Chicken Soup of the World
Every kitchen in the world simmers a chicken in water and calls it comfort. Some add matzo balls, some lemon and egg, some lime leaves or ginseng, and America added egg noodles and put it in a can. Here is every style, step by step, cooked to a safe 165°F.
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
A golden broth simmered from a whole chicken with carrots, celery, dill and an unpeeled onion, with light schmaltz-and-seltzer matzo balls poached in salted water, then finished in the broth with carrot, parsnip, shredded chicken and fresh dill.
Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
A clear broth from a whole chicken and extra backs, perfumed with charred onion and ginger, toasted coriander seed, cloves and cilantro, ladled boiling hot over flat rice noodles, sliced poached chicken, paper-thin onion and herbs, with bean sprouts, basil, chiles and lime at the table.
Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)
A whole chicken simmered gently with onion, garlic, celery and cilantro, then carrots, potatoes and chayote, served in big bowls over white rice with avocado, chopped onion, cilantro, serrano and lime, and warm corn tortillas on the side.
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon-Egg Chicken Soup)
Chicken breasts poached in stock, rice or orzo cooked in the same pot, and five eggs tempered with hot broth until the soup turns silky and pale gold, then sharpened with lemon juice to taste and finished with the chicken and fresh dill.
Tinola (Filipino Ginger Chicken Soup with Green Papaya)
Bone-in chicken browned with onion, lots of ginger and garlic, seasoned with fish sauce and simmered in water until tender, then finished with wedges of green papaya and a bunch of spinach (or chili leaves or malunggay), served hot with steamed rice.
Samgyetang (Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup)
Two Cornish hens stuffed with soaked short-grain rice, fresh ginseng, a jujube and eight garlic cloves each, simmered whole for over an hour until the rice is soft and the broth milky, served one hen per bowl with green onion, black pepper, kimchi and two dipping sauces.
Ajiaco (Bogotá Chicken and Three-Potato Soup)
Chicken breast, three kinds of potato and the herb guascas simmered in stock until the starchy potatoes fall apart and thicken the soup, with chunks of corn on the cob, served with shredded chicken, capers, thinned sour cream, avocado and a fresh onion and cilantro ají.
Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut and Galangal)
Boneless chicken thighs simmered in stock with sliced galangal, lemongrass, shallots and fish sauce, then a pounded galangal infusion, makrut lime leaves, Thai chiles and coconut cream stirred in off the heat, seasoned with equal parts fish sauce and lime juice.
Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Cilantro Chicken and Rice Soup)
Browned bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks simmered with onion, red bell pepper, cumin and rice in broth blended with cilantro, serrano and garlic, then brightened with a second fresh cilantro puree, sweet corn and lots of lime.
Classic American Chicken Noodle Soup
A rich homemade broth from browned chicken thighs with onion and bay, chicken breasts poached in it and shredded, then onion, carrot, celery and thyme simmered in the strained broth with wide egg noodles and finished with parsley.
Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Soup with Rivels
Chicken thighs and breast poached in broth with the stripped corn cobs, then pea-size egg-and-flour rivels and fresh corn, half cut and half grated, simmered until tender, finished with shredded chicken and parsley and topped with chopped hard-cooked egg.
30-Minute Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Onion, celery, carrots and thyme browned in butter, simmered in store-bought broth, then egg noodles cooked right in the pot, with the shredded meat of a supermarket rotisserie chicken and frozen peas stirred in at the end, in 30 minutes.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, Inspired by Olive Garden
Inspired by, not official: celery, shredded carrot, onion and garlic softened in butter, thickened with flour and chicken broth, then store-bought potato gnocchi, cooked chicken, baby spinach, heavy cream and thyme, in one pot in 40 minutes.