Chicken and Noodles (Soup)

I love the flavor of this broth. It is a combo of the turmeric and the white pepper. I have made homemade chicken noodle soup on several occasions and never been that impressed. The flavors in this soup are so good. Although, I think the soup would be much better if it sat for a few hours on low after all the steps below. I just don't think the noodles had enough time to fully appreciate the broth as much as I did. Again, the broth was SO SO good.

Oh yes, and the (Soup) in the title is because Pioneer Woman's recipe is for Chicken and Noodles. She adds a flour and water at the end to thicken it to the point where it is very chicken and noodley. I wanted more of a soup so I didn't thicken it as much. Either way, I am sure it is just as good.

This is probably not a good week day meal because it takes some time, but I still went for it...we ate the 8:45 pm. Lots of visits by Copper and Scot to the kitchen to see how it was going. I always find myself trying to make weekend meals on weekdays. It's ok. It was worth it.

BTW, these frozen egg noodles are totally a dream come true. I have been struggling to find a good egg noodle that holds up when cooked in a soup. These are perfect. Fat. Noodles. You need to eat this with crusty bread and butter. I am just not sure if there is anything better.

Chicken and Noodles (Soup)

by Pioneer Woman

1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken

2 whole Carrots, Diced

2 stalks Celery, Diced

1/2 whole Medium Onion, Diced (optional)

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoons Turmeric

1/4 teaspoons White Pepper (more To Taste)

1/4 teaspoons Ground Thyme

2 teaspoons Parsley Flakes

16 ounces, weight Frozen "homemade" Egg Noodles

3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.

Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached.

Add the carrots and celery (and onions, if using) to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.

Increase heat and add frozen egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.

(Servings: 6, Prep time: 15 min., Cook time: 2.5 hours, Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

Japanese Noodles with Broth

Work in progress. This recipe still needs some tweaks, but I thought I would post it in case you wanted to tweak it yourself. All that is going on is some asian noodles, in some homemade broth with some fresh veggies on top.

First, I would rather have rice noodles instead of udon (although, Scot said he likes the udon). Second, I would keep the chicken out. What I did when making the broth, was boil the chicken for about 30 minutes, and then I removed all the meat and returned the bones to continue making the broth. Then, I shredded the meat to eat with the soup. The chicken just didn't have any flavor (which is what I thought, but I thought I'd try anyways). Last, I would add some fresh herbs like cilantro and basil. Kind of like pho, I suppose.

The broth was really good though. I liked it a lot. I wish I had some of the hot chili sauce to put in it.

Another note: Before boiling, I cut the breasts off the whole chicken to save them for tomorrow's chicken piccata. I actually even split them and pounded them out too. Sweeeeet. I almost always buy whole chickens rather than the different parts. It is much cheaper and I feel hardcore butchering the chicken.

Oh yeah, I sprained my ankle. Like for real. I have a huge black boot and crutches. I rolled it last night at basketball and it pretty much hurt really bad. It was pretty painful all night long and when I woke up, I couldn't put any pressure on it/walk. At all. Hopping is just too much work. I decided to go to the Dr.'s to get some crutches and they hooked me up with a lot more. And made me get an x-ray. I never thought sprained ankles hurt. People get them all the time and I always thought they weren't a big deal. Geeeeez...they hurt bad. The black boot is kind of amazing, though. Sorry, for the non-food interlude.

Japanese Noodles in Broth

inspired by the Joy of Cooking and Pioneer Woman

1 whole cut up chicken (4-5 lbs)

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 small green chile pepper, diced

1 small onion

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

1 lb udon noodles

scallions, sliced

shredded carrots

bean sprouts

seven-spice mix (shichimi) or five-spice powder

lime

Cover chicken in about 2-4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer for 30 min.

Remove chicken from pot, let cool, and shred. Place whole onion in broth. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.

Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon or sieve. Add the carrot, celery and peppers to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.

In another pot, boil water for udon noodles. When water is ready, make udon noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Add soy sauce, sugar, and salt gradually. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To serve, place cooked noodles and shredded chicken in bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle broth over. Sprinkle with seven-spice mix. Top with scallions, carrots, and bean sprouts. Serve with lime wedge.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 15 min., Cook time: 2 hours, Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version