For every cook who knows from real chicken soup, there are probably six others who think it's fine to simmer naked chicken breasts in canned broth and call it a day. Convenience has its place in the kitchen; that's what modernity demands.
But in the matter of homemade vs. expedient, the latter settles for less.
Restorative and magic-cure powers aside, a bowl of real chicken soup satisfies at almost any time of year because it's the lightest comfort food around. Its aroma is as complex as that of handcrafted coffee, with a hint of sweetness and grassy herb. Its vegetables are crisp-tender, the phrase food writers reach for when describing a plant texture that yields to a gentle bite. Some noodles, maybe a planetary matzoh ball, may have been introduced just long enough to absorb a broth whose surface must shimmer with diaphanous fat.
The chicken itself ought to taste like . . . chicken.
All of that doesn't happen in 30 minutes. However, it can take less work and less time than you may think. Through testing and tips from experts, we have developed a method for making chicken soup that fits the description above.
Hopefully, it can convince the canned broth-ers and the takeout-reliant to go an extra step or two, and it might even budge more-experienced hands to tweak their own favorite recipes. The perfume of this soup on the stove could do that all on its own.
The Washington Post