Best Chicken Soup Recipe

This Best Chicken Soup Recipe is a family favorite and has a delicate flavor. Served on a Sunday night, it is a lovely, homely meal in itself. There are various schools of thought when it comes to Chicken Soup - some recipes call for removing the chicken from the bone before boiling in order to maintain maximum flavor. I do what is easiest - I boil the whole chicken and remove the flesh when it is cooked and then carry on cooking the carcass. This long, slow cooking extracts all the goodness and flavor from the bones.

For this Best Chicken Soup Recipe, we have chopped the vegetables finely. You needn't do this - for a more robust soup, you could cut the vegetables into chunkier pieces. You can also ring the changes by adding a can of corn to the soup or even a little ham or bacon. Bear in mind that darker chicken meat has more flavor than plain chicken breasts, so if you are just using the latter, your soup will have a more delicate flavor.

This is a useful soup to make if you have had Oven Baked Whole Chicken with BBQ Rub. If you don't have much leftover chicken meat, you can still boil the carcasses for about 1½ hours to extract the goodness and flavor. Then follow the rest of the recipe. If you are wanting to add some chicken meat, you could add 1 - 2 poached or pan-fired boneless chicken beasts that have been shredded.

Ingredients:

You will need a large cooking pot with a lid.

Method:

1. Place the whole chicken in the pot and fill it with water so that it just covers the chicken (about 7 pints / 3 litres). Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes. Try not to let the stock bubble too much and certainly don't let it boil - this will result in a cloudy soup.
2. Remove the chicken and take the meat off the bones. Shred the meat and keep aside.
3. Return the chicken bones and skin to the pot. Simmer over a low heat for a further hour. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a bowl and discard the bones and skin.









4. Allow this liquid to cool and then place it in the refrigerator. The fat will rise to the top. Skim this off. You may find that your stock is quite wobbly and gelatinous - this is wonderful.
5. Rinse out and dry the pot. Add the oil to the pot and fry the onions until they are translucent and soft. Allow them to colour slightly.
6. Add the carrots and celery to the onions and allow them to brown slightly.
7. Add the stock to the pot. Add the soy sauce and grated ginger. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
8. Add the noodles and peas to the soup and simmer until they are cooked - about 5 - 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with a little chopped fresh coriander. Serve this with hot, crusty bread.

You may like to try:

Oven Baked Whole Chicken with BBQ Rub

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