Spicy ‘Mexican Style’ Chicken Noodle Soup

I had some leftover chicken in the fridge tonight and since the weather here is still a little cool and cloudy I figured it was a perfect pairing for a hot bowl of this Spicy ‘Mexican Style’ Chicken Noodle Soup.

My kids all like chicken noodle soup, I think most people like it, but not me. Is that weird? It’s not that I won’t eat it but I find it a bit boring. I tend to want a bit more spiciness in my bowl. So I decided to spice it up a bit tonight with some with this Spicy ‘Mexican Style’ Chicken Noodle Soup.

This amount probably feeds about 3 large bowls to adults as the main course. It is a bit spicy, I like things pretty spicy, but if you aren’t into that, feel free to add a bit more chicken stock to tone it down a little, or use only half the serrano pepper. My youngest boy ate it up without any trouble, but he is used to his Mom cooking him spicy goodies so I think he has become accustomed to the heat. As for me, I added more hot sauce to mine. I like working up a good sweat with a spicy bowl of soupy noodles.

If you do decide to make this, don’t be shy on the garnishes, they really make the dish! 

INGREDIENTS:

 – 4 medium-sized tomatoes left whole

– 1/2 medium-sized white onion cut into large wedges

 – 1 serrano pepper left whole

 – 3 garlic cloves left in their skin

 – 1 poblano pepper whole

 – 4 cups chicken stock

 – cilantro (about 1/2 a small bunch)

 – Leftover Chicken shredded or chopped

 – Bacon Fat (could sub with regular oil of choice, but the bacon fat adds quite a bit of flavor)

 – Noodles of choice (we used about 200 grams of linguine)

 – Salt to taste

 – Olive oil to toss cooked noodles in

Garnishes:

 *finely chopped white onion *avocado *finely sliced cabbage *cilantro* lime wedges *hot sauce 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente. Drain in a colander, toss with a bit of olive oil so they don’t stick and set aside.

Preheat your broiler and on a sheet pan place your onion, serrano pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and poblano pepper. Roast these under the broiler until they are blackened and roasted well. Keep an eye on them and flip them at least once. It should take 6-8 minutes or so. The poblano pepper may take a bit longer than the rest.

Once done. Remove the garlic cloves from their skin and once the poblano has cooled down rub off the skin and remove the seeds and stem and remove the stem from the serrano pepper. Transfer these and all the rest of your roasted goodness to a blender. Add about 1/3 of a bunch of cilantro and puree.

In a large saucepan on medium heat melt some bacon fat (enough to coat the pan), I’d say about a tbsp or so, to this add your blended mixture and let it cook for about 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Add a little salt at this point. Be sure to taste for seasoning. Once this has cooked for a bit add in your chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce the temp to low, and give it a taste. Adjust the salt if you need to.

To serve, place some noodles in a bowl, ladle in some of the soup and top with shredded chicken, cilantro, shredded cabbage, lime wedges, finely chopped white onion, and a little extra hot sauce if you like.

*Note I always add the noodles to soups only at serving time so they don’t become a soggy overcooked mess.

The soup turned out well. My son gave me a 4.5 out of 5 stars (not too shabby) kids are tough critics! 

If you like this recipe you should try: Spicy Chipotle Shrimp