Zeamă: Clear Chicken Broth, Brightened with Borș
A clear chicken broth, small cubes of vegetables, homemade noodles, the green scent of lovage (leuștean), and a gentle sourness from borș. The sourness comes from fermented wheat bran, not from beets, vinegar or lemon.
Chicken simmers in plenty of water and the foam is skimmed away. Diced onion, sweet pepper, carrot and celeriac go in, then parsley and lovage. Finally, a measured 50 ml of pale borș is poured in, the pot comes back to a boil, and homemade noodles are dropped into the broth. It is still chicken soup, but it tastes quite different from a plain one.
Zeamă is one of the best-known traditional dishes of the Republic of Moldova. The LOC FOOD guide to traditional Moldovan food describes it as a broth of chicken and noodles soured with homemade borș. MyMoldova.online lists the same elements: poultry, hand-cut noodles, vegetables, lovage and borș made from fermented wheat bran.
This article follows a home recipe published by Gusturile se discută on PRO TV Moldova. It gives 1 kg of chicken, 2 onions, 2 sweet peppers, 2 carrots, half a celeriac root, parsley, leuștean, homemade noodles, 50 ml of borș, and salt to taste, with potatoes as an option. It does not give the amount of water, the number of servings, the noodle quantity, or a noodle dough formula. So this version uses noodles you have already made, in an amount you adjust to your pot, and leaves water and yield open. Treat it as a reliable guide to the ingredients, the order and the flavor, not as a fully measured recipe. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested this recipe. For more dishes from the same table, see Moldovan recipes.
The dish is written Zeamă in Romanian, often Zeama without the diacritic. In this soup, borș is a liquid used for souring. It is not the red beet soup known in English as borscht.
Why Borș, and Why There Is No Single Recipe
The LOC FOOD guide gives the core of the dish: chicken, noodles and homemade sour borș. Borș here is a pale, fermented wheat-bran liquid that adds acidity. MyMoldova.online describes it the same way, so the sourness of zeamă should not be confused with the color or taste of beet soup.
The same guide also records how much the dish varies. In parts of southern Moldova the soup is called noodle borș or tomaci instead of zeamă, and neighboring villages differ on whether potatoes belong in it. MyMoldova.online describes onion, carrot, pepper and parsley root, sometimes potato, and mentions households that add egg or sour cream.
Other family recipes take the pot in other directions. A family version on Bunica.md uses a whole chicken, red and yellow peppers, salted (not pickled) tomatoes, bay leaf and pepper. It adds borș once the meat is cooked, the noodles after the soup returns to a boil, and the herbs once the noodles float. Moldovenii.md publishes a rice version, Zeamă de găină cu orez, credited to the Doina restaurant in Chișinău.
These are different recipes, not ingredients to mix into this one. The version below stays with the PRO TV Moldova home recipe: no tomatoes, no bay leaf, no rice, with potatoes kept as a separate option.
Ingredients: Fixed Amounts and To-Taste Items
Adjust the amount of noodles to your pot and to how many you are serving. Leave out the potatoes for the basic version.
Equipment
- Deep pot with a lid
- Spoon or skimmer for foam
- Cutting board and knife
- Small glass or measuring cup for the borș
- Ladle
Choosing and Substituting: Borș, Lovage, Celeriac and Noodles
Borș. Look for borș acru or fermented wheat-bran borș, sometimes sold as a Romanian bran borș. Red beet borscht and plain vinegar are not the same thing. Lemon juice will make the soup sour, but it is a different sourness. If you use lemon instead of borș, you are cooking your own variation, not this soup.
Lovage (leuștean). Lovage is its own herb, not a kind of parsley. Look for fresh or dried lovage leaves rather than seeds. If you cannot find any, the soup still works with parsley alone, but it loses part of its characteristic aroma.
Celeriac. Use the knobbly root. Stalk celery is a different vegetable and changes the flavor of the broth.
Sweet peppers. Use ordinary sweet peppers, such as bell peppers. Sweetness and size vary, so the balance in the pot may shift a little.
Chicken. 1 kg. Bone-in pieces are an easy way to get a fuller broth, but that is a buying suggestion only.
Noodles. The dish calls for homemade noodles. Dried egg noodles from a store are a convenient swap. Follow the package for amount and cooking time, and expect a different texture from homemade noodles.
This soup contains chicken. Noodles usually contain wheat and may contain egg, depending on how they are made, so check the noodles you use. Check the label of any bottled borș for its ingredients and allergens. Cook the chicken until it is thoroughly done all the way through before serving.
Method: Broth First, Sourness, Then Noodles
Step 4 applies only if you are adding potatoes. For the basic version, go straight from step 3 to step 5.
When the Pot Doesn't Look Right
| Situation | What to check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not sure when to add the vegetables | How done the chicken is | Cooking times depend on the cut, the pot and the heat. Add the vegetables once the chicken is nearly cooked, not after a set number of minutes |
| The soup tastes flat | Whether the borș is in, and the salt | Add the 50 ml of borș all at once and taste before adjusting salt |
| The broth looks red or brown | Whether beet borscht or another product was used | Borș for this soup is a pale wheat-bran liquid. A red liquid points to a different product |
| The noodles are still firm | Fresh or dried noodles | Cook a little longer and taste again. Dried noodles follow the package time |
| The soup lacks its herbal aroma | Whether lovage was used | Parsley alone gives a milder, different aroma. Lovage is what makes the difference |
At the Moldovan Table: Variations
Zeamă is eaten hot. MyMoldova.online describes serving it with a chili pepper on the side, and mentions households that add egg or sour cream. Those are serving choices, not ingredients of the base pot.
| Variation | What changes | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Basic version (no potatoes) | Chicken, vegetables, herbs, borș and noodles only | The version in the steps above |
| Potato version | Diced potatoes, 5–7 minutes after the vegetables | Follow step 4, and add the borș once the potatoes are cooked |
| Rice zeamă | Rice instead of noodles | A separate recipe with its own amounts and steps. Don't mix it into this one |
| Dried egg noodles | Faster, with a different texture | Follow the package for amount and cooking time |
| Sour cream or egg | Added by some households | Serve them as extras, not as part of the base pot |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is borș the same as red borscht?
No. In zeamă, borș is a pale liquid made from fermented wheat bran and used to sour the soup. Both the LOC FOOD guide and MyMoldova.online describe it this way. Red beet borscht is a separate dish. Since the borș goes in as a measured 50 ml, the broth should stay light and clear, not red.
Do I need potatoes?
No. The PRO TV Moldova recipe lists potatoes as optional, and the LOC FOOD guide notes that neighboring villages in southern Moldova differ on whether to use them. This article treats the version without potatoes as the base and the potato version as a separate option.
Can I put rice in it?
There is a rice zeamă, published on Moldovenii.md as a Chișinău restaurant recipe, but it is a different recipe with its own amounts and method. This article is the noodle version, so don't combine the two.
What if I can't find lovage (leuștean)?
The soup will smell different. Lovage is a separate herb from parsley, and its aroma is part of what makes zeamă taste like zeamă. Leave it out if you must, and know that the result will be milder and more like a plain chicken noodle soup. The recipe doesn't suggest any substitute.
Why aren't the water, servings and noodle amounts given?
The home recipe this article follows doesn't give the amount of water, the number of servings, the noodle quantity or a noodle dough formula. Inventing those numbers would make the recipe look more precise than it is. Use enough water to cook the chicken, and adjust the noodles to your pot.
Can I store and reheat leftovers?
This article doesn't give storage times or reheating temperatures. Follow your local food safety guidance for cooked chicken soup.
Sources
- Gusturile se discută / PRO TV Moldova, "Cum sa pregatesti cea mai gustoasa zeama moldoveneasca, exact ca la mama acasa." The home zeamă recipe followed here: ingredients, stated amounts, the optional potatoes, and the order of steps. https://gsd.protv.md/retete/cum-sa-pregatesti-cea-mai-gustoasa-zeama-moldoveneasca-exact-ca-la-mama-acasa---2524715.html
- LOC FOOD (European Union-supported SARDPI project), "Traditional taste in the Republic of Moldova: LOC FOOD Shopping Guide." Zeama as a widely known traditional Moldovan dish, the chicken-and-noodle broth soured with homemade borș, and regional names and potato use in southern Moldova. https://locfood.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LOC_FOOD_Shopping_Guide_engleza-MD.pdf
- MyMoldova.online, "Zeamă — traditional recipe." The general makeup of zeamă (poultry, hand-cut noodles, vegetables, lovage, fermented wheat-bran borș), serving it hot with a chili pepper, and household additions such as egg or sour cream. https://mymoldova.online/en/food-and-drink/zeama
- Bunica.md, "Zeamă cu găină de casă și tăieței." A different family version, used here only for comparison. https://www.bunica.md/bucate-tradiionale-moldovenesti/zeama-cu-gaina-de-casa-si-taieei.html
- Moldovenii.md, "Zeamă de găină cu orez." A separate rice version credited to the Doina restaurant in Chișinău. https://moldovenii.md/md/section/30/content/74
