SANCOCHO SANCOCHO
I chose the "sancocho" soup because it's one of the most common soup in hometown, Also known as Sancocho de gallina, it is the national dish and it originates from the Azuero region of my country!
This dish is such a delicious soup that has as basic ingredients chicken (preferably free range), yuca, ñame and parsley! It is frequently served with white rice on the side, meant to be either mixed in or eaten with each spoonful.
A common recipe would be like this one
DIRECTIONS
The taste is such a great flavour as a bit salty with a strong flavour of chicken, the smell is great because is an incredible combination between chicken and vegetables.
- the chicken is tender so do the vegetables and when the soup is hot makes the flavour be such a delicious soup!
- After I finished the sancocho, I called my homestay brother and his girlfriend, I asked him to try my Panamanian soup so he did in a bowl, his impression on his face was awesome, he asked me: h"ow did you do this". He added that it was such a strong and crazy delicious chicken soup. A couple minutes after his girlfriend tried and told me that she really liked it.
Also I made a Mango Milk Shake to ate it with the soup.
What were the challenge involved?
For me one of the challenge was that I didn't use yuca or ñame instead I used potatoes, so I was a bit afraid about the flavour, after that I realized that the most important ingredient is the chicken and also vegetables with the seasoning of the stock.
Was it a success?
After my brother's face reaction, I can say Yeah!! It was a nice soup which was so delicious and was my dinner!
What would you do differently?
Well I would remove the potatoes and add ñame and yuca but the simmer time would be way longer than what I did!
My experience in this soup was unbelievable because I changed the recipe a bit. I learned that you don't have to follow always the recipe but keep the main ingredients is very important.
For my future I would try to change a bit some recipe in order to create my own recipe, adding more flavour or just exchanged them.
This dish is such a delicious soup that has as basic ingredients chicken (preferably free range), yuca, ñame and parsley! It is frequently served with white rice on the side, meant to be either mixed in or eaten with each spoonful.
A common recipe would be like this one
- 1 roasting chicken, cut into pieces (you can also just use 3-4 whole chicken breasts)
- 3teaspoons salt
- 1tablespoon cilantro, minced
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 2teaspoons olive oil
- 1large onion, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 3lbs yucca root, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (also called cassava)
- 4 cups chicken stock (the kind bought in a box is fine)
- salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Rinse the chicken and pat dry.
- In a small bowl, mix the salt, cilantro, oregano, garlic, and olive oil. Rub the mix all over the chicken and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel and chop the yucca and the onion. Set aside.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pot, place a lid on it, and let it sweat for about 7 minutes.
- Add the onion and the chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil and then let it simmer over medium low heat until the chicken is cooked through and soft.
- Raise the heat to medium and add the yucca. Bring the pot to a gentle simmer and cook until the yucca is cooked through (approximately 10 minutes).
- Serve with white rice on the side that is added into the soup when you are about to eat it.
- NOTE: This soup keeps well frozen and only gets more flavourful with time.
The taste is such a great flavour as a bit salty with a strong flavour of chicken, the smell is great because is an incredible combination between chicken and vegetables.
- the chicken is tender so do the vegetables and when the soup is hot makes the flavour be such a delicious soup!
- After I finished the sancocho, I called my homestay brother and his girlfriend, I asked him to try my Panamanian soup so he did in a bowl, his impression on his face was awesome, he asked me: h"ow did you do this". He added that it was such a strong and crazy delicious chicken soup. A couple minutes after his girlfriend tried and told me that she really liked it.
Also I made a Mango Milk Shake to ate it with the soup.
What were the challenge involved?
For me one of the challenge was that I didn't use yuca or ñame instead I used potatoes, so I was a bit afraid about the flavour, after that I realized that the most important ingredient is the chicken and also vegetables with the seasoning of the stock.
Was it a success?
After my brother's face reaction, I can say Yeah!! It was a nice soup which was so delicious and was my dinner!
What would you do differently?
Well I would remove the potatoes and add ñame and yuca but the simmer time would be way longer than what I did!
My experience in this soup was unbelievable because I changed the recipe a bit. I learned that you don't have to follow always the recipe but keep the main ingredients is very important.
For my future I would try to change a bit some recipe in order to create my own recipe, adding more flavour or just exchanged them.