How to make my chicken noodle soup thicker?

Question

Online chicken noodle soup recipes contain mostly the same things - chicken, noodles, stock, vegetables - and for the most part taste the same. However, they taste completely different from the soup in many restaurants (such as Old Country Buffet or my favorite, Perkins'). I can't figure out how to make my soup taste like that.

It seems like the main difference is how thick the soup is... but simply adding less water doesn't do the trick. How do restaurants make their broth so thick? (should I be making my own broth?)

Answer 1

I don't see any starch on the list. Starch is generally how you thicken stocks and sauces.

Corn starch is probably the most common and the easiest to find, and you should see results with no more than a tablespoon. Just be sure to add it while the soup isn't too hot and stir very thoroughly, otherwise you'll end up with lumps.

A more reliable approach is to use a roux, although that will give you a more "creamy" end product. If you just want a little thickening, use a starch like corn starch or tapioca flour.

Answer 2

None of the answers so far mention collagen -- specifically, using a stock made from roasted and cracked poultry bones.

You don't have to roast the bones, but you do need to crack them -- use a large, heavy knife or cleaver (not a chinese vegetable cleaver, you'll screw up the edge) to chop the bones up into about 2" to 3" pieces (5 to 7cm). Put them in cold water, and slowly bring it up to a simmer, and just leave it simmering for a few hours. You can add vegetables, too, but you'll want to pitch them, as they'll have been overcooked by the time the simmering's done.

Then strain everything, and use that as the base of your soup.

If your refrigerate stock that has enough collagen in it, it'll set up like jello, and hold its own shape. Starches can work, but they're not ideal for soup -- flour (unless cooked as a roux) leaves a raw flour taste and cloudy soup; tapioca leaves little granules in there; corn starch will break down if you cook it too long.

Answer 3

I will apologize in advance for this bad pun. "It all boils down to this" (LOL): High end professional soups and many sauces start with chicken\Beef stock from a "Stock Pot" that has been cooking all morning at minimum or often all day. As a lot of people have said this can contain collagen as well as many dissolved solids that lend a feel of "substance & complexity" to anything you add it to. Most good restaurants don't add noodles until near serving time to avoid overcooked noodles in the soup. Legumes and/or potatoes also leech starches (thickening agents) into soups when cooked for long periods. If you don't want to spend hours making your soup but want the thickness then I suggest a mixture of 3 parts flour and 1 part corn starch whisked together rapidly with just enough cold water to make it uniform. slowly Pour this mixture through a fine sieve (removes lumps) into the hot soup 15 - 20 mins before it is done and stir as you add it. Be very careful it is easy to add too much and end up with gravy instead. lol It only takes a little bit. This is a popular technique in many restaurants, The flour simulates "Dissolved Solids" and the corn starch simulates "collagen". In fact many chefs will use all of the above to "dial in" the desired consistency. However keep in mind there is no substitute for a well made "Stock" when it comes to flavor.

Answer 4

You can consider the thickness to be the ratio of dissolved starches to water. The more starch, the thicker the sauce. The less water, the thicker the sauce.

0 dissolved starch / 2 liter water = 0 thickness

Just reducing the amount of water by half doesn't fix the problem.

0 dissolved starch / 1 liter water = 0 thickness

Starches can be found in the ingredients of the soup/stew. For instance, if you cook the soup long enough, the noodles will start to dissolve into the broth, making it thicker. Of course, if you are making chicken NOODLE soup, this probably isn't the desired result.

One option would be to add one batch of noodles at the start of the cooking process. Wait till they dissolve and the soup is nearly done before adding the rest of the noodles.

Another option is use a different starch food ingredient like some chopped up potato or navy beans at the beginning, and then adding the noodles near the end again.

Both of these options require a long cooking time, but in my opinion, add nutritional value to the soup.

There are also fast starches like plain flour, or corn starch that can work in anywhere from a few minutes to a few seconds. The easiest way I've found to add them is to mix them with a little bit of cold water to form a slurry, and then pour the slurry into the boiling soup while stirring rapidly. Using the right amount takes some practice, but remember that they both thicken a bit more as the soup cools, so don't add too much when it's boiling.

For sauces, I like to reduce the amount of water a bit first through boiling before adding a quick starch. For stews and soups I prefer a nutritional starch at the beginning of the cooking process.

Answer 5

Two things to consider. They get their soup in a bag. It sits around all day cooking off starch from the noodles.

This is not a criticism, per se, of old country buffet, just something to realize about restaurant products. That soup they served you almost definitely has been sealed in plastic for days if not weeks. A lot of the starch from the noodles will dissolve into the stock and thicken it. Also, as it sits all day and cooks, to be ready for service, this process continues.

I think the corn-starch theory is right (although I wouldn't be surprised if restaurant soups used a more nefarious chemical treatment), but cooking your soup on a low simmer for 10-12 hours would probably have some starch-releasing effects as well.

Answer 6

My sister made her soup with the packet of the seasoning mix from a box of macaroni and cheese. I know this is kind of going against the natural homemade idea, but it was absolutely delicious.

Answer 7

Most restaurant soups for chain restaurants also contains MSG or flavor enhancer as it is sometimes called. Corn starch is also in the list of ingredients. Unless you have small restaurant type place that makes its own soup it is precooked and plastic bagged. Some Denny's use it correctly others water is down pinching penny's and driving away customers

Answer 8

as an ex professional chef,can I weigh in ??

In the trade, we used to get whole, gutted chickens. After we had removed the breasts and thighs, and some times, the wings also, we would end up with a couple of 100 carcasses, which would go into a big stock pot, bones, bits of meat, skin, fat, even the occasional feather !

To that you would add carrot, leek, celery, onion and herbs, rosemary, thyme, parsley stalks & bay leaf, whole black peppercorns, but NO SALT. Cover with cold water and bring to a rapid boil. As the water heats up, it liquefies the fat, which rises to the top, along with other 'crap' that has to be skimmed off and thrown out. If you don't do this, your stock will taste horrible, and by extension, your soup will too.

Once your stock has come to a boil, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, and let it alone for at least 4 hours, but 6 is better.

PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THIS IS INDUSTRIAL QUANTITIES. I WOULD SUGGEST 90 MINUTES FOR DOMESTIC.

Continue to skim off any scum that comes to the top, and add cold clean water to keep the level of liquid above the bones.

When you come to sieve the stock, DON'T STIR IT, you'll make it cloudy, and you don't want that. Ladle it out, through a muslin lined sieve, or chinois, into a clean pan. What you are looking for is a light amber colour, with no bits in it. Rapidly boil this down to about 2/3 d's its volume. This concentrates the flavour, and helps to thicken the soup a little. Once reduced, taste, and adjust for seasoning. NOW YOU CAN ADD SALT, if needed.

Now then, there are several ways of doing 'phase 2', which is prepping your meat & veg for the soup. I shall instruct you for the easier, and quicker way, because I'm sure you're hungry! Dice the meat up into what-ever sized pieces you think fit, but really no bigger than an inch (2.5 cm), and peel and dice all the veg that you want in the soup. Pour some of your stock, about 2 pints is enough, into a small boiling pan, and place the chicken meat in it. Add the diced carrots next (If you're using them), and let it simmer for 10 minutes. DON'T FORGET TO SKIM. Add the rest of the veg, and heat until all the veg are cooked. Obviously, your chicken and carrots have to be roughly the same size, or your timings will be out. Strain the meat and veg from the stock, and set aside, keeping it warm.

Now comes 'phase 3'. Assess how much soup you are going to serve, because you are going to thicken-ever so slightly-that amount of soup. Use cornflour (corn starch) about 1 heaped tablespoon is right. Mix with a small amount of cold water, enough to make it runny, and this is important...NO LUMPS !!!.....if you have lumps, sieve it. In fact,sieve it anyway, last thing you want is lumpy soup. Switch off the stock, and gradually pour in the cornflour...STIRRING ALL THE TIME....DO NOT BOIL...

portion out the soup, and garnish with the diced meat and veg. IF you have thickened the soup too much, you can let it down a little with the meat cooking liquor.

The stock you have left over can be cooled and fridged, as can the left over meat and veg.

If you made the stock correctly, it will solidify over night, any impurities rising to the top, which you'll be able to remove and throw away. That stock is now, basically, an un-refined consomme, a good base for many other dishes, if you don't fancy making anymore soup.

This is a recipe for basic chicken soup, you can take it much further: consomme; broth; veloute; cream; enriched or chowder.

I'll be round later, to help with the washing-up.

Bye.

I've just read through some of the previous suggestions.As for cracking the chicken bones...NOT NECESSARY..The bones are small, porous and pliable enough, that 90 mins is waaayy long enough to get any gelatin, and flavour out of them

Answer 9

As to the taste part of your question: high-quality chicken stock/broth, simmered a loooon time, reduced (evaporate water), will start of your soup with a much richer flavor.

In other words - I wouldn't just look at thickness. Do try your own broth, or start from a more high-quality prepared base.

Edit: See Joe's answer (+1) as well about this point.