Description
A comforting and wholesome Chicken, Sweetcorn & Noodle Soup featuring tender chicken, fresh vegetables, and vermicelli noodles simmered in a flavorful homemade chicken stock, perfect for warming up any day.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Base and Stock Ingredients
- 2 onions, quartered
- 1 leek, cut into chunks
- 2 carrots, thickly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 black peppercorns
- parsley stalks (from a small bunch)
- 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon or 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1.3kg whole chicken
- About 3 litres cold water (to cover)
Vegetables and Soup Ingredients
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 large leeks, trimmed and finely sliced
- 2 corn on the cobs, corn kernels cut off
- 200g vermicelli noodles
- Small bunch parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Prepare the stock: Place all the stock ingredients and the whole chicken into a very large saucepan. Cover with about 3 litres of cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook gently for 1 to 1½ hours until the chicken is fully cooked. Skim off any froth every 20 minutes to keep the stock clear.
- Strain and reduce the stock: Remove the chicken carefully to a plate and allow to cool. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, discarding solids, and skim off as much fat as possible. Rinse out the pan and return the strained stock to it. Simmer over high heat until the stock reduces slightly to approximately 2 litres.
- Cook vegetables: Add the chopped carrots and sliced leeks to the reduced stock and simmer gently for 10 minutes until slightly tender.
- Prepare chicken and finish soup: While the vegetables simmer, shred the cooled chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones. Add the shredded chicken and sweetcorn kernels to the pot. Add the vermicelli noodles now unless freezing the soup for later. Simmer for another 7 minutes or until the corn is cooked and noodles are tender.
- Serve or freeze: Ladle the hot soup into bowls and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh parsley. To freeze, cool the soup completely before storing in small portions in freezer-safe containers or bags. Defrost overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature before reheating gently in a pan. If frozen without noodles, add vermicelli after defrosting and simmer until cooked.
Notes
- For easy freezing and quicker defrosting, divide soup into small portions before freezing.
- Fresh parsley can be frozen in small bags and sprinkled into the soup with noodles when reheating.
- Skimming stock regularly makes the broth clearer and more refined in flavor.
- Discard chicken skin and bones after shredding to keep soup light.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: chicken soup, sweetcorn soup, noodle soup, vermicelli noodles, homemade chicken stock, comfort food, easy soup recipe
