Easy, Lemony Chicken & Rice Soup with Dill

Author Notes

This umami-rich chicken soup recipe was developed in partnership with Ajinomoto Co. Inc.

Many years ago, I was a line cook at Perry St, a restaurant in New York City’s West Village, where we had a seemingly simple chicken and vegetable soup on our menu. What set it apart from standard recipes of its kind was the hefty dash of salt and bright lime juice we finished the dish with, which always produced a mouth-puckering-yet-can’t-stop-spooning reaction from our guests.

Although I don’t miss the fussy vegetable prep (cutting baby veggies into jewel-like facets and then blanching them in tiny, color-coordinated batches) or the making and straining of restaurant-sized vats of dill-infused chicken broth, I did want to revisit that salty, savory, tongue-twisting flavor at home with a classic, comforting chicken and rice soup.

For this recipe, I managed to recreate the effect without dumping in buckets of salt by using both kosher salt and a high-quality MSG product, which contains two-thirds less sodium than regular salt. While a pinch of salt ties together the flavors of the chicken and vegetables during cooking, adding the MSG at the end with the fresh dill and lemon juice really has a synergistic effect, enhancing the herbaceous notes and highlighting the powerful pop of bright acid, and nailing that balance of savory and tart. But like many good things, you can overdo it. In this case, too much MSG (or too much salt, for that matter) starts to overtake the other big flavors. To make sure you get it right, start with half a teaspoon, which is where I found my perfect ratio. (The general rule of thumb when cooking with MSG: Use about two-thirds of the table salt you'd normally use, and then add one-third MSG back in.)

We've partnered with Ajinomoto Co. Inc. to bring you a series of recipes, stories, and videos that celebrate the fifth taste: umami. You can boost this rich, savory essence in almost any dish (like this soup recipe!) by adding a dash of MSG, a seasoning that's pure umami flavor. —Judy Haubert