ReCPY: Gourmet Comfort Soup

Chicken noodle soup, whatever the reason maybe, is often eaten when we are sick. I have no idea why. I don't think there's any anti-cold medication in it, nor is it medically proven to cure illnesses whatsoever. I guess it's simply the comfort of its flavor, clear soup, with healthy vegetables, along with the filling noodles.

I don't like this soup. When I am sick, I would rather have udon noodles, which I guess is the Japanese comfort food. The other day, Nate had some belly issues, and he requested chicken noodle soup.

What I hate the most about chicken noodle soup is how the noodles gets so soggy, and it absorbs all the liquid, and becomes mushy soup-ish blob.

So I decided to deconstruct it to make the best chicken noodle soup.

For chicken, rub the breast meat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in a 375˚F oven for 20 minutes (even if the center is still pink, don't worry since it will be boiled thoroughly at the end). Once the chicken cools down, cube it up, set aside.

For soup, cut onion, celery and carrots, sauté until translucent, add white wine (about a cup), cook the mixture down. I had leftover napa cabbage so I dumped it in the soup as well.

Then add enough chicken stock. I use store bought stock. People use the chicken for the soup that are used to make chicken stock as well, but I think it becomes tasteless, so I bought stock instead. Cook until vegetables are tender. You can add other herbs here, thyme, rosemary, bay leave, etc. Add salt and pepper.

10 minutes before serving, boil egg noodle (I use yolkless noodles) for about 8 minutes (package says 9, but I always like 1 minute less al dente).

3 minutes before serving, add chicken cubes in the soup.

Here is how you serve it:



First, lay noodle on a soup bowl.



Then add soup on top.



If you have leftover frozen wonton wrapper raviolis, you can bake them till crispy for additional texture.



This way, the noodles never get soggy!  This is more pasta dish than soup, but that's ok.

It's so easy to make, yet taste so gourmet. Since the chicken is roasted, it isn't dry at all!

Next time you make chicken noodle soup, or any kind of noodle soup where you don't want the noodles to get soggy, I recommend this method.