Chicken Noodle Soup | Little Fires Everywhere

‘You slept a long time. That’s good. Do you think you can eat something?’ In the kitchen, Mia set a bowl of soup in front of her, and Lexie brought a spoonful to her lips: chicken noodle, salty, searingly hot. There was no sign of Peal, but the clock on the stove read 3:15. School had let out a little while ago. She must have told her mother everything, Lexie thought.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng

The concept of comfort food is fascinating, usually something high in carbs, sugar or salt. It can be eaten when all seems hopeless and the thought of that delicious, carby meal at the end of your day is all that will keep you going.

Or, it can a meal that brings about a nostalgic emotion, a sentimental feeling attached to a type of food that brings about memories of childhood and feeling safe. In Little Fires Everywhere

It’s interesting growing up in Australia - your main media exposure as a child is to movies and television shows that are American. You grow up seeing all these comfort foods in shows that you’ve never heard of real. Foods like tomato soup with grilled cheese or chicken noodle soup.

In Little Fires Everywhere chicken noodle soup is the dish that Mia serves to Lexie during a day that is particularly bad. The description of the soup: salty, searingly hot, is the perfect fix to her day. It doesn’t solve anything - but it helps. I recommend this soup whenever you need a meal that's a little more grounding and will let you disappear from any problems for a few hours at least. 

Note: I used a soy based faux chicken I found at my local asian grocer - if you’re using real chicken, make sure you add another step of checking the chicken is cooked through at the end just to be safe.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes approx. 6 serves.
Ingredients
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 brown onion, diced finely
3 gloves garlic, minced
100g dried noodles/pasta
5 cups chicken stock
200g faux chicken, diced into large chunks *see note
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh pepper

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add in the onion, cooking until soft, around 3 - 4 minutes.

2. Add in the carrot, celery and garlic, cooking for another 5 minutes or so until they start to soften also. Remember to keep them moving during this time so they don’t stick and burn.

3. Add in the chicken stock, cover and bring to the boil. Leave to boil for around 10 minutes before adding in the diced chicken and dried noodles or pasta.

4. Leave on stove for another 10 minutes or until noodles have softened.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!