Chicken Soup with Onions and Garlic for the Endless Winter

This chicken soup comes from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, which can never be praised too
much. Its only flaw is that it has so many obviously exciting recipes that the quieter ones -- like chicken soup -- get passed over. And this recipe is especially likely to be skipped, for a few reasons:  

Reason #1: It calls for a enormous quantity of alliums, which it makes it sound like the soup will be sharp and aggressive. It is not. It is the opposite. Simmered in the broth, the onions, shallots and garlic become docile and sweetly charming, the perfect houseguests, if you like to slow-cook your houseguests and noisily slurp them.  

Reason #2: It calls for five whole cilantro plants, roots and all. As it turns out, before children arrived I spent way too much time searching for cilantro plants with the roots still attached and I can tell you that the only reliable way to obtain whole cilantro plants is to grow them yourself. So I opt out: I toss in some cilantro, not even five plants worth, and I forgo the roots. I live with myself. 

Reason #3: It calls for a whole chicken -- and it is wonderful when made with a whole chicken, just as it must be wonderful when made with a pot full of cilantro roots. But most of the time I make this as a slap-dash, duct-taped dinner: I use a pile of assorted frozen chicken parts for stock and pick meat off the bones afterward. It works.

And as if I haven’t mauled the poor recipe enough, I add noodles too. In this time of unending winter, we need to bulk up.

Serves 4 with soup left over

1 small chicken or whatever chicken you have frozen for stock (if you use assorted parts, you will want a couple of pounds worth)
3 scallions, trimmed
1 bunch cilantro, stalks and roots included (optional: do not scour the city for cilantro with the roots still on; feel free to make without any cilantro)
2 carrots, halved
8 whole black peppercorns
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 small shallots, or 4 large shallots, peeled and halved
1 head of garlic, peeled and halved
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound egg noodles (straight wheat noodles are fine, though)
Cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a large pot, place the chicken or chicken parts, scallions, cilantro (if using), carrots, and black peppercorns, and add about three quarts of water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer, uncovered. If you're using a whole chicken, remove it when the meat is tender, after about an hour and a half. Set the chicken aside to cool. If using chicken parts with very little meat, you can let the broth simmer for longer, if you like. When the broth is ready, strain and set aside the chicken parts. (I like to gently press the cooked carrots through the sieve, which adds some body to the broth.)

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, strip off the meat into shreds and set aside in a bowl. If using chicken parts, strip off any meat that remains. (A chicken back, for example, hides a surprising amount of meat.)

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

When the broth is strained, add the fish sauce and salt and taste. Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the shallots, garlic, and onions, and cook for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the alliums are soft and sweet. In the separate pot of boiling water, cook the noodles until al dente. 

Serve the soup in large bowls, placing some meat and a small clump of noodles in each bowl and then pouring the soup over it. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if using.

http://food52.com/recipes/27183-chicken-soup-with-onions-and-garlic-for-the-endless-winter