Chicken Noodle Soup

Piping hot fragrant chicken noodle soup always makes me feel revived on a cold winter’s evening.

This ultra satisfying chicken noodle soup is packed with fragrant ginger and garlic and scattered with fresh green herbs. There is nothing heartier than homemade chicken noodle soup if you are feeling under the weather. This chicken noodle soup recipe is packed with ginger and garlic for an extra anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial boost. 

Chicken soup has been eaten in many cultures across the world for its medicinal properties. This chicken noodle soup is Chinese in style but uses readily available ingredients. 

This delicious chicken noodle soup recipe is so easy and satisfying. I often make a large batch of the soup liquid to freeze so that I can then defrost it and assemble a chicken noodle soup in no time on a busy week night. 

Do not be intimidated by boiling a whole chicken. Once you get the hang of it you will never look back. It is so handy to have homemade chicken broth in the freezer when you need it. If you really cannot bear a whole chicken then just use chicken thighs.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken or (4 chicken legs and wings with skin)

• 1 large thumb of garlic, peeled and sliced

• 4 carrots, peeled 

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled

  1 stalk of celery

• 2 bay leaves

• Salt and Pepper

• 4 portions of noodles

• Half a head of Chinese cabbage, finely shredded

• 2 green onions, finely sliced

• Coriander leaves (Cilantro), chopped

• Dill, chopped

  Optional

• Soy sauce

• Chili peppers, sliced or spicy sauce.

Method

1. Place the whole chicken (or the legs and wings) in a large pot of water with the ginger, carrots, garlic, bay, 2 teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Bring to the boil and remove and residue or scum that form on top. 

2. Remove the meat from the chicken bones once it hits about 65C or 150F - this will prevent it from drying out, especially as it will continue to cook once shredded into the soup. . If I am using a whole chicken, I remove the breasts first and then the legs about 10 minutes later.

3. Shred the chicken using a knife and fork. Cover the meat with aluminium foil to keep warm and set aside - splash a bit of the liquid over it to further prevent it from drying out. 

4. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions.

5. Fish out the carrots from the soup and chop into bite sized rounds.

6. Assemble your chicken noodle soup bowls. 

   • 1 portion noodles

   • Shredded chicken 

   • Chopped carrots 

   • Shredded cabbage

   • Green onions

   • Chopped herbs

7. Serve piping hot with soy sauce and chili if desired.