Chicken Noodle Soup with Clear Broth
Ingredients
2 servings
- Chicken breast fillet 1
- Water 1 liter
- Onion 1
- Potato 1
- Carrot 1
- Garlic 1 clove
- Soup vermicelli ½ cup (55 g)
- Bay leaf 1
- Salt, pepper, dried herbs to taste
- Fresh herbs to taste
- Turmeric a pinch on the tip of a knife, optional
Step-by-step recipe
The broth
Unfortunately, you can’t always make a good broth from a homegrown chicken. And truth be told, “homegrown” chickens are a formality these days, since they’re fed compound feed rather than grain. For a proper soup you can use any chicken pieces: wings, legs, breast and so on. I usually use breast or wings.
Cut the chicken into small pieces.
I recommend treating store-bought chicken before making the broth: cover the pieces with cold water, put them on the heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, drain it right away and rinse the chicken.
Pour 1 liter of water into a pot. Add the chicken pieces, 1 bay leaf and all the spices to taste.
Cook the broth for 15 minutes once it boils.
The vegetables
While the broth is cooking, peel the vegetables and cut them into small cubes. Finely chop the garlic clove.
When the broth is ready, discard the bay leaf and add all the vegetables at once: onion, carrot and potato.
By the way, if you like a pleasant yellowish color in your chicken soup and the chicken is store-bought, you can add a tiny pinch of turmeric on the tip of a knife. It won’t change the taste, but the color will be lovely. If you have saffron or dried marigold petals, they’re great for color too.
Simmer the soup, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes. If the vegetables still seem firm, cook a bit longer.
Vermicelli and herbs
Add the vermicelli. I recommend the finest soup vermicelli; fine Italian soup pasta is ideal.
Taste for salt and pepper. Add more spices if needed. Fine vermicelli usually cooks in 3–4 minutes.
Add finely chopped herbs to the soup.
Turn off the heat and let the soup stand for 1–2 minutes.
Ladle the chicken noodle soup into bowls and serve while hot.
Calories and macros
340 kcal
Serving ≈ 760 g
- Protein34 g43% of kcal
- Fat4 g11% of kcal
- Carbs37 g46% of kcal
100 g45 kcalProtein 4.5 gFat 0.5 gCarbs 4.9 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
To Get It Right
A clear broth
For a clear chicken soup broth, always bring store-bought chicken to a boil in cold water first, drain that water and rinse the meat. Then cook the broth and the soup over low heat rather than at a hard boil.
Which vermicelli
Chicken soup needs the finest soup vermicelli, such as very fine “cobweb” vermicelli. Add it at the very end, once the vegetables are cooked: 3–4 minutes is enough, or it will turn mushy.
If there’s soup left over
Vermicelli swells in the soup over time, so it’s best right after cooking. Keep leftovers in the fridge in a covered pot, usually for 2–3 days.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Questions and answers
How long do you cook chicken noodle soup?
About 40 minutes in all: 15 minutes for the broth once it boils, another 15 for the vegetables, and 3–4 minutes for the vermicelli. While the soup cooks, you can calmly get ready for work.
How much vermicelli do you put in the soup?
½ cup per liter of water. A liter makes 2 large bowls of soup. If you’re cooking for the whole family, just scale everything up.
Does chicken soup need sautéed onion and carrot?
No, in this recipe the onion and carrot go into the broth raw, without sautéing. That’s how I like it; sautéed vegetables are a matter of taste.
What spices go into chicken soup?
Bay leaf, salt, pepper and dried herbs, and only a little: in this soup the flavor of the chicken and vegetables matters most. Khmeli-suneli suits meat better than chicken.
How many calories are in chicken noodle soup?
About 42 kcal per 100 g: it’s a soup with a clear broth made from chicken breast, without sautéed vegetables.