Ecuador's deeply nourishing hen broth — a long-simmered golden soup of free-range hen, potato, noodles and vegetables, seasoned with cumin and cilantro and served with the broth and meat together.
Caldo de gallina is the most restorative soup of Ecuador — a long-simmered broth made from gallina criolla (free-range hen), which is older and more flavorful than a commercial chicken and gives the broth a golden color and deep collagen richness that no standard chicken can replicate. It is eaten at all hours as the Ecuadorian cure-all: for illness, cold mornings, hangovers, childbirth recovery and Sunday family lunches. The difference between gallina and pollo (young chicken) is significant in this context — the hen's harder working muscles produce more myoglobin and collagen, which dissolve into the broth during the long 90-minute simmer and create a soup that is viscous, deeply savory and naturally gelatinizing when cold. If gallina is unavailable, the closest substitute is a large older boiling chicken, or adding a couple of chicken feet to a standard chicken to boost collagen. The soup is served with the broth and meat together: pieces of tender hen in the bowl, potato chunks, thin noodle pasta (fideos) cooked directly in the broth, and a generous handful of fresh cilantro and scallion. Ají criollo (Ecuadorian fresh green chile sauce) and lime wedges are served alongside for each diner to season their own bowl.
Serves 6
Place hen pieces in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming off the grey foam that rises to the surface during the first 10 minutes. Clean skimming is the key to a clear, golden broth.
Starting with cold water draws impurities out of the meat gradually — starting with boiling water seizes the proteins and traps the foam in the broth.
Once the broth is clear and simmering, add onion, garlic, celery, carrot, cumin seeds, salt and cilantro stems. Partially cover and simmer very gently 75–90 minutes until the hen is completely tender and the broth is deeply golden.
Remove hen pieces to a plate. Strain broth through a fine sieve, discarding the spent vegetables. Skim excess fat from the surface. Return clear broth to the pot.
Bring strained broth back to a simmer. Add potato halves and cook 15 minutes until tender.
Add fideos and cook per package directions (usually 4–5 minutes). Return shredded hen meat to the pot. Taste broth and adjust salt.
Ladle into deep bowls with potato, noodles and meat. Top with fresh cilantro leaves and scallion. Serve with lime wedges and ají criollo.
Skim diligently for the first 10 minutes — this is the only window to remove impurities before they dissolve into the broth.
A free-range hen (gallina) produces a vastly superior broth; if unavailable, add 2–3 chicken feet to a regular chicken to boost collagen content.
Caldo de res: substitute beef bones and brisket for the chicken — simmer 3 hours.
Add a piece of corn cob to the broth for a slightly sweet, starchy note.
The strained broth keeps refrigerated 5 days or frozen 3 months. The cooked hen meat keeps refrigerated 3 days. Store broth and meat separately.
Caldo de gallina is a dish shared across much of Latin America but each country has made it distinctly its own. Ecuador's version is distinguished by the use of gallina criolla (Creole hen) rather than commercial chicken, which reflects the persistence of smallholder poultry farming in Ecuador's highland communities. The soup's restorative reputation is documented in 19th-century Ecuadorian medical texts, where 'caldo de gallina vieja' (old hen broth) was prescribed for convalescence. The cumin-seasoned, cilantro-finished style is specific to the Ecuadorian and Colombian highland tradition.
Latin American butchers often carry stewing hens or old hens, sometimes labeled 'fowl'. Asian grocery stores frequently sell older laying hens (favored in Chinese cooking for the same reasons — richer broth). If unavailable, use a standard whole chicken plus 3–4 chicken feet, which dramatically boost collagen and approximate gallina broth.
Starting the broth in cold water allows impurities and blood proteins to dissolve slowly into the water and rise to the surface as grey foam during the slow heating process, where they can be skimmed off. Adding chicken to already-boiling water seizes the outer proteins immediately, trapping impurities inside and producing a cloudy, less clean-tasting broth.
Per serving (520g / 18.3 oz) · 6 servings total
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