Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul: Tips and Recipes

When it's raining outside and you need a hug on the inside, homemade chicken noodle soup is the soothing bowl of comfort food that'll make the world seem right again.

In the soup hierarchy, chicken noodle soup is probably one of the most satisfying and yet uncomplicated soups to learn how to make, with plenty of room for interpretation. As chef David Chang says, 'learn to make chicken soup, it's ridiculously simple'.

To make your chicken noodle soup shine, you'll need a great chicken stock into which you can throw pantry staples or any ingredients you might have lying around the kitchen.

Then it's about harnessing your favourite flavours, whether you decide to go for an extra chilli kick or an umami punch, and putting your final signature stamp on this universal dish.

Here's how to get back to basics and learn how to make a heart-warming chicken noodle soup and chicken soup:

Chicken noodle soup ingredients

Here are some of the basic ingredients that you'll need to get started when making a chicken noodle soup, according to Andrew Rea (alias Oliver Babish) at Basics with Babish.

Grocery list:

• Celery
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Parsnips
• Turnips
• Garlic (entire head)
• White onions
• Chicken spines or wings
• Vegetable or canola oil
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh parsley
• Whole peppercorns
• Olive oil
• Fresh ginger
• Fresh lemongrass
• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Fresh dill scallions
• Salt
• Egg noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipes

Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup

In the clip below from Basics with Babish, Rea demonstrates how to make, well .. 'the best chicken noodle soup in the world'. 

Rea starts out by showing how easy it is to make a homemade chicken stock, the fundamental building block of a good soup. Importantly, Rea uses boneless and skinless chicken thigh meat, selling in the benefits of shredded dark meat over dried-out breast meat.

Minced scallions at the end add a fresh crunch and a final season before the soup is complete. Rea's top tip? Store your leftover soup noodles in order to stop them from going mushy.