Chicken Noodle Egg Drop Soup.

Or, how to survive Monday with chicken egg drop soup.

I mean, this is a MONDAY. The middle of gloomy, dreary January with no end to winter in sight. We need chicken egg drop soup.

Chicken egg drop soup for the win.

2019 is going to go down as the year that I fell (back?) in love with chicken noodle soup.

For years, I’ve told you how Eddie doesn’t really consider soup a meal. There are a few exceptions, like chili… or chicken chili… and actually, chicken noodle soup. But only occasionally with the chicken noodle soup.

I have to make a really delicious homemade version (in this one I roast the chicken first!) that is hearty and filled with satisfying ingredients in order for it to really count, you know?

Anyhoo, over the holiday break and even into the start of last week, we were all fighting off some sickness. The kids both had ear infections and pneumonia. Eddie had a pretty horrific sinus infection. Thanks to my copious consumption of apple cider vinegar, I was convinced that I missed it!

Alas, I got hit with it as everyone else was getting better. But I threw together some comfort food since what got me was pretty mild.

Food that would make us feel SO much better. Major comfort food.

When the sickness first started, I made a big batch of chicken noodle soup. I’ve made it for years and I love to use a whole chicken as the base for the stock. We had a few whole chickens in our freezer because we’ve been getting Butcher Box for the last six months (and love it!) – and I hadn’t had a moment to roast a whole chicken! So soup it was. Stock! Bone broth? I love this article that tells you about the difference.

My first go at it was for the kids. We forgot just HOW much we loved it – being that it had been quite a while since I made a batch.

And it is SO good.

I was shocked at how much Eddie loved it. Like, LOVED IT. I thought for sure he would want something else on the side but he had a few bowls of the soup and was thrilled. AMAZING. How was this even possible?

With the leftovers, I wanted to do something to add a little more satiety once we (read: he) got our appetites back. So I swirled in some beaten egg for a version of egg drop soup and

GOSH.

Where has this been all my life? Why hadn’t I done this before?

It made the soup so hearty, but it a light way. So filling! Super good. Comforting to the max.

Right? That makes zero sense, per usual, but it’s exactly what I mean. By swirling in the eggs, they give a light addition to the soup that up the satisfaction factor like WHOA.

If you’ve never tasted or made traditional egg drop soup, it’s also a great comfort food. A big favorite of mine.

And now this? Chicken egg drop soup? Chicken noodle egg drop soup?

I’m not sure I can make chicken soup any other way.

You.will.love.it.

Chicken Noodle Egg Drop Soup

This chicken noodle egg drop soup is the ultimate comfort food! Homemade stock and satisfying ingredients provide the best nourishment and comfort!

Stock

1 3 to 4 pound whole chicken
4 whole carrots
3 celery stalks
1 onion, (cut in half)
1 head of garlic, (top sliced off)
1 to 2 bay leaves
a handful of fresh herbs, (including thyme, sage, parsley)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns

Soup

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, (diced)
2/3 cup sliced carrots
½ cup diced celery
1 ½ cups shredded or cubed chicken breast
8 to 12 ounces wide egg noodles
1/2 lemon, (juiced)
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 large eggs, (per bowl)
chopped fresh herbs, (for garnish)
toasted sesame oil, (for drizzling)

Stock

To make the stock, place the whole chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, herbs, salt and pepper in a large stock pot. Cover the ingredients with water – enough to cover them by an inch or so. I usually use about 4 quarts (a gallon!) of water total and I find that makes for a very flavorful stock!
Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cover it. I tend to leave the lid very slightly cracked – enough so the stock doesn’t boil over, but not enough that the liquid evaporates. As you’re cooking the stock, you can skin the foam off the top. I let my stock simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
When it’s finished, I discard the vegetables and herbs. I place the chicken on a large platter to cool and then pull the meat from the chicken.
I like to double strain the chicken stock. I place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl or measuring cup and strain the stock once. This catches any loose herbs, vegetables or pieces of chicken. I then strain it one more time the same way.
I like to use the chicken from the whole bird that I use to make the stock. I always see conflicting information about this (some people think it’s flavorless, others think it’s dry, etc), but I think it works great and we love it. If you’d like to discard the entire chicken and meat, you can always use a store bought rotisserie chicken or cook other chicken breasts to get the meat for your soup.

Soup

To make the soup, heat the same stock pot over medium heat. Add the butter and once it’s melted, add the onions, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Stir the chicken into the vegetables. Add the stock back into the pot. I usually add it all back in and this makes a large portion of chicken noodle soup! Depending on how many people you are feeding, you can take the soup and freeze it at this point, before adding the noodles. The noodles will soak up the liquid, so you want to add those in shortly before serving.
Bring the mixture to a simmer. If you like a noodle heavy soup, you can go with a full 12 ounces. If you want a more brothy soup, start with 8 ounces. Add the noodles and within 15 minutes, the soup should be ready to serve. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Taste the soup and season it additionally with salt and pepper if desired.
To serve bowls of the egg drop soup, take 1 to 2 eggs (your preference!) and lightly beat them in small bowl of measuring cup. Ladle the hot soup into bowls (this is the key! You want it to be hot!) and immediately drizzle in the beaten egg in a slow stream. Use your spoon to slowly swirl the soup back and forth.
You can garnish the soup with fresh parsley or cilantro, as well as a drop of toasted sesame oil if you wish!

Note

This soup reheats so well, even if you do add the noodles ahead of time. I suggest adding to a saucepan over low heat, adding in enough extra water or stock to cover the soup by an inch and reheat until simmering.

It’s some cozy love in a bowl.

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