Chicken Noodle Soup

Why This Chicken Noodle Soup Works

As the onion and garlic cook in the oil, they soften and lose their sharp bite. They start to taste a little sweeter, and that flavored oil spreads through the whole pot. When the carrots and celery go in, they sit in that hot oil and begin to soften on the edges, so they won’t stay hard in the finished soup.

Once the broth goes in and starts to simmer, the dried herbs have time to soak and soften, so their taste moves through the liquid instead of just sitting on top. The chicken breasts poach gently in this hot broth instead of frying or boiling hard, so they stay moist inside. After they are shredded and put back in, the thin pieces warm through and share their taste with the broth without drying out.

When the egg noodles cook right in the pot, they give off a little starch. That slight starchiness makes the broth feel a bit fuller and smoother, so the soup doesn’t seem watery. Fresh parsley stirred in at the end stays bright and fresh instead of going dull from long cooking.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the chicken boil hard instead of gently simmering it in the broth makes the meat tough and stringy. The fast bubbling tightens the fibers, so even after shredding, the pieces stay chewy and dry instead of soft.

Adding the egg noodles too early causes them to swell and fall apart. As they sit in the hot broth for too long, they soak up most of the liquid and release starch, so the soup turns thick and pasty and the noodles lose their shape.

Cutting the carrots and celery into very big chunks means they may still be firm in the center when the soup is otherwise done. The broth can taste fine, but the vegetables stay hard and a bit crunchy instead of tender.

Skipping the step of sautéing the onion and garlic in oil leaves them tasting sharp and a little raw. They don’t soften properly in the broth alone, so small bits of onion can stay slightly hard and the soup feels less smooth.