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Chicken Noodle Soup For That Nice Boy I Married
Submitted by Dana on Fri, 2010-06-04 12:24
That Nice Boy I Married is halfway through a wretched cold, which I am very much hoping not to catch. To help him through, I'm making a pot of chicken noodle soup. A low carb pot of chicken noodle soup, of course! Here's how it goes:
I made my own broth, something I do whenever I have enough bones. I almost always buy my chicken on the bone (usually cheap leg-and-thigh quarters) , and whenever we have chicken, which is often, I save all the bones in a plastic grocery sack in the freezer. When I have a sackful, I dump 'em in my big stockpot, cover 'em with water, add a teaspoon or two of salt and about a quarter-cup of any kind of vinegar, and sit the whole thing on a low burner until the water's cooked down 4 inches or so. Strain, and I've got chicken broth, tastier and far more nutritious than anything I can buy at the grocery store. (That vinegar? It helps cook calcium out of the bones. You won't taste it, because the calcium neutralizes the acidity. Your broth will also have lots of gelatin in it -- it will gel in the fridge -- which is great for your joints.)
I had a sack of bones, so I made broth. This morning I added to it:
3 ribs of celery, diced, including the leaves
3 smallish carrots, sliced
1/2 onion I had kicking around the fridge, diced
A bay leaf
Put that over a medium-low burner. Then I thawed a couple of huge leg-and-thigh quarters, and skinned them. Threw them in the broth, too, still whole. An hour from now, the meat will be falling off the bone. I'll fish the chicken quarters out, strip off the meat, chop it up, and throw it back in the soup.
Finally, I'll drain, rinse, and add a couple of packets of tofu shirataki fettuccini. Salt and pepper to taste, maybe a dash of poultry seasoning, and I'll have chicken noodle soup that would make a Jewish grandma proud.
Oh, and that skin? Later on I'll lay it on my broiler rack and bake it till it's crisp. Then we'll salt it and eat it like chips. Mmmm. Chicken chips.
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Shirataki noodles
Dana,
Several years ago I wrote to ask you about shiratake noodles and at the time you had not tried them. I still haven't but from what I've been reading lately, you have--and use them--like in this recipe. I've read some not so pleasant reviews about them smelling fishy and such. Do they? And if so, how do you take that away?
Thanks!
Shirataki
That was you! I remember that. Welcome to the blog.
They do smell fishy when you first open the packet. I dump 'em in a strainer and rinse them well, and I'm good to go, but some people soak them in water for 15 minutes and re-drain them.
If you can buy one or two packets locally, instead of investing in a dozen or more ordering online, do try them. There are two basic kinds -- traditional shirataki, which are clear and gelatinous, and which I really only like in Asian-style dishes, and tofu shirataki, which, while not identical to the familiar pasta, are closer. I like these in all sorts of things, from fettuccini Alfredo to tuna-mushroom casserole -- and chicken noodle soup. I see the tofu kind in a lot more stores than the traditional ones. Both are very low carb and low calorie, being mostly fiber; the tofu variety do have one gram of usable carb per serving.
I largely avoid soy, but this is one of the places where I let a little bit sneak into my diet. And it is just a little bit -- the tofu shirataki in my fridge have 1 gram of protein per serving. Mastercook tells me that tofu has 20 grams of protein per cup, or 248 grams worth. My calculator tells me that that means we're getting 0.08 of a cup. A cup has 16 tablespoons in it. 16 x 0.08 = 1.28, or about one and a quarter tablespoons of tofu per serving. I'm figuring that that much tofu every few weeks or so is not a big, huge deal. (I repeat: The first rule of toxicology is "dose is everything.")
Jewish Chicken Noodle Soup
Hi Dana,
Barbo here, thanks for sending me your the blog address.
I've missed you.
Here's just a bit more information regarding how to handle making
chicken soup.
If you buy or make a roast chicken. Keep the carcass and any skin
or juices that don't get eaten. Save it as usual for the freezer and when
you have another one. Throw them into the pressure cooker. Cover with water
and any seasonings that your prefer. The pressure cooker saves fuel and
time and it processes every ounce of goodness, calcium etc., from the
bird. Time is only one hour.
After you strain it, then add your fresh veggies and later on your
'noodles'
Hey, Barbo!
Nice to see you!! Since That Nice Boy I Married fielded this one, I only just saw it now. Glad you're here! Thanks for the info.
Hi Barbo! Great to "see" you
Hi Barbo! Great to "see" you again!
-Eric
Oh, And About Saving Those Bones
You can throw other stuff in the bag with the chicken bones, if you like -- carrot tops, onion trimmings, scallion tops, celery ends. Don't put in a lot of celery leaves, or it will get bitter; I just throw those in when I chop the celery for the finished soup.
I get a frugal little thrill every time I turn out a restaurant-quality batch of soup from something most people would throw away. :-D
additional seasoning
try adding a few allspice balls and peppercorn balls into the pot from the very beginning... amazing taste and very fragrant! no poultry seasoning in this batch. yum! that's my grandma's secret ingredient (ssshhhh, don't tell anyone) ;-)
Chicken skin
Dana, you've casually mentioned the crispy chicken skin a few times, so you must find it really easy to do.
However, every time I've attempted to make them, they end up either underdone and nasty or burnt (and often partly each way).
Could you give us a more detailed explanation of how you make these? They sound delicious and I would really like to successfully make some.
Chicken Chips
Huh, wonder what the problem is? I spread mine flat on the broiler rack (over the drip pan, of course!), and bake 'em at 350 until they smell so wonderful I can barely stand it -- maybe 20-30 minutes? You know, crisp and golden. If they're still a little flabby I stick 'em back in for a few more minutes.
I also do any chunks of chicken fat, and the yummy pope's noses (tails).