The most common way to make this chicken soup, or sopas, is to simmer a whole chicken, debone and flake the meat then return it to the broth and boil with macaroni, chopped carrots and cabbage. That was how my Tita Cora used to do it. Another aunt, a cousin of my mother, added chopped cooked pig’s brain and slices of vienna sausages to the soup. I loved that version and would like to try it sometime. My mother-in-law did not add cabbage. Sometimes, in lieu of chicken, she made sopas using ground beef.
A whole chicken will yield too much soup for a family of four. When I make sopas, I usually boil one chicken breast and two to three chicken necks together. I get the meat from the breast; the bones in the neck flavor the broth. My only complaint is that flaked chicken, especially the breast meat, often manage to get between my teeth. I really prefer chicken thighs.
Last night, I had half a tray of chicken thigh fillets. Fillets aren’t good for making soup unless there’s prepared broth and I had none. But I had ham bones in the freezer. Ham bones, especially those from Chinese ham, are wonderful for making soup. You just drop the bones in water, add onions and garlic and let everything simmer for an hour. The flavors from the bone will transfer to the water and you get a broth that is simply bursting with flavor.
But who has ham bones at this time of the year? Well, see, Majestic Ham sells bones by the kilo. PhP50.00 per kilo and that’s a lot. The last pack of ham bones I bought (Shopwise, Libis) was about a kilo and a half and I’ve used two pieces for my pasta sauce (check out a related entry), another for last night’s sopas and the remaining one in the freezer will go into… oh, I haven’t decided yet.
Recipe: Chicken and macaroni soup
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thigh fillets
- 1 large ham bone
- 2 large white onions
- 6 cloves (segments) of garlic
- 1 large carrot
- 3 tbsps. of butter
- 150 g. of elbow macaroni
- 1-1/2 c. of milk
- salt
- pepper
- about 1 tbsp. of dried parsley (I would have used fresh but I just replanted)
- grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the chicken thigh fillets into thin, thin strips.
- Peel and chop the onions, garlic and carrot.
- Heat the butter in a cooking pot. Add the chopped onions and garlic and allow to soften a bit. Add the chicken strips and cook, stirring, until no longer pink. Add the ham bone and pour in about 10 to 12 cups of water. Season lightly with salt (the ham bone is salty so go easy on the salt at this stage). Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for an hour.
- Taste the broth and add more salt if necessary. Turn up the heat. Drop in the macaroni, stirring. Add the chopped carrot. When the broth is boiling once more, turn down the heat again, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is done. This is a soup so you want the pasta well done, not al dente. Well, at least, that’s how I like it — still whole when scooped from the soup bowl with a tablespoon then disintegrates completely once you close you mouth without any need to chew.
- When the pasta is done, turn up the heat and pour in the milk. As soon as the soup boils, turn off the heat. Stir in the parsley. Ladle into large soup bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
- This soup is best served with bread. My daughters enjoyed the soup with whole wheat bread and foccaccia, respectively. Pan de sal is a great choice too as well as crusty French bread.
Quick notes
This soup is best served with bread. My daughters enjoyed the soup with whole wheat bread and foccaccia, respectively. Pan de sal is a great choice too as well as crusty French bread.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Yummy, Connie! It’s starting to get cold here, so this soup recipe comes handy. Thank you. I will try this soon as we finish the chicken barley soup I made last night. I can use the ham bone in my freezer from our last Easter celebration. The pan de sals here are quite cakey for my taste, so I’l settle with the French bread. Your mention of Majestic Ham brought back memories of many wonderful Christmasses and New Year’s Eve in the Philippines. I’m feeling homesick galore!!!
I tried using chicken feet for the soup and it tastes good also. Mura pa.
i put margarine and roasted garlic on top before serving…hmmm my comfort food!
i remember my mom’s and lola’s traditional sopas. mmm… mmm… good! haven’t had it in a looong time. must make it soon.
I make this kind of soup after Thanksgiving using left over bony parts of the turkey. I add condensed mushroom soup in the broth, and chopped carrots, celery, onions, and topped it with roasted garlic and onion, sometimes “kasubha” (Pinoy saffron). Yummmy.
Yesterday I made mami, and the broth was from boiled fresh turkey wings. For noodles I had egg noodles, and canton. And all the toppings you can think off (including fried tokwa), was laid on the table, plus calamansi and patis. Oh boy, my family had a feast.
It starting to get really cold here (10C max today). Yesterday I made arroz caldo, laging patok. I like sopas too but it’s not as popular at home so I end up relishing it on my own (very bad). Ewan ko ba sa asawa ko nakakainis… hehe denial na di masarap luto ko!
ah at last, here it is! i actually did make it at home, my son loved it amidst the mess he made while slurping up the soup. i added some quickmelt cheese (the kind you get there in manila). it’s hard to come by but i snatched one up when i saw it in an asian supermarket. my yaya always used to add quickmelt so i did the same. i added about 1/3 of a block right a i turned off the heat. it was actually pretty good! not the same as home of course, but it was the next best thing. i will try your version next time. thanks tita!
Majestic hams bones are a bit expensive but a little does go a long way. I sometime buy a pack of soup bones (Magnolia) they’re ok and a bit cheaper but the ham bone broth makes all the difference.
We had our sopas 2 nights ago, matched with tokwa’t baboy.
My husband and son loved it!
Josie, it’s that time of the year… Majestic ham and all…
I was actually thinking of posting entries categorized as “what to do with leftovers from Christmas” or something like that.
Rey, right, chicken feet with all the bones are great for making soup too. Chicken heads as well.
Elsie, that was what I forgot — the roasted garlic! And chopped onion leaves!
Ebba, is Thanksgiving over already?
Auee, aba eh sya kaya ang paglutuin mo? Baka matauhan at maging less pihikan hehehe
you’re welcome, mich. 1/3 block of cheese? WOW!!!
kulasa, majestic ham bones are cheap if bought as scrap. P50.00 per kilo only.
Bang, tokwa’t baboy using pork cheeks?
connie, sorry, what I meant is every Thanksgiving.. and yeah, I do this soup walang palya, every year. My family naman thinks of it as part of the extended holiday tradition.
Siyanga pala, with the left over dried egg noodles, and the toppings of the mami I made, ayun ginawa ko namang pansit 2 days after, except the chopped fried tokwa, that I added naman in my mixture of rice vinegar with sweet chili sauce, patis, and minced garlic.
We used to have a meat stall in Guadalupe, and some people who buys whole beef tenderloin leaves the trimmings; which some people buys it specifically for their soup, malasa daw yon together with some beef neck bones.
Wow, i just made “sopas” this morning, i added chinese cabage and corned beef to my sopas, my little one is not feeling too well she’s got a bit of cold…
Using ham bones aounds so good and yummy, I’ll try it next time! thanks for this one!
Ebba, ahhh okay. I thought for a moment there that Thanksgiving has come and gone this year already.
dhayL, hope your baby feels better soon. What is it about chicken soup,, no? Almost like a cure.
On birthdays, we go out and celebrate then go to one of my children’s place, or our empty nest, to continue our chit-chats over a cup of coffee or tea and cake. It was my son’s birthday last Saturday, and from the Chinese restaurant, where we had an early dinner, we proceeded to our place for the usual, only this time I made chicken soup for later in the evening. I set aside a bowl of soup without the milk for anyone who may not care for it, but everybody liked your original version, so I poured it right back into the pot. Ang sarap! Thanks, Connie.
LOL Josie. Milk really casts some magic spell on this soup.
I made this last night even without the ham bones its still GOOD.Thanks Connie!Mabuhay ka!!!
I finally found the time to make the sopas, unfortunately I couldn’t follow your recipe verbatim–had to improvise based on what I had at home! For the meat I used 1/2lb ground pork, substituted rotini for macaroni, & had to settle for canned reduced sodium chicken broth! The important part (for me, at least!) really was the method; except for the ingredient substitutes (as well as proportion adjustments here & there), I followed the basic steps you outlined. And not only was cooking this a piece of cake, it turned out really yummy as well! Hubby & I both loved this type of sopas as children growing up in Manila. When I started cooking several years ago, I asked my tita for her recipe, as I, along with several family members, was *addicted* to her sopas. I was haughtily advised that the recipe couldn’t be shared with me as it was a “secret”. Imagine my disappointment! So a big *THANK YOU* for sharing the recipe with us! I still intend to cook it your way though–maybe I can find ham bones in the supermarket or perhaps the Asian grocery store we go to. This is gonna be a mainstay in our house, especially now that winter is fast approaching! =)
hi connie, i’m bring this as potluck to a christmas party. my question is, can i use other pasta in this? i was able to buy christmas icons shaped pasta (colored, even!) and am planning to use that, would that make a bad difference? thanks!
additional question pala, does this spoil easily? i’m thinking of cooking it night before we bring it for lunch eh.
I cooked this recipe last night.
Athlough I didn’t have ham bones. Here in California, I wouldn’t know where to buy them.
So in lieu of ham bones, I used several strips of bacon to emulate that smoky flavor?
The dish was fitting for a cold winter January night and the kids liked it.
Thank you.
-Julius
I am a new housewife and I am just starting to cook for my husband and brother. Your website has been a great help to me! Thanks.
I tried your recipe with both chicken pieces and minced beef but without the ham bone and the feedback was both good. I also add a handful or two of white raisins for added flavor and an extra source of fiber. The soup is fast moving!
Thanks again and keep it up!