How do YOU make chicken and rice soup?

[Ali in OR]

I've never made it, but I put it on the menu for tonight because I'm in the mood for it. I'm googling lots of recipes, but don't have a clear direction yet. I bought a whole chicken yesterday and made homemade stock. So I will use that stock and some of the chicken. I probably have 4 cups of chicken--20 oz, so maybe half of it? Should I make rice ahead and put it in cooked, or should I let it cook in the broth? 1 cup of uncooked rice or less? Looks like I should saute the carrots and celery first? Should I use onion and garlic too? Veggies will definitely be diced small. 8 cups of broth seems like it will make too much for us--dh will have 2 bowls and 1 dd and I will each have 1. Disabled dd won't eat much broth but will have chicken and veggies. Picky eater probably won't eat any.

 

So anyway, tell me how YOU make chicken and rice soup and feel free to offer opinions on what I should do! Thanks.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You can cook the rice in the broth.  You can saute the veg first or not.  Honestly I really don't notice a difference.  You can use onion and garlic.  I would put the chicken in just to heat it up at the end.  Two cups sounds about right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ondreeuh]

I dice 2 carrots, 3-4 celery ribs, and a large onion. I sauté those in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes, then add 3-4 cloves of pressed garlic. A little ginger would be great, but I don't usually have it. Then I stir in maybe a tablespoon of curry powder and cook about a minute. I add 8 cups of broth and 2-3 cups of cooked, chopped chicken. I bring it to a boil and add a cup or so of rice. Simmer 20 minutes or until rice is done. Salt to taste.

 

This makes dinner for 4 and enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

 

A variation is to use less broth, and then add some cream at the end.

 

I made a similar dish tonight, but I added zucchini, skipped the curry powder, used dried thyme, and used gnocchi instead of rice. Sometimes I do egg noodles or spätzle.

Edited January 4, 2018 by ondreeuh

[laundrycrisis]

I cook all the parts separately - chicken, rice, veggies - and add them all to heated stock.   I do this because there is a specific way that I like to cook each of the three parts, and this way all the parts end up being the way I like them. (super soft instant pot chicken, barely cooked veggies in olive oil, and perfect rice cooker rice. )

[marbel]

One of my kids loves chicken rice soup.   I make some pretty frequently and it is about the only thing I can't give measurements on.  

 

I cook the rice in the stock; our preference is for Arborio though I will use whatever I have.  Sometimes I add sauteed onion, sometimes not.  I tend not to add carrot because it adds a sweetness no one likes.  I don't add celery because no one but me can abide the taste.  Say, 1/2 cup rice to 2 cups stock, about, I think.

 

When the rice is ready I put the chicken in just to warm it through.  I just put in handfuls till it looks like the right thickness.  Sometimes I won't have as much as I'd like, but it's still fine.

 

Often I make a version of avgolemono by adding lemon juice and one or more eggs, and extra black pepper.   

 

 

 

 

[ondreeuh]

The never thought of curry! Thank you.

I love Frontier Spices curry - such a warm and buttery flavor. Mmmmm.

[athena1277]

I make it in the crockpot using this recipe. However, because I have very picky eaters, the only veggie I put in is carrots.

 

http://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2008/02/crockpot-chicken-and-rice-soup.html

[FriedClams]

I make normal chicken soup but tonight I'm making this Greek creamy chicken lemon rice soup. It's amazing and super easy.

 

http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2016/03/instant-pot-to-rescue-avgolemono-soup.html?m=1

[KungFuPanda]

My tip is not to add the rice until you serve it. Cook it separately and combine in the bowl. The soup works better and the leftovers work better.

[KungFuPanda]

My tip is not to add the rice until you serve it. Cook it separately and combine in the bowl. The soup works better and the leftovers work better.

[Chris in VA]

I don't even use homemade stock, most of the time, so good on you for that step! It's so much better your way. 

 

I saute celery, onion and a little garlic, throw it in with salt and pepper, and add cooked chicken. If I try to cook the rice in the stock, I end up with huge, swollen rice and it takes up the whole pot! lol So, I cook the rice separately. 

 

I'm not much of a cook.  :laugh:

[Tree Frog]

I think chicken soup is one of those recipes in which you'll get a different recipe from each cook you ask.  :laugh: 

I toss everything but the chicken in the stock (rice, veggies, seasonings, and definitely garlic!). Cook it however long it takes the rice to cook, and it's done. Cooking the rice in the pot doesn't bother us because the next day, we have chicken and rice, a comfort food in our house. Sometimes I'll add chicken bouillon if the broth isn't flavorful enough. Chicken is added just before serving.

 

ETA: Originally posted from my phone and needed to clean up the post.

Edited January 5, 2018 by wilrunner

[KungFuPanda]

For what it’s worth, my kids prefer it with lots herbs. The Italian seasoning blend is a good choice if you don’t want to chop a bunch of different things or don’t have fresh on hand.

[73349]

[i often make bread with soup, so I start that first.] Cook a previously roasted chicken carcass (or a fresh chicken with the breasts removed for other use) in a stock pot of water for about 2.5 hours, until it's falling apart. Remove all bones and whatever you want from any meat. (White meat is a bit stringy after long cooking.)

 

Add to the pot a yellow onion (peeled, whole or halved) and four cloves of garlic (peeled, whole).

 

Start cutting up 4 carrots, 4 stalks of celery and some tomatoes (or use a can of Italian-style stewed or diced tomatoes). Once it's all in there, cook for another 1 to 1.5 hours.

 

Put in a few twists of pepper and a good sprinkling of oregano. When it's almost done, add any reserved meat you want, or cooked kidney beans (canned if you like, rinsed well and drained). This is also the time to add some kernels of corn or zucchini slices if desired.

 

Meanwhile, cook rice or pasta (such as acini) in a separate pan. Put a some rice/pasta in each person's bowl and cover it with soup. Sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

[Ali in OR]

Thank you all!

 

I have several soups I make from recipes, but I'm not much of a soup artiste--I can't just wing it and riff off of an idea. I just need to make it a lot more often and try different things. Thanks to tips from you guys, our soup tonight turned out just the way I imagined it. With the rich homemade stock, I didn't need to do much to punch up the flavor (and I was going for a clean, simple soup tonight). So here's what worked:

 

Sautéd 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, and about 1/2 c. onion all diced small. Added 2 cloves minced garlic toward the end

Added 6 cups stock and simmered awhile

Only added 1/4 tsp salt a few grinds of pepper, and a dash of oregano (made the 8 cups of stock with less than a tsp salt as we watch sodium).

Made 3/4 cup jasmine rice in rice cooker.

Added 2 well-rounded cups of chicken (from making the stock) and heated it through.

Put rice in bowl and ladled soup on top.

 

Perfect! And just the right amount to feed 4 of us with no leftovers (picky eater abstained).

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Ali in OR