Chicken Noodle Soup

A clear broth requires three rules: start the chicken in cold water (not boiling), bring to a boil slowly, and skim the foam thoroughly for the first 5–7 minutes. Then reduce heat to the lowest setting — the broth should barely tremble, not boil. Add onion, carrots, and celery whole, not chopped. If the broth is already cloudy, strain it through cheesecloth, add a beaten egg white and bring to a boil — the white will bind the cloudiness and rise to the surface with it.

Noodles keep cooking in hot broth even after the heat is off. The fix: cook noodles separately to al dente, drain, and add directly to each bowl at serving time — not to the pot. If making the soup ahead, store broth and noodles separately and combine only before serving. Homemade egg noodles hold their shape better than store-bought. Rice noodles and glass noodles don't overcook at all — a great choice for a soup you plan to eat over several days.

Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) give a far richer, more flavorful broth than breast. Breast meat is lean and dries out quickly with long cooking, giving a pale, thin broth. The best option for classic soup: a whole chicken or a mix of thighs and backs. If you want to use breast, cook it no longer than 20–25 minutes, then remove and slice it, and enrich the broth with chicken bones or wings. Keep the skin and bones in while cooking — they release all the collagen and fat — but remove before serving.

The secret to that old-fashioned depth is long slow cooking (at least 1.5–2 hours at the lowest simmer) and the right vegetables. Essentials: a whole onion (you can char it in a dry pan first for golden color), carrots, celery with its leaves, and parsley root. Bay leaf, allspice, and a few black peppercorns. No boiling — only a slow gentle simmer. Fresh dill and parsley go in at the very end. One more trick: add chicken feet or backs — they are rich in collagen and make the broth silky.

Freeze only the broth with chicken and vegetables — without the noodles. Noodles turn soft and lose their texture when frozen. Broth keeps in the freezer up to 3 months, in the fridge 4–5 days. To reheat, bring the broth to a boil and add freshly cooked noodles. If the soup already contains noodles, reheat over low heat without boiling, otherwise the noodles will become completely mushy. Portioned 500 ml containers are convenient for quick thawing under hot water.