Chicken and Ham Sopas Recipe

This is the sopas I make when I have a little more time and a piece of ham sitting in the fridge. Chicken and Ham Sopas is a creamy Filipino macaroni soup built on ground chicken, chopped ham, vegetables, and evaporated milk, cooked here with wide egg noodles instead of elbow macaroni. It is heavier than the popular chicken sopas most of us know, mainly because of the ham and the potato. I like Chicken and Ham Sopas on cold days when the soup has to work as an actual meal and not just something warm before dinner.

When I need something faster, I make a quick egg drop soup instead. What I like about ground chicken here is that it goes into the pot with no boiling and no shredding, and it holds the butter and ham flavor better than shredded breast meat does. The usual worry with a milk based soup is curdling, and that does not happen as long as you lower the heat before the evaporated milk goes in.

Wide egg noodles keep absorbing broth even after the heat is off. I cook them just short of tender and keep an extra cup of broth or water nearby for the second bowl.

What is Chicken and Ham Sopas?

Chicken and Ham Sopas is a Filipino soup of pasta, chicken, ham, and vegetables in a broth enriched with evaporated milk. The name comes from the Spanish word for soup, but the sopas we know today is distinctly Filipino, usually made with evaporated milk and elbow macaroni.

Ham is in this version for a practical reason. Many Filipino households have cured ham left after Christmas or New Year, and sopas is an easy way to use it. Adding ham to a traditional macaroni sopas makes the broth saltier and slightly sweet, which is why this bowl tastes fuller than the everyday version.

Sopas is served for merienda or an early dinner, especially when someone in the house is not feeling well. It is a rainy day soup in the Philippines and a cold weather soup for Filipinos abroad. Sopas is often made in a big pot, served hot, and finished the next morning.

Ingredients

• Ground chicken – Regular ground chicken works better than extra lean here. A little fat keeps the meat from going grainy in the broth.
• Ham – Chop it into small cubes rather than slices so every spoonful gets some. Leftover Christmas ham is ideal; thick cut deli ham is the easy substitute.
• Wide egg noodles – My choice here. Elbow macaroni is the traditional sopas pasta and works the same way, so use whichever you have.
• Evaporated milk – Use the canned kind, not condensed milk, which is sweetened. No evaporated milk on hand? See Substitutions below.
• Butter – A quarter cup sounds like a lot, but it is what gives the broth body before the milk goes in.
• Yellow onion – One medium onion, diced small so it disappears into the broth.
• Celery – Two ribs are enough. More than that and the soup tastes green.
• Potato – One large potato, diced. This is what makes the bowl filling enough to count as a meal.
• Carrots – Dice them the same size as the potato so both finish at once.
• Chicken broth and water – I use both. All broth turns the soup too salty once the ham gets going.
• Dried thyme – Half a teaspoon. It is not a traditional sopas seasoning, but it suits the ham and the egg noodles.
• Salt and ground black pepper – Season at the very end, after the ham and broth have done their part.

Evaporated milk is the ingredient that makes this taste like sopas. It is fresh milk with most of the water removed, so it is thicker, slightly caramelized in flavor, and far more stable in heat. In the United States it sits in the baking aisle in 12 ounce cans, and Filipino and Asian groceries carry it as well.

Once everything is chopped, cook the sopas in three stages: the base, the broth, then the noodles and milk.

1. Heat a deep cooking pot over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt.
2. Add the onion. Sauté for 2 minutes, or until it starts to soften.
3. Add the celery and continue cooking for 1 minute.
4. Put the ground chicken into the pot. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes while breaking it apart with a cooking spoon.

The chicken only needs to lose its raw color here because it will finish cooking during the 20 minute simmer. Do not brown it hard or the meat turns dry by the time the soup is done.

1. Add the chopped ham and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Pour in the chicken broth and water. Let the liquid boil, then reduce the heat.
3. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the potato and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes.

The 20 minute simmer gives the ham time to flavor the broth. This is also where I taste the liquid and decide whether the next addition should be water or more broth.

1. Add the egg noodles or elbow macaroni. Stir and cook according to the package instructions until almost tender.
2. Pour in the evaporated milk. Add the dried thyme and stir.
3. Let the soup gently simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let it boil vigorously after adding the milk.
4. Season with salt and ground black pepper as needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.

Lower the heat before the milk goes in, not after. If the broth is still at a rolling boil when you pour, the milk proteins tighten and the soup turns grainy. It still tastes fine, but there is no way to smooth it back out. I also use wide egg noodles in my American-style chicken noodle soup, but the evaporated milk changes how I handle the heat here.

What to Serve with Chicken and Ham Sopas

• Pandesal – The standard partner for soup at merienda. Day old pandesal is better because it soaks up broth without falling apart.
• Toasted garlic – A spoonful on top of each bowl. It cuts through the milk and is how I like my sopas served.
• Steamed white rice – Common in Filipino homes when sopas is the main dish at lunch or dinner rather than a snack.
• Saltine crackers – For anyone under the weather who wants something plain alongside it.
• Ground black pepper at the table – This soup takes more pepper than most people expect.

Storage

By the next day, the noodles will have absorbed most of the broth. Add a little water or broth when reheating.

• Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Expect it to look more like a thick pasta dish than a soup when you open it.
• Freezer: Freeze it without the noodles for up to 2 months. Milk based broth separates a little after thawing, so stir well while it warms and cook fresh noodles for serving.
• Reheating: Warm it on the stove over low to medium heat with a splash of broth or water to loosen it. Keep it below a boil so the milk stays smooth.

More Filipino Soup Recipes

• Creamy Macaroni Soup (ala Jollibee) – The fast food style macaroni soup, made with a cream of mushroom base and sweet corn.
• Chicken Sotanghon Soup – Glass noodles with shredded chicken, carrots, and cabbage in a clear broth.
• Chicken Mami – Filipino noodle soup with fresh egg noodles, boiled egg, and plenty of fried garlic on top.
• Chicken Arroz Caldo – Filipino chicken and rice porridge flavored with ginger and served with calamansi.
• Batchoy – The Ilonggo pork noodle soup, richer and topped with chicharon.

• Ground chicken – Ground pork or ground turkey both work. Pork makes the broth richer, so go easier on the butter if you use it.
• Wide egg noodles – Elbow macaroni is the traditional choice for sopas. Farfalle and rotini also hold their shape well in a milk broth.
• Evaporated milk – About one and a half cups of fresh whole milk in place of the can, though the broth comes out thinner. Add it at the same point and keep the heat just as low.
• Ham – Vienna sausage, sliced hotdog, or bacon are all common in Filipino sopas. Turkey and ham can also go in together, which is how I cook the turkey and ham sopas after the holidays.
• Potato – Leave it out for a lighter bowl or add more carrot instead. Cabbage also works and only needs the last 2 minutes.

Chicken and Ham Sopas is the version I reach for when a bowl of soup needs to be dinner. Serve it hot with toasted garlic on top.