Soups & Salads · Latin American & Caribbean

Caldo de Pollo

Name: Caldo de Pollo
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 lb chicken (leg quarters, bone-in, skin on); 10 cup water; 1 unit onion (halved); 4 clove garlic (smashed); 2 unit bay leaves; 2 ½ tsp salt; 2 unit corn (2 ears, cut in rounds); 3 unit carrots (big chunks); 1 lb potatoes (halved); 1 unit chayote (wedges — or zucchini); 1 unit cabbage (green, in wedges through the core); 2 cup rice (cooked, for the bowls); ½ cup cilantro (chopped); 2 unit lime (quartered — non-negotiable)

14 ingredients · 90 minutes · 6 servings

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707kcal53.5g protein20g fat77.7g carbs~$2.25/ serving*

No porkNo alcohol

Ingredients

Servings:

3 lb	chicken (leg quarters, bone-in, skin on)
10 cup	water
1 unit	onion (halved)
4 clove	garlic (smashed)
2 unit	bay leaves
2 ½ tsp	salt
2 unit	corn (2 ears, cut in rounds)
3 unit	carrots (big chunks)
1 lb	potatoes (halved)
1 unit	chayote (wedges — or zucchini)
1 unit	cabbage (green, in wedges through the core)
2 cup	rice (cooked, for the bowls)
½ cup	cilantro (chopped)
2 unit	lime (quartered — non-negotiable)
1 unit	serrano (minced, at the table)optional

Method

simmer40 min
chicken + water + onion + garlic + bay + salt, skimmed
the leg quarters from cold water to a gentle simmer, foam skimmed in the first ten minutes — bone-in and skin-on because the bones ARE the broth; this is stock-making and soup-making in one pot, which is the caldo tradition's whole economy
simmer25 min
hard vegetables in: corn, carrots, potatoes
the big chunks into the pot in descending order of stubbornness — the size is identity, not laziness: a caldo bowl is navigated with spoon and fingers, corn round lifted and eaten from the cob, and dicing the vegetables would make it a different (lesser) soup
simmer12 min
chayote and cabbage last
the quick vegetables until just tender — the broth stays clear and gentle throughout, seasoned only with salt, because the loudness is about to be added bowl by bowl
top4 min
the service: rice in the bowl, then soup, then the table
a scoop of rice in each bowl, a piece of chicken ON the bone, vegetables and broth over — then the table takes over: lime squeezed with intent (the caldo without lime is unfinished, every abuela agrees), cilantro, minced serrano for those who want the fire; the build-your-own bowl is the dish