Video:Chicken Soup Tips
with Jason SmilesChicken soup isn't hard to make, but that doesn't mean you can't always make it better. Here are a couple of easy video tips for improving that old chicken soup recipe.
Transcript:Chicken Soup Tips
Hey, this is Jason Smiles and you're watching About.com. Today, I'm going to give you five tips for making great chicken soup.
Use Real Chicken and Fresh Vegetables for Soup
First tip, and also the most obvious one: use real chicken. In this day and age, people use chicken powders, bouillons for flavoring, but there's nothing like the real thing. If you have some leftover chicken you cooked the night before, or if you'd like to get some chicken breasts you picked up from the store, either works, even chicken bones. Second tip, use freshly chopped vegetables. Today, we're going to use some celery, some chopped carrots, and some freshly chopped onions. We're going to really let it stew in the liquids; bring out all the nice flavors.
Add Fresh Herbs and Pasta to Chicken Soup
Third tip: fresh herbs and spices. Today, we're going to use some parsley, but you can use any type of dried herb you enjoy. Rosemary or thyme are other herbs that go very well with chicken. You can salt it or pepper it to taste- feel free to put a little bit of hot sauce or curry. Just taste it along the way to make sure you don't overdo it. Fourth tip: if you need some extra chicken flavor, add some chicken stock, chicken broth or some bouillon chicken cubes. Last tip: if you like your soup extra thick, to really thicken that broth, use pasta. Let the pasta really cook, overcook it even, until it's really soft and it releases all its starches into the soup broth. It will thicken it up and it will be delicious, even creamy.
I hope you enjoy your soup as much as I'm enjoying mine. For more information, visit About.com. I'll see you next time.