What's The Deal With TikTok's Viral Swamp Soup?
If you're looking for a way to use up your leftovers from a previous meal, swamp soup can help you find a new use for your leftover ingredients. The soup was first shared by Meredith Hayden on her TikTok page, Wishbone Kitchen. In Hayden's video, she shared that she created the recipe because of how much she hated eating leftovers, so she wanted to transform her ingredients into a new dish.
The soup blends together quite a few interesting, salty flavors. It gets its bright green hue from adding in cooked spinach, jalapenos, and parsley — and that may be the reason for its name. The ingredients are blended with seasonings — like ginger and garlic — and broth to make the soup base. Other flavorings, like soy sauce, salt, lime juice, or tamari can also be added.
The soup can be bulked up with some added protein. The mild-tasting roasted chicken pairs well with the strong flavors of garlic, jalapenos, and ginger. It can be added to the soup pot along with the blended veggies, broth, and some cooked, fluffy rice. The resulting taste is vibrant and fresh with a little bit of spice.
Why is it called swamp soup?
The soup tastes hearty and healthy thanks to the veggies and rice. The jalapenos and lime juice, however, will add a little kick to the dish. "That'll clear out your sinuses," Hayden said in the video after eating a spoonful. She and a few commenters noted that the dish may be especially delicious when you have a cold. The lime juice, garlic, ginger, chicken, and spinach may even help boost your immune system.
@wishbonekitchen it's giving 🍵 #soupseason
Though Hayden titled her recipe "Green Garlic & Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup," she did acknowledge the alternative name of "swamp soup." The moniker likely came from the appearance of the dish, since it comes out looking pretty green and murky. It may even turn a little brown if you make the common soup mistake of letting it simmer for too long. Despite the slightly unappealing hue, however, plenty of commenters praised the flavor of the dish. "This looks like my dream soup," wrote one TikTok user.
Not everyone was totally sold, though. Some Reddit commenters suggested that a few changes needed to be made to make the recipe taste a little better. Some noted that they felt it needed more broth, while others suggested using a little less salt.
The dish shares some similarities with other soups
The soup shares its name with a different dish. Southern swamp soup, also called turnip green soup, is vastly different from the TikTok-famous recipe in terms of ingredients. The Southern variety generally includes beans, broth, sausage, and turnip greens.
Quite a few commenters on the TikTok video suggested that the soup was similar to a few others. Some stated that the soup was very close — particularly in terms of the preparation methods — to pozole verde: A Mexican stew made from various veggies, garlic, and chicken. Both soups require the spinach to be wilted in broth before being blended down, lending a green hue to the dish.
Another commenter said that the dish closely resembled molokhia. The Egyptian dish is made from jute leaf, broth, and garlic, and then served with rice and chicken. Some recipes even call for a little citrus in the form of lemon juice.
If you're feeling a little under the weather, don't let the off-putting name of swamp soup turn you away. The green, zesty soup may just be exactly what you need to combat your cold.