Okay, let me tell you how I tackled making some Puerto Rican chicken noodle soup today. Felt like something warm, you know? And this stuff, it’s just different. Way better than the plain stuff.
Getting Started – The Prep
First things first, I got all my ingredients out on the counter. Always makes things easier than running around later. I grabbed some chicken thighs – bone-in, skin-on, always more flavor that way. Then the usual suspects for the sofrito base, kinda. I had some onions, couple kinds of peppers (sweet ones, not hot today), garlic, cilantro. Didn’t have any culantro, but cilantro works fine. Also pulled out potatoes, carrots, and a bit of calabaza squash I had leftover. Oh, and the noodles – fideos, the thin ones. Gotta be fideos.
I started chopping. Diced the onions, peppers, minced the garlic. Roughly chopped the cilantro. Peeled and cubed the potatoes, carrots, and the squash. Wasn’t too precise about it, just bite-sized chunks mostly. For the chicken, I just seasoned it good with adobo and a little black pepper. Didn’t feel like cutting it up yet, easier to shred later.
Cooking Time – Building Flavor
Alright, into the big pot. Put in a splash of olive oil, let it get hot. Then I seared the chicken thighs, skin-side down first, till they got nice and brown. Took maybe 5-7 minutes per side. Pulled the chicken out and set it aside on a plate. Left all that good chicken fat in the pot.
Next, I dumped in the onions and peppers. Cooked those down for a few minutes until they got soft. Then I added the minced garlic and a big spoonful of tomato paste. Stirred that around for like a minute, just until the garlic smelled amazing and the tomato paste darkened a bit. This is where the real flavor starts building, you know?
Then I added a packet of Sazón con Achiote – gotta have that for the color and taste. Stirred it all together. Dumped the chicken back into the pot. Poured in enough chicken broth to cover everything, plus maybe an extra cup or two of water. Tossed in the chopped potatoes, carrots, and calabaza squash. Added a bay leaf too. Almost forgot the chopped cilantro stems – threw those in for extra flavor.
Simmering and Finishing Up
Brought the whole thing up to a boil, then turned the heat down low, put the lid on kind of crooked, and just let it simmer. Had to let it go for a good 25-30 minutes. Basically waited until the chicken was cooked through and the potatoes were tender when poked with a fork.
Okay, time for the next step. I carefully fished out the chicken thighs onto that plate again. Let them cool down just enough so I could handle them. While they were cooling, I dumped the fideo noodles into the pot. They cook super fast, usually just 5 minutes or so. Gotta stir them a bit so they don’t stick.
While the noodles were cooking, I shredded the chicken meat off the bones using two forks. Discarded the skin and bones. Then, dumped all that shredded chicken back into the soup. Gave it a good stir.
Last thing. Added a whole bunch of fresh chopped cilantro leaves. Took out the bay leaf. Gave it a taste. Perfect. Didn’t even need more salt, the adobo and sazón did the trick.
The Result
Served it up hot in big bowls. Man, it smelled good. The broth was rich, veggies tender, chicken juicy, and those fideos just soak up all that flavor. It’s hearty, comforting, just way more interesting than regular chicken noodle. That sofrito base and the Sazón make all the difference. Definitely hit the spot today. Cleanup wasn’t even too bad, mostly just the one big pot.
