Okay, let’s talk about soup base. I’ve been wanting to make a really good soup from scratch for a while now, so I finally decided to give it a go. I started by gathering all my ingredients. I had some chicken pieces, a bunch of veggies like carrots, celery, and onions, and some herbs.
First, I rinsed the chicken and put it in a big pot. I filled the pot with cold water, just enough to cover the chicken. Then, I brought the water to a boil over high heat. Once it was boiling, I reduced the heat to low and let it simmer. I skimmed off any foam that rose to the surface to keep the broth clear.
While the chicken was simmering, I chopped up all the vegetables. I made sure to cut them into roughly the same size so they would cook evenly. After about an hour of simmering the chicken, I added the chopped vegetables to the pot. I also threw in some bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns for extra flavor.
- Rinsed the chicken pieces
- Placed chicken in a large pot and covered with cold water
- Boiled the water, then reduced to simmer
- Skimmed off foam from the surface
- Chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, onions) into similar sizes
- Added vegetables and herbs (bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns) to the pot
I continued to let the soup simmer on low heat for another two hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavor develops. I stirred it occasionally and made sure the chicken and vegetables were always submerged in the liquid. You know, just to make sure everything is getting the love it needs.
Making Progress
After two more hours, I removed the pot from the heat. I used tongs to take out the chicken pieces and set them aside to cool. I then strained the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot. This helped remove all the vegetable pieces and herbs, leaving a clear broth. It’s a bit messy, but it gets the job done.
Once the chicken was cool enough to handle, I shredded the meat and discarded the bones and skin. I added the shredded chicken back into the strained broth. At this point, you can season the soup base with salt and pepper to your liking. Some people like to add other spices, but I like to keep it simple.
And that’s it! I had a delicious homemade soup base. I used some of it right away to make a chicken noodle soup, and I froze the rest in containers for later use. Making soup base from scratch takes some time, but it’s definitely worth the effort. It tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff, and you know exactly what’s in it.
