Dr Mobeus
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup is the original feel-better food, and it costs almost nothing to make properly. Chicken thighs give you a golden, savoury broth that no stock cube alone can fake, and the noodles turn it from a starter into a proper meal.
Thigh fillets are the budget choice because they carry more flavour than breast and stand up to twenty minutes of simmering without going dry. You brown them first for colour, then let the stock cube and a bay leaf do the rest of the work while the vegetables soften in the same pot.
The whole thing cooks in one pan in under forty minutes and makes four deep bowls. It is the sort of recipe that quietly feeds a household for the price of a single coffee shop soup.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken thighs for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they pick up some colour.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
- Crumble in the stock cube, drop in the bay leaf and pour in 1.2 litres of hot water. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Lift the chicken out onto a plate and shred it with two forks, discarding any obvious gristle. Remove the bay leaf.
- Snap the noodles into the broth and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until tender, then stir the shredded chicken back in and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle into deep bowls, making sure everyone gets a good share of chicken and noodles, and serve with bread if you have it.
Tips and Variations
Leftover roast chicken works just as well, just skip the frying and add the shredded meat at the end to warm through. Frozen mixed vegetables can replace the fresh carrot and celery. Spaghetti snapped into short lengths does the job if you have no noodles. It freezes well in portions for up to a month, and a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar at the end lifts the whole bowl.
