Jewish holiday, Friday night dinner, feeling under the weather or just because – Chicken Soup is always our family favorite! Just like my grandma used to make, this homemade chicken soup recipe,with Matzo Balls and Egg Noodles, is easy enough for even the most cooking challenged!
There are tons of recipes that promise a great soup in half of the time to make it, but be warned, you will trade time for quality. Authentic chicken soup takes some time to make, but the rich and savory taste will make it worth the wait. Don’t be afraid to make chicken soup from scratch – it isn’t as hard as you think and the taste is worlds better than canned soup!
Listen, I am all about short cuts, but not when it impacts the taste. This is simply the best chicken noodle soup you will ever make. You will never eat chicken soup in a can again after you taste the rich and tender chicken broth and oodles of egg noodles, vegetables and matzo balls. Make extra and freeze it! It warms up like a dream!
Nothing cures a cold like a home remedy of a bowl of traditional Jewish chicken soup. My Grandma Lee had the best Jewish penicillin chicken soup recipe. This was a staple on Friday night Shabbat dinners, Rosh Hashanah, Passover or just for a weeknight dinner. She would often make a big Tupperware full of chicken soup and matzo balls for me to take up to school (she wanted to make sure I ate well when I was away!)
How to Make Homemade Chicken Soup
Many people claim a homemade chicken noodle soup recipe, but they use canned or boxed chicken soup in their recipe. Trust me….there IS a difference! If you want that true homemade chicken soup taste, read on!
My sister, Julie, got her famous recipe right from my Grandma Lee over the phone.As most of you know, I am not the cook in the family….. that’s my sister, Julie. So, while I would ask my grandma to make it for me, Julie had the foresight to ask her to teach her how to make it.
She talked her through the whole thing. She never wrote it down, but we did! Below is our best approximation of the basic recipe she taught us.
Everyone likes their chicken soup a bit different. Grandma strained hers so it was clear and then added the pieces of carrots back in. We like a few more bits in it so I don’t strain it. Sometimes we chop up the onions and celery and leave them in as well. We never make it exactly the same twice. We throw in a bit more a bit less, but somehow it always comes out tasting just like it’s supposed to!
How long can you keep homemade chicken soup?
Chicken soup can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Beyond that I would recommend freezing it in either a container or heavy duty freezer bags. Either way, I usually keep the noodles and matzo balls separate and put them in the soup when I am ready to warm it up.
They say that chicken soup helps to clear the nasal passages and it acts as an anti inflammatory which helps with the cold symptoms!
Chicken Soup Recipe
4.78 from 18 votes
Jewish Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Author — Jennifer Fishkind
Serves — 8
Jewish holiday, Friday night dinner, feeling under the weather or just because – Chicken Soup is always our family favorite! Just like my grandma used to make, this homemade chicken noodle soup,with Matzo Balls and Egg Noodles, is easy enough for even the most cooking challenged!
Place the chicken and the onion in a large stock pot
Fill with cold water
Bring to simmer
Skim fat from the top before adding in remaining ingredients
Add in carrots, celery, dill salt and pepper
Simmer partially covered for at least an hour to an hour and a half
You will know when it is getting close when the chicken begins to fall apart
Cook for another 1/2 hour after that
Remove the chicken, onion, celery and dill from the pot
Add in egg noodles and cook as directed on the package
Remove the chicken from the bone and add it back to the pot if desired
*The secret of the perfect Matzo Ball: Use the packaged stuff. Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. I have had many a homemade matzoh ball in my day, but the best ones come straight from the box. They have it proportioned perfectly, so I never bother with trying to figure it out myself. Save yourself the aggravation, follow the directions on the box and make the perfect ball!
Chicken soup has been a popular home remedy for the common cold since at least the 12th century. Eating chicken soup while you have a cold will not do you any harm, but it will not cure your cold. Drinking warm liquids, such as soup, may give you relief from your symptoms for a short time.
Lemons are a chicken soup game changer. Why? They brighten up and balance the salty, rich flavors of the dish, and make all of the ingredients come into line. Like a vinaigrette on a salad, the pickle on a burger, and the sour cream in a coffee cake, a squeeze of lemon gives chicken soup a game-changing brightness.
Not only does acid brighten your soup, but also balance the flavor including the saltiness that comes from the broth (store-bought chicken broth and stock, or bouillon, are typically high in sodium).
Even the warmth of chicken soup can help. Drinking the liquid and inhaling the vapors increase the temperature of nasal and respiratory passages, which loosens the thick mucus that often accompanies respiratory illnesses. Compared with hot water alone, studies show chicken soup is more effective at loosening mucus.
Chicken contains an amino acid cysteine which has been shown to reduce and break up mucous congestion in the lungs. Garlic- Garlic is a must in a chicken soup as nature's best natural antibiotic and antibacterial agent to help your body fight infection and get better quickly.
For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.
"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says.
Whether it's white wine or vinegar, a touch of acid added to the simmering pot will create a richer finished product. That's because acid helps break down the cartilage and other connective tissues in the bones of the chicken, which helps speed up the formation of gelatin in the stock.
Incorporating aromatics like onions, garlic, and celery for added complexity. Seasoning with salt, pepper, and other spices like bay leaves or paprika to taste.Adding a splash of lemon juice or a dash of vinegar to brighten the flavors.
Add aromatics: Adding fresh herbs, such as thyme or parsley, or aromatic vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery, can help enhance the flavor of the stock. Simmer longer: If the stock is lacking in flavor, simmering it for longer can help develop the flavors and concentrate the stock.
Vinegar – A spoonful of vinegar is a quick fix when you find yourself with a bowl of dull, flat-tasting soup. Just a small amount of acid will brighten up the flavors. 2. Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is another item that's ideal for brightening up and adding depth of flavor to an otherwise dull soup.
Garlic, onions and leeks, all typical components of chicken noodle soup, are plant cousins which contain a range of phytochemicals that have antibiotic, antifungal and health protective properties. Garlic, especially, has been used for thousands of years by traditional herbalists to help fight infections.
The steam from chicken noodle soup also has a mild anti-inflammatory effect. Heat relaxes the muscles, it soothes discomfort in sore throats, it dilates blood vessels to increase blood flow. When you're sick with a cold, white blood cells called neutrophils go straight to your throat, causing it to be inflamed.
Chicken broth is highly nutritious and healing. In fact, the health benefits are so extensive that it can be used medicinally. People traditionally used the broth for various digestive issues and chronic or acute illness recovery. The broth has a rich flavor profile that finds its use in many traditional cuisines.
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