Chicken Noodle Soup

It's true that when you are feeling low and fighting a temperature, you would just like someone to tuck you in bed with a hot bowl of chicken soup.   I had a fever the other day and I was obsessively wishing for a hot bowl of soup.  So as soon as I felt better, I went straight to the kitchen and concocted this simple recipe to perk me up a bit. 

When I think of chicken noodle soup, only one thing comes to mind.  Back in college, I was living alone in a dorm.   It was an off-campus small studio apartment with its own kitchen.  I don't need to describe how life was like.  Independence was totally in our hands full time but on the down side of  being alone, getting sick can be a struggle.

So once, I cut my classes short and went crawling to bed with fever and chills.  I dozed on and off the remainder of the day in between medicines but the fever still didn't let up.  By late afternoon, my good friend, who lived a few doors away from me came to my dorm after her classes.  We were supposed to grab some beer in the nearby pub but hell, I was in no shape to grab anything even a glass of water.

Off she went to her dorm and came back with a bowl of instant hot chicken noodle soup.  Back in those days, our kitchens were devoid of anything fresh.  Everything was instant or pre-cooked by our moms.   I ate and drank the soup up to the last drop, according to friend's orders.  It wasn't easy though because we were restraining ourselves from pouncing & killing each other.  She was insistent that I finish everything and I was indignant that she was not letting me crawl under the covers.  It was a duel but in the end she won because I knew she was right anyway.   I just didn't want to admit it.  Her chicken noodle soup worked its wonders.  After a few hours, my temp went back to normal.

Twenty years have passed and the memory of that soup still lingers in my mind.  I don't even remember how it tasted like.   I just remember the value that that soup gave to our friendship - we still fight like cats and dogs. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 500 g. chicken (with skin and bones)
• 6 cups water
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped 
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• salt
• pepper  
• 200 g. pasta or noodles (I used gramigna pasta.) 
• 1/4 cup of basil leaves, chopped
• chives, finely chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, in a saucepan, boil the water, chicken, ginger and celery.  When it boils, put the heat to low and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.   
2. After 1 hour of cooking the soup, add the white wine and carrot. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 30 minutes more. Take away the froth while simmering.
3. Take away the chicken from the broth after simmering for 1-1/2 hours.   Separate the meat from the bones & shred using two forks.  Discard the skin & bones.  Put back half of the shredded chicken to the soup and put away the other half for other dishes that you can prepare it with.
4. Add the pasta to the soup and cook according to the number of minutes suggested in the packaging.
5. Add the basil, chives and sesame oil.  Serve hot.