Chicken Noodle Soup for One

Chicken Noodle Soup for One
Jonathan Player for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(527)
Notes
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Home alone? This is a superfast soup that is meant to feed one person — that’s right, one. Soy sauce, sherry and ginger give tang and heat to the broth, and udon noodles lend a decidedly Asian feel. And with the added flavors of chicken, spinach and sugar-snap peas, it’s healthy and filling.

Featured in: Cooking for One Discerning Diner: Yourself

Learn: How to Make Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving
  • cups chicken broth
  • 15-ounce chicken breast, sliced into strips to yield about ¾ cup
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1tablespoon sake, sherry or white wine
  • ½teaspoon minced ginger
  • ¼cup baby corn in 1-inch pieces
  • 1long red chili, seeded and finely sliced into rings
  • 1scallion, finely sliced into rings
  • 1cup baby spinach
  • 8ounces fresh or cooked udon noodles
  • ½cup sugar snap peas
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

735 calories; 11 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 95 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 59 grams protein; 1478 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat chicken broth. In a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, cook chicken strips without any oil until they are opaque, then add soy sauce and sake, allowing them to reduce slightly. Add chicken and sauce to broth.

  2. Step 2

    Increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Add ginger, corn, chili, scallion, spinach, noodles and peas. Simmer mixture for a minute or two until vegetables are tender and noodles, if fresh, have cooked, or if cooked, are reheated. Serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
527 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Omitted the chicken and added a poached egg. Can also substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth for a satisfying vegetarian meal.

Great recipe. I increased each measurement by 4, opted for white wine, added 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 minced shallot, a pinch of celery salt, an extra 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, extra spinach, minus noodles and sweetcorn. Delicious!

Love, love, love this recipe. Few things Ive adjusted having made it quite a few times, I put way more ginger in (approx. 1/2 to 1tbpsn), and sometimes I add a clove of garlic and/or the white part of a scallion pressed with the back of a knife to release the flavour. I dont particularly like spinach so I add one stick of celery and a carrot, both finely diced. Im sure you could add any quick cook veg to this. Great recipe.

My veg version used Trader Joe's ginger-miso broth. I sautéed mushrooms, tofu, baby corn, ginger, shallot, and leek. Then, I added white wine, broth, and a bit of soy sauce. Baby spinach was last in the pot with a small bit of sesame oil. I topped my bowl with a little green scallion. This time I left out the chili and the peas, but they will be great in subsequent versions. I can't wait to make this again! A very flexible recipe.

made it without corn and peas but with lots of spinach.
My sick young man loved it !!!

I played with the ratios - 48 oz of chicken broth, tripled the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, sake - you get the idea. I also used whole wheat ramen noodles. At the end of the day, it was a delicious soup. My only change moving forward would be to marinade the meat in the sauce so it picks up a bit more of the flavor and to cut the meat into chunks rather than into strips.

double the ingredients to serve 2

I didn't have chicken or snap peas, but it was still excellent with homemade turkey stock. Look forward to trying it with all of the ingredients.

Amazing! So delicious. Mince the ginger quite small - maybe even paste it if possible. I loved the way it subtly infused its flavor into the soup- but when I got to the bottom of the bowl, I didn’t love little chunks delivering big pops of ginger all at once. This is also best eaten with chopsticks and slurping. So good!

I used a soy sauce with 50% less sodium. It wasn't too salty.

I added more broth just so I have more soup but this was bomb !

Another idea is to slide a raw egg in (when everything is already in the bowl) and cover the bowl for three minutes with a plate. The egg cooks a little bit and generally adds to the unctuousness of the soup.

Also added a couple cloves minced garlic

like the poached egg idea

I made it for two with only chicken, ginger, mushrooms and scallions. And I used vermouth in the broth instead of opening a bottle of wine. Yum.

good but chicken needs seasoning or marination

Subbed out kale for the spinach, sautéed the pepper/scallion/ginger plus some garlic and shiitakes prior to adding, the decided to turn into a hot and sour by adding a bit of rice vinegar and hoisin sauce. Otherwise by the book-wow!

Good! Nice tangy flavor. Sauted mushrooms. 1” chopped fresh garlic and one clove garlic , 1 head thinly sliced broccoli in olive oil. Added 1 1/2 breast cooked chopped chicken, 2 1/2T soy sauce, 2T sherry cooking wine, 1/2 pepper seeded and chopped. Stirred for a few minuted then added 40oz chicken broth and heated to boiling. Added odon noodles the chopped pea pods and spinach and boiled for a few min.

Simple, flavorful, unexpectedly good. Used ramen (the cheap made for college kids ramen) for the noodles, cooked in three minutes. Delicious!!!!

Used instant ramen for noodles, including powder for flavor. Made a cabbage slaw - cabbage, lemon, lime, salt, dill, sugar, garlic, added to top. SO GOOD

Finally, a recipe for one. I wish the Times would offer a quick way to scale their recipes up or down and offer more recipes with a only half dozen or so ingredients.

Great soup! But it needs more broth, soy, ginger, and sherry. The soba noodles were perfect.

Nigella is genius! This is well known and I don't have to say it even. She turns the ordinary into extraordinary and that is why we have geniuses on this earth. I made this one week before Christmas/21 when I came down with the flu. The bloody flu during a pandemic! How can that happen? Thank you for one more recipe Nigella that saved my day big time. Love always.

Really comforting dish. I added eggs, shitake mushrooms, garlic, coriander and lime which all worked nicely!

Wonderful recipe, but this part had me confused: 8 ounces fresh, or cooked udon noodles. the ingredients should read 3.5 oz uncooked, 8 ounces cooked udon noodles - big weight difference after cooking!

Made using costcos millet and brown rice noodles, cooking in the broth that I increased to 6 cups. Altogether it took less than 30 minutes to pull together. Used what I had in the fridge and freezer (chicken breast,frozen corn, jalepeno sliced, green onion, ginger and a bag of baby spinach, then cilantro and lime at the end). Now I have leftovers for the 2 of us.

Use rice noodles and Tamari to make it gluten free.

Definitely going to try this. Would also love to see more smaller recipes. My household consists of me and my boyfriend and often we don't eat leftovers so smaller scale recipes are perfect for us.

I made it for two with only chicken, ginger, mushrooms and scallions. And I used vermouth in the broth instead of opening a bottle of wine. Yum.

First “meal” 24 hours post food poisoning recovery (bad restaurant tiramisu)... tons more ginger, thin slices of garlic, a little fish sauce, rice noodles, lots of cilantro, parsley, lime... more Pho-ish.

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