Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for two to three minutes, until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Add the chopped tomato, fish sauce, garlic and onion powder--cook for another two to three minutes, when the tomatoes have begun to break down.
Add the chicken thighs and cook until the exterior surface of the thighs are opaque and/or begin to color. Since the pieces are uncut and depending on the size of your pot, you may need to stir and flip them once or twice in the pot.
Add the quinoa (cooked or uncooked) and the broth. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for ten to fifteen minutes then add the chopped kale and parsley. The quinoa will expand and thicken the soup. Pull out three of the chicken thighs, set them on a plate or cutting board and shred them with two forks and return to the pot. You can shred all the chicken if you wish but the meat to quinoa/soup ratio tends to be high when I use all the chicken at once. (See Note)
Simmer for another five minutes, when the kale has wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and taste to see if you feel it needs more seasoning. Serve with lemon slices on the side and Serrano peppers if using.
(This soup reheats well. Since the quinoa continues to thicken as the soup keeps, I add additional broth the next day, shred the remaining chicken thighs and season accordingly.)
Chicken Stock: For this recipe I used four cups (1 carton) Swanson's Low-Sodium Chicken Broth and four cups (1 carton) Imagine Organic Chicken Bone Broth
Quinoa: Unrinsed quinoa imparts an unpleasant bitter taste when cooked. I highly recommend running through water once or twice before using in this recipe.
Chicken Thighs: You can cut up the chicken thighs before adding to the pot but I prefer the texture and look of shredded chicken. Also, I don't shred all the thighs at once so the soup is not so heavy on meat. Quinoa continues to thicken the soup as it keeps so I add additional broth and kale when I reheat it. This is when I shred the remaining two pieces of chicken.
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