Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup

Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup starts with chicken thighs, bone and all. They cost less than boneless breast and the bone keeps working on the broth the whole time the meat cooks. This is my miki noodle version: chicken, chopped chicken liver, crumbled bacon, cabbage, carrot, and patis. Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup is not one fixed recipe in the Philippines. There are several, and this one sits between chicken mami and lomi. I add the liver early so it breaks down into the liquid, and that is what gives the broth its depth.

It is my crossover between mami and chicken lomi, so you get the clear broth from one and the fat and body from the other. On a rainy day I can finish two bowls. I keep both the bacon and the liver in the pot because they give the broth its flavor.

Add the miki noodles last and cook them for 5 to 7 minutes. Everything else in the pot is already cooked by that point, so the noodles need nothing more than enough time to soften. That short cooking time keeps the noodles from becoming too soft.

What is Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup?

Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup is any Filipino noodle soup built on a chicken broth, and the Philippines has a whole group of them instead of one standard bowl. Mami uses fresh egg noodles in a clear broth topped with toasted garlic. Sotanghon uses glass noodles and gets its orange color from annatto. Chicken sopas uses elbow macaroni and milk. Lomi uses thick miki noodles in a broth tightened with cornstarch and egg. Misua uses very thin wheat noodles that soften in a minute. The recipe on this page uses round miki noodles and lands between mami and lomi.

Most of these bowls came through Chinese panciteria cooking in Manila. Mami is credited to Ma Mon Luk, a Chinese immigrant who sold noodle soup around the city in the early 1900s, and the name stuck to the whole style. Sopas took a different road. It followed the American colonial period, which is why it uses macaroni and milk while the rest of the family stays broth based, and it is the Filipino bowl that sits closest to American chicken noodle soup. Batchoy came up in Iloilo with pork innards and chicharon in the bowl.

These soups show up at merienda, at lunch, or late in the afternoon when it is raining and nobody wants a full plate of rice. That is when I reach for this one. One pot feeds the table, and everybody fixes their own bowl with patis and calamansi the way they like it.

Why This Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe Works

This Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup gets its flavor from four things cooking together in one pot: chicken on the bone, liver, bacon, and patis.

• Chicken simmered with the bone in – It gives the broth more body and a fuller chicken taste over the 30 minute simmer.
• Chicken liver added early – The liver softens and breaks apart during the simmer. It thickens the broth slightly and gives it a deeper flavor than chicken alone.
• Bacon stirred in with the vegetables – The bacon gives the broth salt, smoke, and richness.
• Patis instead of plain salt – It seasons the broth and gives it a savory flavor of its own.
• Miki cooked directly in the broth – The noodles release a little starch as they cook, which gives the broth more body.

Ingredients

• Chicken – Cut into small serving pieces. Thighs with the bone still in are what I use, since the bone works on the broth while the meat cooks.
• Chicken liver – Chopped small so it melts into the broth instead of sitting in chunks. You can leave it out or use one of the substitutions below.
• Bacon – Cooked and crumbled. It is the smoke and the salt in the bowl.
• Round miki noodles – Fresh thick wheat and egg noodles that soak up broth and stay soft.
• Cabbage – Core removed and chopped. Goes in near the end so it keeps a little bite.
• Carrot – Julienned. Cut thin so it cooks in the same window as the cabbage.
• Yellow onion – Diced, and sautéed first with the garlic.
• Garlic – Crushed. This goes in first with the onion to start the soup.
• Green onions – Chopped and stirred in at the end so they stay fresh.
• Chicken broth and water – The broth carries the flavor and the water keeps the soup from turning too salty as it reduces.
• Fish sauce – Patis. The main seasoning here.
• Cooking oil – For sautéing the garlic and onion.

A closer look at round miki noodles. Miki is a fresh wheat noodle made with egg, sold in coils in the refrigerated section of Filipino and Chinese groceries, usually near the fresh lumpia wrappers. The round version is thick and slightly chewy, which is exactly why it holds up in a broth this rich. It cooks fast, in 5 to 7 minutes. If you can only find dried miki, cook it a minute short of the package time before it goes into the soup. Fresh Hokkien noodles are the closest supermarket substitute.

Cooking this Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup is mostly waiting on the broth. Get the base going, let it simmer, and everything after that happens in the last 15 minutes.

1. Cook the bacon strips until crisp, then crumble them and set aside.
2. Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
3. Sauté the garlic and onion until the onion softens.
4. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the outside turns light brown.

Let the chicken sit undisturbed for the first minute in the pot. That light browning gives the broth more flavor.

1. Add the chopped chicken liver and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
2. Pour in the water and chicken broth, let the liquid boil, then cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken becomes tender.

Skim the foam that rises in the first few minutes if you want a clearer soup. Keep the pot at a slow simmer rather than a hard boil, since a rolling boil pulls the fat into the liquid and clouds it.

1. Add the bacon, carrot, and cabbage.
2. Stir and cook for 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Pour in the fish sauce and stir.
4. Taste the broth before the noodles go in.

The broth should taste slightly stronger than you want the finished soup to be. The noodles absorb seasoning along with the liquid.

1. Add the miki noodles and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the noodles are done.
2. Add more chicken broth or water if the soup becomes too thick.
3. Stir in the green onions.
4. Transfer to serving bowls. Serve hot.

Pull the pot off the heat as soon as the noodles bend without a firm center. They continue softening in the hot broth all the way to the table.

What to Serve with Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup

• Calamansi – A squeeze over the bowl cuts through the liver and the bacon fat
• Patis with chili – A small dish on the side so everyone can season their own bowl
• Toasted garlic – Spoon it over the top for crunch and aroma, the way mami is served
• Pandesal – Soft rolls for dipping straight into the broth
• Boiled egg – Halved and set on top to make the bowl a full meal
• Steamed white rice – For anyone who wants something heavier alongside the soup

Storage

This Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup keeps well, though the noodles and the broth need to be handled a little differently once they cool.

• Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The miki keeps absorbing broth in the fridge, so the soup will look thick and short on liquid by the next day.
• Freezer: Freeze the broth and chicken for up to 2 months, without the noodles. Miki turns soft and breaks apart after thawing, so cook a fresh batch when you reheat.
• Reheating: Warm it in a pot over medium heat with a splash of chicken broth or water to bring the soup back to its original consistency. Stir gently so the noodles stay whole, and add fresh green onions before serving.

More Filipino Noodle Soup Recipes

• Batchoy – The Iloilo bowl with fresh miki, pork innards, and crushed chicharon on top
• Oriental Lomi – Round miki noodles again, this time with Chinese sausage in a thicker broth
• Spicy Sotanghon Chicken Soup – Glass noodles with Thai chili for anyone who wants heat in the broth
• Chicken and Miswa Soup – Thin wheat noodles that soften in a minute, for a lighter and quicker bowl
• Sotanghon and Egg Noodle Soup – Two noodles in one pot, finished with boiled eggs and toasted garlic
• Pancit Miki Guisado – The same miki noodles cooked dry as a stir fry instead of a soup
• Batchoy Tagalog – The Luzon version, built on misua, pork blood, and plenty of ginger

• Round miki noodles – Fresh hokkien noodles are the closest match. Dried miki works if you cook it a minute short of the package time first. Egg noodles and even elbow macaroni will work, though they will give the soup a different texture.
• Chicken liver – Leave it out and the soup still tastes good, just lighter. Chicken gizzard gives the soup a firmer bite, but it will not break down into the broth the way liver does. Adjust the patis to taste.
• Bacon – Chopped ham or sliced Chinese sausage both work. Chinese sausage runs sweeter, so hold back a little on the patis.
• Cabbage – Napa cabbage or pechay. Both wilt faster than regular cabbage, so give them 3 to 4 minutes instead of the full 8.
• Chicken thighs – Chicken breast, cut into small pieces. Cut the simmer to 20 minutes so the meat does not dry out, and use full strength broth to make up for the flavor the bones would have given.
• Fish sauce – Salt plus a chicken cube will season the pot, but you lose the fermented note that makes the broth taste Filipino.

Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup is done when a strand of miki bends easily with no firm center, usually 5 to 7 minutes after it goes into the pot. The cabbage should still have a little bite at that point. Ladle the soup into bowls while it is still hot, then add the green onions and serve it with calamansi on the side.