This is my go-to soup whenever I’ve come down with a head cold and need to sweat out my illness. I love making a big pot of soup to feed me for a few days so I can get as much rest as I can. My Instant Pot has been a total game changer with making stock and cuts down the time to practically nothing.

The stock is loosely inspired by Vietnamese pho, with aromatics, warming spices, fresh ginger root, and lots of bones. I actually also used chicken feet for this batch since the extra collagen gives the stock tons of body and a great mouthfeel. Plus, all the extra nutrients are good for you! All that bone broth that’s selling in stores now as some trendy health-food find? It’s stock.

There are two parts to this recipe: the stock and then the soup itself. You can easily make the stock ahead of time and just portion out what you need. And you can also use this stock for any other kind of Asian-style foods and/or sauces you want to whip up.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily make this in Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stock pot just a adjust the stock time to simmer for at least 2 hours. Let’s get cooking!

Sweat It Out Soup: Stock

Yield: 6 quarts

Cook time: 35 minutes

Vegetable oil

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise pods 

6 garlic cloves, whole 

6 slices ginger, thinly sliced 

1 tbsp black peppercorns, whole 

1 bunch green onion bottoms, whole 

1oz package dried shiitake mushrooms

1 stalk celery, roughly chopped 

1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 small carrots, roughly chopped 

1 small package chicken feet

2 split bone-in chicken breasts

Water 

With the sauté function turned on on the InstantPot, add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Toast the cinnamon stick, star anise pods, garlic cloves, ginger root, black peppercorns, green onion bottoms, and dried mushrooms for about 5 minutes or until very fragrant, stirring occasionally.

Next, add the celery, onion, and carrot. Then add in the chicken feet, tossing them to make sure they’re fully incorporated into the pot. Then, lay the chicken breasts on top of the chicken feet, vegetables, and spices. Add enough water to the maximum fill line (which is 6 quarts for my Instant Pot). Following the manufacturer's instructions, pressure cook the stock on high for 30 minutes and using the natural release function, let the steam release from the Instant Pot. Once the stock is ready, strain it and set aside. Shred the chicken breast meat once it’s cool enough to handle and then discard the rest of the solids.

Sweat It Out Soup

Vegetable oil

1lb chuck beef, small dice

1 tsp kosher salt 

1 tsp black pepper 

2 tsp ground coriander 

2 tsp ground ginger 

2 tsp granulated garlic 

1 package button mushrooms, quartered

2 small carrots, half moon slices

2 celery stalks, thin slice on bias

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 

1 small leek, half moon slices, thinly sliced

Shredded chicken breast meat (from the stock)

6 quarts strained stock

1/2 cup soy sauce 

2-3 tbsp fish sauce 

1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced

Steamed white rice, for serving

Green onion, thinly sliced for garnish

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Sesame oil, for garnish

Hot sauce, for garnish

In a large stockpot, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Season the beef with kosher salt, black pepper, ground coriander, ground ginger, and granulated garlic. Stir well. Over medium-high heat, add the diced beef in small batches and sear off until they’re a deep, golden brown color. Set the meat aside.

In the same pot, add the mushrooms and cook them until they’re also golden brown in color and nicely seared. Stir well to scrape up all of the crusty bits of meat from the previous cooking process. Once the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5-7 minutes, add the carrots, celery, onion, and leeks. Stir occasionally until the onions are translucent.

Then, add the shredded chicken from the stock and the seared beef back to the pot. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients and then add the stock. Bring up a gentle boil and let it roll for about 15 minutes. Then, add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Taste and adjust any seasonings you like. Next, fold in the shredded cabbage and let it wilt for about 5 minutes or until slightly tender.

Serve the soup immediately over steamed white rice or enjoy it solo. Garnish with sliced green onion, toasted sesame seeds. and a little drizzle of sesame oil. I also like adding a lot of hot sauce to my soup before enjoying it for additional heat.

¡Buen provecho!