Made the old fashioned way by boiling a whole chicken, you can toss in any vegetables, noodles or pasta and it’s going to be amazing. And everybody knowns Chicken Soup is the best soup for a cold!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – from scratch!
Simmering a whole chicken with root vegetables and herbs creates a delicious homemade stock for the soup, into which the chicken meat is shredded alongside chopped and sauteed vegetables. This is a Chicken Noodle Soup made the old fashioned way! Regular readers know that “cool” is certainly not my middle name. I’m not one for following food trends. I just like good food done right. I’ll give foam and cauliflower crust pizza a miss thanks! 😂
How to make this good old fashioned chicken noodle soup
Yes there’s more steps than quick and easy chicken noodle soup recipes, but it is so worth it because this broth is something money can’t buy! While it’s questionable whether it’s been conclusively scientifically proven that Chicken soup is even better than medicine, here’s 3 reasons why Chicken soup (noodle or otherwise) is a great remedy for a cold:
Hydration from the natural salt in chicken; Warm non-creamy soup broth and steam helps clear nasal and throat passageways; and Immune boosting antioxidants and nutrition from carrots, celery, onion and garlic.
From a practical perspective, it’s light so it’s easy to stomach, doesn’t require much effort to chew or (heaven forbid!) the effort of a knife and fork. And even when you’re sick, you can still appreciate the tastiness of a beautiful Chicken Noodle soup!* Man Flu official definition according to Dictionary.com: “a case of the common cold as suffered by a man, implying that he is exaggerating the debilitating effects of the illness” Just saying’…..
How to ensure your soup broth is clear
One of the things we all love about a great chicken noodle soup is how clear the broth is. Transparent – yet full of flavour! There’s a few tricks to the clear broth: I tend to use whatever I have. For long straight pastas like fettuccine (which is what I used because I had it), just break them into 3 or 4 pieces for ease of eating.
Simmer the chicken really gently. Harder boil gets the chicken jiggling around = murkier brothScoop the scum off the surface (#2 in photo below);Let the broth settle (or refrigerate overnight). You’ll find that the bottom of the broth becomes darker as “stuff” settles on the base of the pot. Then gently pour the broth into the soup pot, leaving behind the darker broth that settled to the bottom of the pot;Don’t brown the sautéed onion, carrots and celery. Brown veggies = brown broth!Don’t stir the pasta while it boils. That activates the starch in the pasta, making the broth cloudier.
What to do with leftover chicken
You probably won’t even use half the meat on the chicken for this Chicken Noodle Soup. So here’s a few ideas for things to make with the leftover cooked chicken:
Chinese Chicken Salad or Thai Chicken SaladWhite Chicken Enchiladas or Quesadillas (just pan fry shredded chicken briefly with Quesadilla seasoning)Chinese Fried Rice or try THAI Fried Rice!Chicken Pot PieMake a Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup!Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup or a Creamy Chicken Pasta
I kept the veggies in the soup fairly classic, using just onion, carrots and celery. But don’t let my lack of imagination deter you – add whatever you want! – Nagi xx
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – from scratch!Watch how to make it
Homemade chicken noodle soup recipe video! Originally published May 2017. Updated with new words, new photos, a better video. Very minor changes to recipe to streamline / improve flavour slightly!
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