Chicken Sotanghon Soup

Chicken Sotanghon Soup is a Filipino noodle soup with shredded chicken, soft glass noodles, carrots, and cabbage in a warm chicken broth. Annatto water gives it a light orange color, and roasted garlic and chopped scallions go on top of every bowl. I like mixing the roasted garlic into the hot broth before eating. It always makes me feel comfortable, any time of the day and regardless of the season.

I make the broth by boiling chicken breast with a bay leaf, then shredding the meat once it has cooled. Instead of throwing away the cooking liquid, I use it for the soup. The sotanghon cooks directly in that broth with a Knorr Chicken Cube, followed by the carrots and cabbage, and once the chicken is prepared, the rest takes less than 20 minutes.

I usually have it as a mid-afternoon snack, but there are times when I crave for it early in the morning. Sometimes, I eat this as a meal for lunch with rice.

What is Chicken Sotanghon Soup?

Sotanghon is what we call glass noodles in the Philippines. These thin noodles are usually made from mung bean starch and turn almost transparent when cooked. Do not confuse them with bihon, which is made from rice and stays white.

In chicken sotanghon soup, the noodles are cooked directly in the chicken broth along with the shredded chicken and vegetables. Sotanghon can also be prepared without broth, as in my pancit sotanghon recipe.

Why This Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe Works

• Noodles that taste like the soup – The sotanghon cooks right in the seasoned broth instead of in separate water, so it takes in the chicken flavor as it softens.
• A toasted garlic taste in the broth – The minced garlic goes in first and cooks until light golden before the onion and celery. That is where the flavor comes from.
• Tender vegetables, cabbage with a little bite – The carrots and cabbage only get the last 5 minutes, after the noodles have softened.

Ingredients

• Chicken breast – Boneless and skinless. It shreds cleanly after 20 minutes in the pot.
• Chicken Bouillon – Dissolves into the stock and gives it a fuller chicken taste than the boiled breast alone.
• Sotanghon noodles – Check the label for mung bean starch. The pack may also say bean thread, glass noodles, or vermicelli.
• Water – Seven cups. The chicken boils in it first.
• Dried bay leaf – One leaf goes into the boiling water with the chicken. Take it out when you take the chicken out.
• Cabbage – Regular green cabbage, shredded. Napa cabbage also works and softens faster.
• Carrot – Julienned so it cooks through in 5 minutes.
• Scallions – Chopped, and stirred in at the very end so they stay green.
• Celery – Chopped small so it softens quickly.
• Onion – Yellow or red, chopped.
• Garlic – Five cloves, minced, for the saute. Brown it lightly.
• Roasted garlic – Stirred in at the very end so it keeps its crunch. Bottled fried garlic from the Filipino store works too.
• Fish sauce and ground black pepper – These season the soup after the cube goes in.
• Annatto water – Annatto seeds soaked in warm water. It is there for color and changes the taste very little.
• Cooking oil – Any neutral oil for the saute.

Annatto seeds are also called atsuete or achiote. Soak 1 teaspoon of seeds in 3/4 cup warm water for 10 minutes, stirring now and then until the water turns orange, then strain and throw the seeds away. You can find the seeds at Filipino and Asian stores, and sometimes in the Hispanic section of a regular supermarket under the name achiote.

Annatto powder works too. Stir half a teaspoon into a little hot stock until it dissolves, then pour it into the pot. The color can come out stronger than the water, so add more only if the broth looks too pale. If you already keep annatto oil in the pantry, you can use a tablespoon of it instead, and add 3/4 cup of water or stock so the soup still has the same amount of broth.

1. Bring 7 cups of water to a boil in a cooking pot. Add the bay leaf and the chicken breast.
2. Cover and boil over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
3. Remove the chicken and let it cool. Reserve the stock in the pot.
4. Shred the chicken and set it aside.

Check the thickest part of the chicken with a meat thermometer. It should reach 165°F before you shred it.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a large pot. Saute the minced garlic until light golden brown, then add the onion and celery. Continue sauteing until the onion softens.
2. Add the shredded chicken and saute for 2 minutes.

1. Pour in the reserved chicken stock and bring it to a boil.
2. Add the Knorr Chicken Cube and stir until it dissolves.
3. Pour in the annatto water and add the sotanghon noodles, pushing the dry bundles down into the broth. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until the noodles are clear and soft.
4. Add the carrot and cabbage. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.

1. Season with fish sauce and ground black pepper to taste.
2. Add the roasted garlic and chopped scallions. Stir, then transfer to serving bowls and serve hot.

What to Serve with Chicken Sotanghon Soup

• Rice – Spoon the broth over it when the soup is the meal.
• Pandesal – Good for dipping when the soup is a mid-afternoon snack.
• Patis and calamansi – A small dish on the side so everyone can adjust their own bowl. Crushed chili goes in there too if you want it spicy.

Storage

• Refrigerator: Let the soup cool a little, then refrigerate it in a covered container within 2 hours. It keeps for up to 3 days. The noodles keep soaking up broth in the refrigerator, so expect less liquid when you take it out. Add a splash of water or broth when you reheat it.
• Freezer: The finished soup does not freeze well because the noodles turn mushy once thawed. If you want to work ahead, freeze the shredded chicken and the stock together for up to 2 months, then cook the noodles and vegetables fresh in the thawed stock.
• Reheating: Warm it in a pot over medium heat until steaming hot, stirring so the noodles do not stick to the bottom. Add fresh scallions and roasted garlic after reheating.

More Filipino Noodle Soup Recipes

• Chicken Sotanghon Soup with Patola – Chicken pieces and sliced patola in a broth colored with annatto oil.
• Chicken Sotanghon Soup with Malunggay and Sayote – Shredded chicken with sayote and malunggay leaves, with no annatto in the broth.
• Spicy Sotanghon Chicken Soup – Chicken pieces simmered with ginger, lemongrass, and Thai chili.
• Sotanghon with Sayote and Giniling – Ground pork and chayote with the annatto bloomed in oil instead of water.
• Sotanghon with Upo Soup – Pork and small shrimp with sliced bottle gourd in chicken broth.
• Chicken Mami – Fresh egg noodles in clear chicken broth with carrot and Napa cabbage.
• Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup – Round miki noodles with chicken, chicken liver, and bacon in the broth.

• Chicken breast – Bone-in thighs work the same way. Boil them with the bay leaf, pull the meat off the bones, and use the stock. Two cups of leftover cooked chicken also work, with 7 cups of chicken broth in place of the water.
• No chicken at all – Boiled eggs can take its place. I first made it that way back when we were still living in Chicago. I had run out of chicken that day and used boiled eggs instead, and I kept making it that way since. That version is my sotanghon and egg noodle soup.
• Knorr Chicken Cube – Any chicken bouillon cube, or 1 teaspoon of chicken powder.
• Sotanghon noodles – Korean sweet potato glass noodles work too, but they are thicker and may need a few more minutes in the broth. Bihon can be used in a pinch, but the soup will look and taste different. Wide egg noodles turn it into something closer to my chicken noodle soup recipe.
• Celery – Kinchay, or Chinese celery, works in its place. Use less of it since it tastes stronger.

Ladle the soup as soon as the last stir is done, while there is still plenty of broth in the pot. The broth should be light orange and clear, the chicken soft enough to pull apart with a spoon, and the noodles slippery and full of the broth they cooked in. A bowl like that is a snack on its own, and with rice on the side it becomes lunch.