8 tips for the most delicious chicken soup
Chicken soup… ahhh, just writing it down makes me crave it! Fragrant broth, tender pieces of chicken, just the right amount of vegetables, and a variable type of carbohydrate (it can be anything!) that make this one of the ultimate forms of comfort food. With these tips, you can make a simple bowl of chicken soup just that little bit more perfect.
If you have plenty of time, you can start from scratch and make your own broth, but even if you want to sit down at the table (or on the sofa!) within a short time and be done, making chicken soup is a breeze. And even if you’re not sure how to go about it, the following tips are very useful!
Use a whole chicken
The most delicious soup is made from a whole chicken, bones and all. And if you’ve eaten roast chicken, whether homemade or store-bought, you can use the leftover bones to make broth. All in all, a very budget-friendly option, because you can make quite a lot of meals from one whole chicken.
Brown it first
If you use pieces of chicken to start the soup, brown them slightly first in a combination of butter and oil. Oil so you can heat it properly, butter for a rich flavor. The Maillard reaction will make the soup even more delicious!
The vegetables too
The vegetables you’re going to use will also release more flavor if you brown them slightly first in the same fat. Loosen the pieces of carrot, celery and chopped onion you fry, along with all the lovely crispy bits you get, using a spatula and a little water or a splash of white wine, before adding the rest of the liquid.
Not too many vegetables
It should still be chicken soup; adding too many vegetables can make the soup somewhat sweet. For three liters of water, 1 large carrot, 1 large onion and 1 stalk of celery (and just over a kilo of chicken pieces or 1 soup chicken) are generally sufficient as a base.
Tender meat
You can certainly make a quick and light soup from a few poached chicken breasts, which you then shred using two forks (or your fingers). But for a fuller flavor, it’s best to use other cuts of meat—namely, the darker pieces from the legs.
Ready-made chicken
As mentioned, a ready-made roast chicken can also work perfectly well as chicken for the soup: wonderfully easy! Such a chicken is usually well seasoned, and you can easily pull it apart into pieces that are perfectly bite-sized. You can use this as a base for soup that you prepare further yourself with water and the vegetables mentioned above, but of course also for the cheat tip coming up…
Carb feast
Old-school chicken soup should have vermicelli, right? Absolutely delicious, but you can also vary it nicely with other good carbohydrate options. Tortellini, for example, or rice noodles, potato cubes or soba noodles; so much choice. And it immediately turns your bowl of soup into a complete meal.
Garnishing is part of it
Add something fresh to the bowl or plate just before serving: finely chopped fresh herbs such as dill, parsley or cilantro, some thin rings of scallion if you have them on hand, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Cheat tip
As easy as it is, sometimes you simply don’t feel like doing any of this. Understandable! After some comparative shopping, make sure you always have a bag or can of ready-made chicken soup in the pantry that suits your taste. With some frozen vegetables (broccoli, for example) or fresh leafy greens such as bok choy or Swiss chard and a rinsed and drained can of white beans, you can turn that soup into a high-quality meal in just a few minutes—especially with the garnish mentioned above.
Also read:
- An ode to Alison Roman’s potato and leek soup
- The most delicious tomato soup ever comes straight from the supermarket (and this is it!)
- How long can you keep cooked chicken in the refrigerator?
Source: The Kitchn
