[Chicken] Sopas is like chicken noodle soup except we use pasta – usually elbow macaroni and the broth has evaporated milk. Growing up, my mom would make this for breakfast or merienda but while my husband was growing up, this was one of his comfort food. I think it is one of the fondest memories he has of his grandmother, he always tells me how amazingly unhealthy and delicious his grandmother’s sopas is! Imagine having pig’s brains, bone from hamon and chicken in it? Sounds really yummy, right? One day, I would interview my father-in-law about the ingredients and the way his mom cooked this but for now, my simple chicken sopas or this spanish chorizo would have to fill up my husband’s growing belly haha!
Spanish chorizo is something I have at home all the time; I use it for Paella, quick pasta, fried rice and sopas.
Way way back, I did not even like chorizo until my father-in-law cooked his Menudo, it changed my view of chorizo forever!
As [almost] always, we Filipinos start by sautéeing garlic and onion. Starting with the garlic until it turns golden then add the onion is the correct way to cook it. I know the western chefs say onion first because garlic could burn easily but my mommy and mother-in-law would cook the garlic first and then add the onions. They like to brown it (so it shouldn’t be on high heat).
Then I added the sliced chorizo until oil comes out and is a but toasted.
Add 4-6 cups of chicken stock (it depends how much soup you want, I put in 6 cups) and then let it boil. Add the pasta and when there is about 1 minute left before it gets al dente, taste then season with salt and pepper. I added 1/2 tsp of salt and about 1/4 tsp ground black pepper. Also, what makes it different from chicken noodles is the evaporated milk!:) I added 7 tablespoons of evap and let it boil. I usually turn off the heat about 30 seconds before it becomes al dente, since the soup is still hot, the pasta will continue to cook.
My mother-in-law takes out the pasta and just serves it in the soup when it’s about to be eaten. This keeps the pasta from being soggy — no one likes soggy pasta!
I like having hard boiled egg in my sopas and we like eating it with more ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese!:-)
Spanish Chorizo Sopas
(Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: About 20 minutes)
- 100g Spanish chorizo, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 shallots or 1 medium red/yellow onion, minced
- 4-6 cups chicken stock (I poured 6 cups!)
- At least 2 cups of short pasta (I used 3.5 cups pasta of pipe rigate)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 7 Tbsp Evaporated milk
- Parmesan cheese
- Hard boiled egg
- Heat oil in pan
- Sauté garlic until it turns a bit brown then add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add sliced Spanish chorizo and sauté until its oil comes out and becomes a bit toasted
- Add 4-6 cups of chicken stock, let it boil.
- Add pasta and check until it is almost (about 1 minute away) from being al dente.
- Season with salt and pepper. [Add your hard-boiled egg here]
- Add evaporated milk, let it boil then turn off the heat.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper then serve.
*Best eaten on rainy days!
Makes 4 servings
