Whenever I bring a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, my family quickly grabs the thick legs, meaty thighs, crisp wings—anything with dark meat and skin. The chicken breasts clinging to the carcass are the leftovers.
The Filipino in me was taught never to throw away leftover food, especially half a chicken with a lot of meat left on it. I learned early on from my mother various ways to use roast chicken after the favorite parts had been devoured.
I repurpose the leftovers into a bubbling stockpot of sopas, a classic Filipino chicken noodle soup, with tender chicken nestled next to elbow macaroni and carrots swirling in a savory, creamy broth. The transformation, which takes under 30 minutes, is magical.
Make It Your Own
When my children were small, this sopas was a creative way to make them eat vegetables. I added cooked green beans in small pieces, corn kernels, green peas, cabbage strips, or shredded greens like bok choy, spinach, or kale. Add your favorites if you’d like to amp up the vegetable content.
Here are some more tweaks I can recommend:
- Other varieties of macaroni or pasta can be used instead of elbow macaroni.
- In place of store-bought stock, use homemade stock made from the carcass of the chicken. Or use water plus a chicken bouillon cube or concentrate.
- Instead of whole milk for the broth, use fat-free, lactose-free, or even evaporated milk.
- Add leftovers like ham, soup dumplings, or beef and pork strips to the sopas for a hearty all-in-one soup.
Simply Recipes / Shilpa Iyer
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