Chicken Soup Like Abuela Made

Making chicken soup like abuela used to make has brought me so much comfort during the Covid-19 quarantine.

I miss my abuelita. She lives thousands of miles away from me. It’s very likely that I won’t see her this year. I am thankful that at least I can hear her voice on phone calls while I try to recreate her chicken soup in my kitchen.

Abuela’s chicken soup is simple but tasty. She uses chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, noodles and water. But the secret is within the chicken. She only uses “pollo del campo,” meaning a chicken that has ran freely during it’s chicken life and comes straight from the backyard of its owner.

Yes, that pollo del campo is going to be hard to find in town, but regardless it will still taste good with our grocery store chicken.

How to Make Chicken Soup

Here are the ingredients:

4 lbs chicken assorted pieces
2 tbs oil
1 cup chopped red onion
6 garlic cloves crushed
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground achiote
8 cups of water
3 potatoes peeled and diced
1 cup chopped carrots
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a saucepan with the onions, garlic, parsley, cumin, achiote and salt. Stir frequently for 12 minutes
Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Add the chicken pieces and cook for about 30 minutes on low medium heat.
Add the chopped potatoes
Add the carrots and cook for 30 minutes

Eso es todo. This is the easiest and tastiest chicken soup there is. I hope it also brings you comfort and peace during this pandemic life.