In this YouTube cooking tutorial, the presenter walks through a complete, detailed recipe for traditional Jewish chicken soup, often called “Jewish Penicillin.” The video begins by selecting three chicken quarter legs (or alternative cuts) and cleaning them with boiling water. It then lists and prepares a variety of vegetables—carrots, celery, onion, swede, parsnip, and leek—explaining how to top‑and‑tail, peel, and cut them for optimal flavor. The presenter demonstrates skimming the white scum and fat that rise to the surface of the broth, discarding it to achieve a clear stock. After the broth is clear, the vegetables are added, followed by hot water to fill the pot, and two heaped tablespoons of Telma chicken stock mix (or any stock cubes/powder). Salt, pepper, and Himalayan rock salt are incorporated, then the pot is covered and simmered on low heat for 2–3 hours. The final serving suggestion includes ladling the soup with the cooked vegetables, shredded chicken, and optional additions such as vermicelli or kneidlach (dumplings). The presenter emphasizes the soup’s comforting, health‑boosting reputation—“Jewish Penicillin”—and invites viewers to share feedback.
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So here we have the ingredients to make lovely Jewish chicken soup, and we've got some chicken, and I've actually bought some chicken quarter legs which have already been skinned, but you can use chicken legs Or thighs, or a mixture of both, or breast quarters. It really doesn't matter. But to make a good-sized pot of chicken soup for a family of about 6 to 8, I like to use 3 quarters. And I put them in the bowl, and I've boiled a kettle, and I pour the boiling water over the chicken quarters to make sure that they're clean. And I leave it for a couple of minutes, and then you can prepare your veg. So you'll need about half a dozen carrots, about 3 sticks of celery, an onion, a swede, a parsnip, and a leek, and that will give the chicken soup a really good flavour. It doesn't have to be that amount. You can use less carrots, more celery, You can use a turnip when it's in season, and it all adds to the flavour of the soup. You also will need some Telma chicken soup mix to make a nice flavour stock, and I use Himalayan rock salt, but you can use any salt, and I use black pepper, but of course you can use white pepper. You then take the chicken and pour some cold water on it so that it's not too hot for you to touch. And you can take the chicken out onto a board, and using a sharp knife, you can remove the little bits of fat that are around the edges if you want to, or you can leave them on. It does make extra flavour in the soup, and as you boil it, it will come up to the surface anyway as it melts. To be skimmed off. You need a nice-sized pot to place the chicken into that's got a lid, and I use water that's been filtered to cover the chicken in the pot, and then you put that on a high light to bring up to the boil. And you can put a lid over it so that the boiling process takes a quicker time on a nice high light. And while that's heating up, you can then use your sharp knife and your board to top and tail The carrots, peel them and cut them in half. Top and tail the parsnip and again peel it. Top and tail the leek and cut it in half so it goes in the pot easier. The onion you can peel and leave a little bit of the golden skin on it. And that's what it looks like when you've done that. So you've got the carrots, cut in half and they've all been washed. You've got the peeled swede, you've got the leek that I've cut in half, it's easier to get into the pot. I've cut the celery sticks into about 3 separate pieces so that's easy to go in. And in there is the, the parsnip which I've washed and peeled and topped and tailed. And the onion. And as I've said, if you leave on a little bit of the skin, it makes the soup a really rich golden colour, which everyone thinks is more pleasing to the eye. And then the water is now hot, and you can see that there's this white scum that comes up to the surface and a little bit of melted chicken fat. So you just need a little bowl and a large spoon, or you can use a ladle, and you just take the top of that scum off the top there and put it into the bowl, and you just keep removing this white frothy scum that appears until the water becomes clearer. So it takes a good few minutes, have a little bit of patience. So just keep using your spoon or your ladle To just scrape off the globby bits of fat and scum until you've got a good-sized bowl of it there, and when you look into the water, it's clearer. And then you just take the bowl with all that horrible scum in it and And just chuck it down the sink. And now that your soup water is clear, it's a good time to add the vegetables. And the vegetables, as they go in, will obviously make the water higher. In goes the parsnip, the swede, the leek, the onion, the carrots, the celery, and the remainder of the carrots. And then I've boiled a kettle with nice hot water in it to add into the pot, and you can just pour that in to fill up the pot, leaving about an inch space from the top. And there you have all your ingredients in the pot ready to cook and make a delicious chicken soup. All you need to add into the mix is your chicken stock, and it can be cubes, it can be the powder that I've used, You need about 2 heaped tablespoons. I've just tipped in the rest of my pot, there wasn't very much in it. And all you need to do now is add in salt and pepper, which can always be added to if you feel that in an hour's time when you taste it, it's not quite as flavoured as you wish. And then take your spoon and just stir in the stock, the salt, and the pepper so it's all melting with the vegetables and the chicken quarters in the pot. Put the lid on and bring your gas down to a low light, or if you're using electric, to a lower temperature. And allow that to simmer for at least 2 or 3 hours. And there you have it. The soup has been cooking for a few hours now, and all you need to do is ladle it into a nice soup bowl. And to give all your family the nutrients, it's nice to put in some parsnip, some swede, Celery, carrots, and a little bit of soft chicken that's fallen off the bone. And they'll get all the great nutrients and vitamins and minerals that the soup contains with its gorgeous golden chicken flavour, made with love by your hands to all of them. And that's why it's called Jewish Penicillin, Chicken Soup for the Soul. It makes you feel good, it tastes good, and to quote an old saying, by golly, it does you good. So I hope that you enjoyed preparing this soup and that your family enjoy eating it, and I look forward to hearing feedback from you with what you feel about it once you've made it and how your family enjoyed it. You can also add in some vermicelli, and you can make some dumplings which we call kaneidluch, which can be bought in the shop or made from scratch. Enjoy!
