup should do, we just need the sour cream to get the same temperature as the soup. Now, this can be added back to the pan. Mix well, and bring it to another boil. That’s it, the soup should be creamy, and should not curdle at all. Even if it does curdle a bit, it is still delicious, don’t think you have to throw it.
The best chicken soup, Romanian style
It is common to use chicken breast for this recipe, but you can use chicken thighs or drumsticks too. Or a whole chicken, if you are cooking for a large number of people. Root vegetables are quite the perfect match for chicken, and the amount of water used depends entirely on how thick you want the soup.
I can assure you that you’ll make the soup over and over again, it is an excellent choice for the whole family. When I was at home, mum was and still is making soups every day as a first meal, then this is followed by the main course which can either be meat with vegetables and rice, pasta or potatoes.
But there is no day without soup, that is for sure. Another soup that everybody loves is the fantastic Slow Cooker Chicken Soup. Oh , what a treat! I cannot have enough of it. It is simple, delicious and so nutritious. Yum! So, would you give these lovely soups a go?
If you’ve tried this CHICKEN SOUP WITH GARLIC AND SOUR CREAM or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Chicken Soup with Garlic and Sour Cream, or the Romanian "ciorba Radauteana", a fantastic soup that makes a great natural remedy against cold and flu. Soothing, healthy and so delicious.
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 2 carrots
- 1 parsnip
- 1/2 turnip
- 2 onions
- 2 eggs
- 4 garlic cloves
- 200 ml sour cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tsp lemon juice
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Place the chicken breasts into a large pan and add 1 litre of water and a pinch of salt.
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Bring to the boil.
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Peel and cut the onions, carrots, parsnip and turnip into big chunks.
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Skim off the foam from the chicken, then add the vegetables and cook everything until tender.
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Take the chicken breasts off the pan, allow to cool a bit, then shred them.
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The vegetables will also be removed and chopped into small cubes.
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In a bowl, mix the sour cream and eggs into a smooth paste, then add a ladle of the hot chicken broth and whisk well. Add a few more ladles, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Make sure the sour cream and egg are at room temperature before adding to the soup.
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Now, the liquid obtained can go into the pan with the chicken broth. The shredded chicken and chopped vegetables can go back too.
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Bring the soup to a boil, season with salt, pepper and mince 4 garlic cloves and add to the pan together with lemon juice.
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In goes the chopped parsley, remove the soup from the heat and serve hot.
It looks a very hearty soup, Daniela, with lots of lovely ingredients. 🙂
Thank you! ?
I get a food coma just looking at it. Sour cream adds an amazing flavor to soups and stews,. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thank you, Diane. I am sure you will like it ?
I don’t see when to add the lemon juice. I may just be missing it. Does it matter when it’s added?
Hi Janet! Thank you for your comment! I am sorry I have omitted the lemon juice. This can be added at the end when you season the soup, depending on your taste, you might like to add more or less, but I find that the amount stated works very well. Let me know if this helps.
It says to place the chicken breasts into a large pan and add 1 l of water and a pinch of salt.
My question is, add 1 what of water? Should it say cup? I don’t want to put more than I should in.
Hi Linda! Thank you for your comment! Sorry it doesn’t ready very easily, 1 l is 1 litre, l think the “l” is very easy to miss, l have amended my post.
How long do I boil the chicken with the water?
Hi Sylvia! Thank you for your message. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts, it could take between 30-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, and there is no pink meat left at all. It is particularly important that the chicken be cooked properly. The vegetables should also be cooked until soft. It shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes for sure. Let me know if you need further help.
I just made the soup and it doesn’t look creamy like yours. It seems the sour cream separated from the broth. Not sure what I did wrong. The flavor is there but the soup consistency is way off.
Hi Liz! Thank you for your comment! The sour cream usually separates from the broth if it was cold, it helps if it is taken out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking so that it can reach room temperature. It is also important to add broth to the sour cream little by little before adding everything back to the pan, in this way it won’t be a massive difference between the temperature in the pan and the one of the sour cream mixture. I hope this helps!
Really good! I used rotisserie chicken, so i shredded it and put it in the pot when the veggies were cooking.
Thank you, Michelle! I am glad you liked it! Rotiserrie chicken sounds like a great choice ?
Can the eggs be left out? Or is there a substitute you’d recommend in place of the eggs? Thanks!
Hi Sarah. Thank you for your comment. Although l have not tried without eggs, so l can’t tell if the texture is changed in any way, l think it would be fine without. Just make sure the sour cream is at room temperature when you mix it with the chicken soup. I hope this helps 🙂
So I made this soup today and it was delicious! But I’m afraid maybe the broth curdled after I added sour cream. It wasn’t creamy but more brothy and didn’t have the consistency the pictures show. How can this happen? I don’t cook often and I’m not sure what I did wrong!
Also- can it still be eaten?
Hi Shelby! Thank you for your comment. The sour cream usually curdles because of the difference in temperature, as the soup is hot and the cream is cold. What usually works for me, l take the sour cream off the fridge at least an hour before cooking with it, so it can reach room temperature. Then, it helps massively if you add the sour cream to a bowl, then add a few ladleful of soup and mix well before adding everything back to the pan. In this way the soup will not curdle.
Even if it did curdle, the soup should still be tasty, it’s not off at all. I hope this helps!
Hi
I loved your recipe but I did change it up a little. I used half a left over roast chicken and homemade chicken bone broth and a cashew based sour cream. It turned out great and didn’t curdle at all.
Hi Annette, l am glad you enjoyed the recipe. Changing up a little bit is never wrong, l always make changes to my dishes, and thus discover new interesting flavours.