Jewish Penicillin Chicken & Lokshen Soup
גאָלדענע יויך·(gol-den-uh yoykh)
Weeknight Suppers at Bubbe's Stovetop
A standard three-pound supermarket chicken sits at the bottom of a heavy Dutch oven. Long before it was sold by the quart in New York delicatessens, this soup was simply lunch, ladled over wide yellow egg noodles. The secret isn't some complex, chef-driven spice blend; it's patience, cheap collagen-rich wings, and leaving the papery onion skin on to dye the broth a brilliant, natural gold. Far from a generic, cloudy chicken soup, the broth shimmers. Keep the heat at a bare simmer, skim the gray foam from the surface, and pour it hot over a fistful of fresh dill.
Before you start
Make the broth on Sunday for a seamless weeknight assembly.
Store the strained liquid gold in the fridge and the shredded chicken separately. On a Wednesday night, just boil water for the noodles, heat the broth, and assemble.
Use an electric pressure cooker for a highly respectable weeknight shortcut.
Put all ingredients into an 8-quart Instant Pot, fill to the max line, and cook on High Pressure for 45 minutes with a 15-minute natural release.
Ingredients
- whole chicken3 lb
- chicken wings or backs1 lb
- yellow onion1 large
- parsnips2 large
- carrots3 large
- celery stalks with leaves3 large
- fresh dill1 large bunch
- fresh parsley1 small bunch
- Kosher salt1 tbsp
- whole black peppercorns1 tsp
- fine or wide egg noodles12 oz
Method
- 01
Submerge the whole chicken and extra wings in a massive stockpot with cold water.
Place the whole chicken and wings into an 8- to 12-quart pot and pour in enough cold water to cover them by about two inches. Starting with cold water gently coaxes the flavors out of the bones.
- 02
Bring to a simmer and meticulously skim away the grayish foam.
Heat over medium-high, but do not walk away. As it approaches a boil, coagulated proteins will rise to the surface. Use a slotted spoon or fine mesh skimmer to scoop this away. This is the absolute law for a crystal-clear deli broth.
- 03
Add the vegetables and aromatics, and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting.
Toss in the unpeeled onion, parsnips, carrots, celery, parsley, half the fresh dill, salt, and peppercorns. You want a lazy, occasional bubble breaking the surface—never a rolling boil. Cover partially and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- 04
Strain the broth, reserve the chicken and carrots, and shred the meat.
Carefully remove the chicken and vegetables. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot. Discard the spent herbs, wings, and onion, but save the carrots. Once the chicken cools, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- 05
Steep the remaining fresh dill in the hot broth for exactly one minute.
Bring the strained broth back to a gentle simmer. Add the shredded chicken, cooked carrots, and the rest of the fresh dill. Let it steep for 60 to 120 seconds, then fish the dill out and discard it. This leaves a vibrant herbal note without tasting swampy. Taste and adjust salt.
- 06
Boil the egg noodles in a separate pot of salted water.
Never cook noodles directly in the soup, or they will soak up the broth and turn it cloudy. Drain well and place a mound in the bottom of each bowl before ladling the hot soup and schmaltz over the top.
Notes
Embrace the chicken fat.
If you chill the soup overnight, the fat (schmaltz) solidifies on top. You can lift most of it off, but leave at least a tablespoon or two melted into the hot soup for that velvety, authentic mouthfeel.
Swap the noodles during Passover.
When flour is forbidden during Pesach, use matzah balls or make traditional Passover lokshen by frying thin egg crepes, rolling them like cigars, and slicing them into delicate ribbons.