Chilly is not something one would associate with Thailand given its usually temperate weather. But yesterday, the weather got really windy and that lasted for the entire day with a 22°C temperature.

By night, the temperature dropped to below 20°C.

We didn’t need any fan or AC with the windy breeze sweeping into our house. It was kind of nice. It was so chilly that I was even shivering when I stood at the balcony. 

“Winter” is here and out comes the sweaters!   This morning, the mercury dropped to 18°C. It is expected to drop further in the next few days. Believe you me, this does not happen very often, especially in Bangkok where the temperatures go from warm, hot and damn-bloody-melting-you-can-die boiling hot. 

Up north in Chiangmai, the weather plummeted even further in the low 10s. It is announced that the westerly trough from Myanmar will result in an outbreak of persistent cold weather covering North and Northeast.

And,  I scrolled my Tweeter feed (picture on the left), our neighbouring country in Laos is experiencing frost. 

Here’s the current temperature now and the weather outlook for the rest of the week:

Yep! It’s going to be chilly for the next few days at night and I love it! 

It is exactly weather like this that makes me just want to stay home, snuggle up and drink lots and lots of hot chocolates. With marshmallows. Lots and lots of marshmallows!

The mornings’ temperatures, though, I’m not liking very much. And I’d still be preferring to stay home!

It took a trip to Tanzania back in 2009 for my very first taste of French Onion Soup. It was made by Chef Heaven, a very special chef whom we had the privilege to meet. He had cooked for us during our stay at a nice little cabin that was located near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. He had single-handedly made an onion-hater a convert to French Onion Soup, and since then so far, nothing has come close to Heaven’s (pun intended). 

I used to detest onions. A Lot. My mom used to sneak those things in her cooking by blending them all up so I have no way of picking out the onions. The only reason I warmed up to them was because I started to cook on my own because it’s almost impossible not to any onions at all in any of my cooking. I still refuse to eat them raw, but I’ve come to appreciate them better in the last decade.

My first attempt at French Onion Soup shocked many, including myself. And because I loved what Chef Heaven did so much, I just had to try replicating his onion soup and came up with my own version of French Onion Soup several years ago. I have only made it several times.

Recently, I started craving for it and I thought what else I could do with it to make it a little different. I decided to muck about and added chicken to it. Then I let it simmer:

Just look at that! Even without the cheese toppings, it already is looking quite appetizing. This was an absolute delight  – as concurred by several people I have fed. Or maybe they were being too polite, but then again, the soup was gone pretty quickly, too.

So, if it delighted them, it delighted me too; and I sure do hope you will too!

French Onion Chicken Soup

2015-07-14 17:48:44

Serves 6

A savoury, hearty French Onion soup with chicken glazed with melted cheese

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 min

Ingredients

1. 6-8 large yellow onions, sliced.
2. Olive oil
3. 1 tbsp unsalted butter
4. 1/4 teaspoon of brown sugar
5. 2 cloves garlic, minced
6. 2 cubes beef stock, 1 cube of chicken stock
7. 2 bay leaves
8. 1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
9. 2 tbsp dry sage
10. 1 tspn mustard
11. 2 tspn Worcestershire sauce
12. Salt, pepper, oregano
13. 1 1/2 cups of grated mozerella cheese, parmesan and cheddar

For the chicken

1. 12 pieces of chicken breasts with skin
2. 1 tspn Worcestershire sauce
3. Salt & Pepper
4. 2 tbsp butter

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil and butter until well browned (but not burnt) about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.
2. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, bay leaf, thyme, oregano. Cover partially and simmer for about 30 minutes until the flavors are well blended. Add in mustard and Worcestershire sauce and simmer.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf (optional) and continue to simmer
4. Separately, prepare the chicken and rub Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper on the chicken.
5. Heat up a skillet and melt the butter. Fry the chicken on both sides for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown and the skin, crispy
6. Remove the chickens from the skillet and add them to the simmering soup. Cover and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.
7. When you are about ready to serve, transfer the soup and the chicken into an over dish. Top it with cheese.
8. Grill them in a hot oven until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.
9. To serve, ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish.
10. Enjoy!

Notes

1. You can choose to opt for chicken breasts without the skin as a healthier option. I just love, love, love crispy chicken skin and I find the texture after putting them in the oven before serving appealing.

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