Classic Chicken and Rice Soup

The beauty of this comforting classic is all in the details.

By
Tim Chin
Tim Chin
Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who started contributing to Serious Eats in early 2020. He holds a degree in Classic Pastry Arts at The International Culinary Center.
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Published Jan. 04, 2022
Chicken and rice soup fills two white bowls. Two spoons lay beside them.

Serious Eats / Tim Chin

Why It Works

  • Roasting the chicken wings for the stock produces a more robust and intensely savory broth.
  • Poaching chicken leg meat separately from the soup base ensures perfectly cooked meat and eliminates a lot of the guesswork involved with building the soup in one pot.
  • Charring the onions and toasting the pepper creates a deeper, more complex flavor.
  • Cooking the rice separately and adding it at the very end means the rice will be perfectly cooked and the soup won't be gloopy; it also allows for customization.

I’m a sucker for Progresso’s Chicken Rice Soup (With Vegetables). Call me uncouth or uncultured, I don’t care—I grew up on the stuff. That tall blue can of way-more-than-my-daily-allowance of sodium and mono-textured ingredients was (andis) comforting. But sometime between childhood and making gallons of chicken consommé every other day in a restaurant, I learned there were other ways to be comforted in that way.

You would think making a proper chicken and rice soup is straightforward, but in practice it’s a little tricky. Rice absorbs liquid like a sponge, and if it’s left to sit in soup, it becomes mushy and blown out—less like rice in soup and more like mediocre risotto in starchy chicken water. So what’s the solution? Let’s look to another childhood favorite: Chinese pao fan, or soupy rice.

While it has many variations, the crux of the dish is simple: Take leftover rice, prepare a soup base, and combine the two toward the end of cooking—or even better, right at the table. Mixing the broth and rice at the end eliminates any chances of cloudy, starchy soup or blown-out grains. This gives you more control over the consistency and quality of the dish, and makes storage simple if you're preparing it in advance. Easy peasy, right?

The foundation of this recipe pulls from classic chicken soup flavors; I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but rather focusing on careful execution. Taking a page from Sohla’sUltimate Chicken Noodle Soup, I start by roasting chicken wings to build a robust base for chicken stock, then build the soup with aromatics like charred onion and a healthy amount of black pepper.

Poaching and shredding chicken leg quarters separately from the base of the soup ensures the meat won't be overcooked and removes a lot of the guesswork. From there, the soup incorporates the usual suspects: carrots, celery, parsley, and, of course, frozen peas.

Chicken and rice soup poured into a white bowl.

Serious Eats / Tim Chin

When it comes to the rice, I found that medium- or long-grain worked best here. To prevent the grains from clumping, I toast them in a mixture of oil and chicken fat rendered from the roasted chicken wings used in the stock. Instead of water, I cook the rice in a measured amount of reserved leg-poaching liquid—straight out of theHainanese chicken riceplaybook. The result? Chicken-flavored rice, which means even more chicken flavor in the finished soup. This is peak comfort food—warming for the soul. And it might just give that blue Progresso can a run for its money.

Recipe Facts

Prep:0 mins
Cook:4 hrs 30 mins
Total:4 hrs 30 mins
Serves:4 servings

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  • 2 pounds (900g) chicken wings
  • 1 pound (450g) chicken leg quarters
  • 2 tablespoons (18g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume or the same weight
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns plus 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup (100g) medium- or long-grain rice, rinsed and drained well
  • 1 (8-ounce; 225g) yellow onion, peeled and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick rounds
  • 6 ounces (170g) carrots (2 medium), cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 6 ounces celery (2 to 4 ribs), cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 3 ounces frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup (15g) chopped parsley

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 500°F (260°C). Spread chicken wings directly on an unlined rimmed baking sheet. Roast wings until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

    Chicken wings on an unlined rimmed baking sheet.

    Tim Chin

  2. Remove wings from oven and drain any rendered chicken fat into a heatproof bowl and reserve. Pour about 1/2 cup of water on baking sheet and scrape up any browned bits that may be stuck to the bottom.

    Rendered chicken fat into a heatproof bowl.

    Tim Chin

  3. 转移的翅膀以及水和溶解的额头ned bits to a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Cover with 1 1/2 quarts (1.4L) water. Bring to a boil over high heat on the stovetop, let boil vigorously for 15 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 2 hours, adding water as needed to maintain the 1 1/2-quart volume.

    Chicken wings along with water and dissolved browned bits in a large soup pot.

    Tim Chin

  4. 通过细孔过滤器设置在应变肉汤a heat-proof container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Return broth to now-empty pot.

    Chicken wings sitting atop a strainer.

    Tim Chin

  5. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine chicken legs with enough water to barely cover, along with 1 tablespoon (9g) salt and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickest part of legs registers 190°F (88°C), about 30 minutes. Drain chicken, reserving 3/4 cup (175ml) cooking liquid; discard peppercorns. When cool enough to handle, tear chicken into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

    Chicken legs covered in water in a large pot.

    Tim Chin

  6. Wipe now-empty saucepan dry. Add reserved chicken fat and oil and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is coated in oil and beginning to toast, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in reserved 3/4 cup chicken leg poaching liquid and swirl gently to evenly distribute the rice. Bring rice to simmer, then cover, lower heat to low, and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Off heat, uncover rice and stir to fluff. Set aside until ready to serve.

    Rice toasting in chicken fat.

    Tim Chin

  7. Heat a dry 12-inch cast iron or stainless-steel skillet over high heat. Char onion slices until blackened on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Add onions to broth, return to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer set over a clean heat-proof container; discard solids.

    Charred onion slices atop a strainer.

    Tim Chin

  8. Return now-empty pot to medium-high heat. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon ground pepper into pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until pepper is smoky and fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds.

    Ground pepper cooking at the bottom of a pot.

    Tim Chin

  9. Add broth, carrots, celery, and remaining 1 tablespoon salt and bring mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook until vegetables are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in chicken and peas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt; if broth tastes overly rich or too full-bodied, thin with hot water 1/2 cup at a time until desired flavor is reached. To serve, divide cooked rice between bowls and ladle soup over rice. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

    Pea-laden chicken and rice soup in a pot.

    Tim Chin

Special Equipment

Soup pot or largeDutch oven, mediumsaucepan, 12-inchcast ironorstainless steelskillet.

Make Ahead and Storage

To make ahead, prepare recipe through Step 7; store chicken, broth, and cooked rice separately in refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months. To serve, finish soup as described in Step 8.

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