Cookbook:Chicken Sopas

| Cuisine of the Philippines

Sopas is a Filipino macaroni soup made with elbow macaroni, meat, vegetables, and milk.

Ingredients

 * 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
 * 3 cloves garlic, minced
 * 1 onion, finely chopped
 * 250 grams chicken meat, still attached to the bones
 * Salt
 * Freshly ground black pepper
 * 3–4 cups water
 * 1 cup dried elbow macaroni
 * 1 carrot, diced
 * ½ head of cabbage, shredded
 * 375 ml (1½ cups) evaporated milk

Procedure

 * 1) Preheat oil in a pot. Add onion and garlic, and sauté them. Be careful not to burn them, as this will give your soup a burnt and bitter taste.
 * 2) Add the chicken, salt, and pepper. Let it cook but don't let it brown. Browning the meat will give you a dark broth with an unpleasant taste.
 * 3) Pour in water and bring everything to a boil.
 * 4) As soon as the water boils, the scum from the chicken will rise to the top—you can skim it off.
 * 5) Season again with salt and pepper—this is called "layering" in cooking.
 * 6) Add the elbow macaroni and cook for 7 minutes or so.
 * 7) The macaroni will have absorbed some of the salt by now, so season again with salt.
 * 8) Add the carrots and cabbage. Mix well.
 * 9) Add in the milk but don't let it boil—boiling will make the milk separate and ruin the soup's texture.
 * 10) Serve immediately because the elbow macaroni will absorb most of the milky broth if you let it stand too long.
 * 11) Enjoy!

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Using meat with bones will make the broth tastier without the use of bouillon cubes.
 * You can use fish sauce instead of salt for added flavor.