Matzah Ball Soup

TIME3 hours MAKESAbout 15-18 matzah balls, about 6 servings PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

Growing up in Singapore as part of an Iraqi-Jewish community, matzah ball soup was not a part of my typical passover – until I moved to Perth and had passover with my Australian grandparents. This recipe is a mutant hybrid of several recipes:

  • The soup recipe originally comes from Serious Eats (I believe), but I am unable to find the particular URL.
  • My grandmothers matzah ball recipe. Uniquely she used soften whole pieces of matzah, which adds a unique texture and makes the matzah balls very light. I’ve never seen other matzah ball recipes do this.
  • My mum has since modified my grandmother’s matzah ball recipe to use chicken rice ginger to add an extra umami bomb.

INGREDIENTS

Soup

  • 3kg chicken parts or chicken wings
  • 2 medium onions (cut in quarters)
  • 1 medium parsnip (cut into 2 inch pieces)
  • 2 stalks celery (cut into 2 inch pieces)
  • 1 unpeeled carrot (cut into 2 inch pieces)
  • 1 head of garlic (halved crosswise)
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns
  • 4 chicken marylands (or 6-8 chicken thighs)

Matzah balls

  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1/2 cup melted schmaltz or vegetable oil
  • 3 matzot
  • 2-3 eggs
  • 2 tbsp parsley
  • 1/2 cup Matzah meal
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger1
  • 1 tbsp chopped dill, plus more for serving

STEPS

Soup

  1. Pre-heat oven to 230ºC or 220ºC fan-forced. Roast the chicken parts until golden brown, approximately 45-55 minutes.2

  2. Add roasted chicken as well as pan drippings to a stock pot. Add carrots, onion, garlic, parsnip, celery, and peppercorns to the pot. Cover with approximately 3L of water, and simmer for 45 minutes.

  3. While simmering, season the chicken legs with salt.

  4. After 45 minutes, add the seasoned chicken legs to the pot, and allow to poach at a simmer for another 45 minutes.

  5. Strain the soup into a medium sized saucepan. Shred the chicken legs, and return to the soup. Season with salt.

  6. (Optional) add thinly sliced carrot and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cooked.

Matzah balls

  1. Soak matzah with boiling water. Squeeze to remove additional water.

  2. Heat oil, and saute onion and celery until clear and soft. Add ginger, parsley, more oil, and salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes. Add more oil, and turn off the heat.

  3. Add onion, celery, and dill to the softened broken matzah. Add whisked eggs and matzah meal until the consistency of a light dough (not batter). Roll into 4-5cm diameter balls and place on a plate or baking tray lined with matzah meal.

  4. Cover with plastic and place matzah balls in the fridge for 1 hour or up to overnight.

  5. Carefully lower matzah balls into a mixture of boiling water and chicken stock with a slotted spoon, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a low simmer. Cover pot and simmer over low heat, checking occasionally to make sure water isn’t boiling too rapidly, until balls are very puffed and light in color, 20-30 minutes. Turn off heat and let balls sit in cooking liquid until ready to serve.

To serve

Using a slotted spoon, transfer 2-3 matzah balls to a bowl of soup. Season with pepper and chopped dill.

NOTES

  1. My mum likes to substitute this for chicken rice ginger, specifically the Singlong Chicken Ginger sauce. It adds a delicious ginger-garlic-lemongrass profile, as well as an umami boost. ↩︎
  2. The step of roasting the chicken bones can be skipped. This will lead to a paler, less ‘roasty’ chicken soup. ↩︎