This is a recipe for chicken noodle soup that I have been developing for over a decade. It is rich and hearty, with a deep chicken flavor, and an unmistakable umami undertone. There is a long-running debate at my dinner table, as to whether this is a soup or a stew. I will let you decide for yourself. Let’s get cooking.

Ingredients

1 Rotisserie Chicken
Chicken Broth 5 cups
Pasta – I prefer Ditalini , but any small noodle will do. I have used Small Macaroni before as well.
3 medium Carrots
3 ribs of Celery
1/2 cup Butter Beans
6 cloves of Garlic
1 1/2 tsp. Dry Sage
1 1/2 tsp. Dry Thyme
1 1/2 tsp Dry Rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. Whole Black Peppercorns
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 drops Fermented Fish Sauce (optional)

Let’s Start With The Chicken.

I use rotisserie chicken for several reasons. I live in the south, and if I can avoid turning on the oven to roast a whole bird, I feel like that’s a win. Also, the cost of a whole raw chicken and a rotisserie chicken is about the same, so why not let the store cover the energy costs of cooking? Plus there is less mess for me to clean up!

First, I remove the skin of the chicken. If I don’t, the skin will produce a lot of fat that I don’t want in my soup.

Next, I separate the wings, thighs, and drum sticks. I keep the drum sticks as a late-night snack.

Then, I cut away the breasts from the breast bone and cut, pry, or wrastle the bones from the thighs. Make sure you remove any fatty bits or unpleasant membrane you don’t want to find in your soup. It’s ok if a little skin makes it in – I usually leave the skin on the wings.

The Soup for Chicken Noodle Soup

The soup should have a bit of fat and as for the breast bone, don’t worry about getting every ounce of meat off, you want a bit of meat to help develop flavor for the stock.

Add all the bones, along with the dry herbs and peppercorns to a medium soup pot. Split one carrot length wise, and cut 1 celery rib into 3 large pieces, then add those all to the pot.

Crush the 6 cloves of garlic with the flat side of a chef knife and add those to the pot as well, there’s no need to peel the garlic.

Now add 4 cups of chicken broth. Most recipes would add water, but we are going to double down on the chicken flavor for this chicken noodle soup. Add 2 tsp of both your Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, then the 3 drops of Fish Sauce.

Optional Fish Sauce

I listed the fish sauce as optional, but I highly recommend using it. These last 3 ingredients are what create the rich umami undertones. You won’t be able to identify their flavor in the finished product, it will just taste extra meaty and rich.

Now we put the pot on medium-low heat with the lid on and bring it to a simmer. After it comes up to simmering, you want to lower the heat till it steams nicely, but produces almost no bubbles. We want it to steep, like tea so we can gently extract the nutrients, and flavor from the ingredients.

You’ll want to leave it for at least 2 hours, but longer is better and if too much liquid evaporates you can a bit of water to your chicken noodle soup. Save the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth for the very end so if you need to add more liquid, you won’t dilute it with water.

Now that the stock is working, we can chop our chicken, celery, and carrots. Nothing fancy, you just want bite-sized pieces appropriate for a spoon full of soup. Store the veggies, and chicken in the fridge while we wait for the stock to be ready.

After 1 hour you want to remove the carrots, and celery from the stock. You have extracted all the flavor and nutrients they have at this point, and they will begin to absorb flavor back into them. We want that flavor in the stock, not in the veggies that we will be discarding.

After 2 hours, or whenever you deem the stock to be ready, we need to strain it.

Start by removing the larger bits of bone with tongs, then strain the rest into a bowl large enough to hold all the liquid. Give the pot a quick rinse in the sink to get any bits stuck to the sides, and return it back to the heat and add back the strained stock.

Bring it to a slow simmer. Now we need to cook the veggies that will stay in the soup. I like to give the celery a 5-minute head start so toss it in first. Then 5 minutes later add the carrots and butter beans. Let this simmer for a total of 30 minutes, then we add the pasta, and go for another 8-10 minutes or when the pasta is tender.

Last but not least we add our chopped chicken. Give it a good stir, and remove it from the heat. the chicken is already cooked, and time spent simmering the chicken will only dry it out.

Now its time to serve. I like to garnish, with some celery leaves, and chopped green onion, but this is certainly not necessary.

I hope this recipe brings you and yours, warmth, and comfort on a cold winter’s day. Enjoy!