My mom always made homemade chicken soup using a whole chicken when I was growing up. I've never made chicken soup using a store-bought chicken broth. Once you make soup this way, you'll never want to go back. The broth is just so fresh and delicious! If you would like to use a whole chicken for this soup instead of the two chicken breasts, simply double the ingredients for the broth and the soup and use an 8 or 12-quart pot instead. Be sure to add the rice noodles to each individual bowl if you plan to have leftovers. Adding them to the whole pot and then reheating the soup the next day can cause the noodles to get quite mushy. This soup also freezes very well, just don't add the noodles or the raw toppings to your freezable portions. Fresh Thai chilies and lemongrass can be found at places like Whole Foods or at your local Asian Market.
Ingredients
2 pounds
bone-in chicken breasts
(or bone-in chicken thighs)
8 cups
water
1 large
onions
chopped
3
celery stalks
chopped
1
carrots
chopped
1 heads
garlic
cut in half crosswise
¼ cups
finely chopped
fresh ginger
(or more)
2
thai chili peppers
chopped
1 teaspoons
crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups
chopped
shiitake mushrooms
1
lemongrass stalks
chopped
1 teaspoons
whole black peppercorns
3 teaspoons
Herbamare
1 bunches
cilantro
(use the stems for the broth)
1 medium
onions
cut into crescent moons
3
celery stalks
sliced into diagonals
3
carrots
cut into matchsticks
2 cups
sliced
shiitake mushrooms
freshly ground
black pepper
cooked
Thai rice noodles
chopped
fresh basil
chopped
napa cabbage
chopped
cilantro
chopped
thai chili peppers
1 large
limes
cut into wedges