Passion Project: Chicken Noodle Soup (with a Twist)

Welcome to Day 2 of my Passion Project’s “chicken week”! Now that we’ve learned how to make homemade chicken broth, what better way to showcase its delicious flavors than in a big bowl of chicken noodle soup? Yesterday, I told you to keep the shredded meat that fell off the bones while cooking the stock. Today, I’m showing you a perfect way to use that too!

You might be intrigued by the title. What kind of “twist” am I talking about? Well this simply isn’t your typical chicken noodle soup. One of my Passion Project’s main goal is to become a better cook, which doesn’t boil down to only following recipes. I am learning about a lot of traditional techniques and dishes through my classes, but I want to use them as a stepping stone rather than an end point. In essence, I want to build on the “base-level” knowledge that I am gaining. Here, I took some liberties with a classic and let my creativity flow. I turned your comfort food/sick day staple into a delicious and slightly sophisticated dish. This soup blends Asian influences with traditional home cooking. The main changes include the omission of celery (which I don’t particularly like), and the use of japanese wheat noodles instead of egg noodles. I also used colorful carrots to add a touch of brightness, and some chopped up Tuscan kale.

This chicken noodle soup is then definitely a refreshing twist on the classic! It highlights each ingredient’s distinct taste, but brings it all together through the richness of the broth. All the flavors come together nicely to warm you up and make you feel better. Seriously, chicken noodle soup has healing qualities! Placebo or not, all that matters to me is that it always makes me feel better! This recipe will probably be my go-to take on it from now on. It doesn’t take more time than a traditional chicken noodle soup recipe, and can still be made in a single pot, which I particularly enjoy. One-pot wonders are the best kinds of recipes! Minimum dishwashing to do, and maximum blend of flavors! So let’s get to it and bon appétit!

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2.5 cups of homemade chicken stock
All the shredded meat from the stock (or leftover chicken)
1.4 oz. dried udon noodles
2 leaves of Tuscan kale
2 carrots
1/4 onion
olive oil
garlic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Peel the carrots and cut them in small pieces. Roughly mince the onion and chop the kale.
Heat some olive oil in a large pot, add the carrots and onions, season with salt and pepper, and let them soften for a few minutes. You don’t want them to brown, so it doesn’t take over the broth’s flavor.
Next, add the broth to the pot and bring it to a boil. Then, add the noodles, kale, and shredded chicken and let it cook for the time indicated on the packaging (mine take 4 minutes). Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve in a big bowl and enjoy!

Temps Total: 15 minutes

Ingrédients:

2.5 tasses de bouillon de poulet maison
tout le poulet effilochée de la préparation du bouillon (ou des restes de poulet)
40g de nouilles udon, sèches
2 feuilles de chou palmier (kale noir ou kale lacitano)
2 carottes
1/4 oignon
huile d’olive
sel de mer à l’ail et poivre noir fraichement moulu

Étapes:

Pelez les carottes et coupez les en rondelles. Émincez grossièrement l’oignon et le chou.
Faites chauffer de l’huile dans une grande casserole, ajoutez les carottes et l’oignon avec du sel et du poivre et laissez le tout suer quelques minutes. Ne faites pas brunir les légumes, pour ne pas cacher le gout du bouillon.
Ensuite, ajoutez le bouillon dans la casserole et faites le bouillir. Ajoutez alors les nouilles, le chou et le poulet effiloché et faites les cuire pour le temps indiqué (4 minutes pour moi). Goutez et ajustez l’assaisonnement.
Servez dans un grand bol et bon appétit!