Chicken Sotanghon Soup is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food! Loaded with flavorful chicken, cellophane noodles, and veggies, this Filipino soup is a hearty and tasty way to warm up!
It's starting to get chilly here in my neck of the woods and hearty soups have been my steady companions of late. I have a long list of soups I love to cozy up to during colder months but no offense to chicken sopas or arroz caldo, this chicken sotanghon happens to be my all-time favorite.
Nothing warms the body and nourishes the soul like a piping hot bowl of moist chicken, cellophane noodles, tender-crisp veggies, and flavorful broth in my book!
This Filipino-style noodle soup is typically made with chicken parts simmered in aromatics and shredded into strips. However, I prefer to use bone-in chicken wings cut up into manageable pieces in mine.
Not only do they keep moist and not stringy like the dry flaked meat, but the bone-rich chicken wings also brings an extra depth of flavor to the broth. Add aromatics, good-for-you vegetables, and delectable toppings, and you have a soup that's both hearty and delicious.
What is Sotanghon
Sotanghon, also known as cellophane, glass. or mung bean thread noodles, are a type of clear noodles made from potato, mung bean, sweet potato, or tapioca starch and water. They're usually packaged in dried form and then reconstituted to use in stir-fries and soups.
The noodles are a staple in my house. I just love how they can easily be thrown together into a quick, delicious, and budget-friendly meal!
Here are a few more of my favorite recipes.
- Sotanghon at Bola Bola Soup-delightful meatballs makes this soup a substantial meal-in-itself dish
- Sotanghon at Upo-delicious paired with steamed rice and crispy-fried fish!
- Ginisang Munggo at Sotanghon-added cellophane noodles deliciously extend this already economical dish
Cooking tips
- Although I encourage you to use bone-in chicken parts for maximum flavor, shredded leftover rotisserie chicken is also a quick and budget-friendly option.
- The recipe calls for Chinese celery, carrots, and napa cabbage. Feel free to swap or add shitake or wood ear mushrooms, pechay, and Baguio beans.
- I do not presoak the noodles as they tend to overcook quicker. Just add the dry coils and push down in the hot broth to cook and soften.
- Chicken is the choice of protein in this recipe, but you can also use diced pork, meatballs, shrimp, or crisp tofu for variety.
How to serve
- Chicken sotanghon makes a delicious and filling midday snack or light meal. Serve with steamed rice, pandesal, or puto.
- Ladle the soup in serving bowls and top with toasted garlic, chopped green onions, and hard-boiled egg.
How to store
- Allow leftovers to cool completely and store in a container with a tight-fitting lid without the toppings. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- As with any noodle or pasta recipes, this soup does not freeze well as the sotanghon tends to change texture when frozen and thawed.
- To reheat, transfer to a sauce pot and heat until completely warmed through. Add more broth or water as needed to loosen the consistency and adjust seasonings to taste.
Chicken Sotanghon Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 thumb-size ginger, peeled and julienned
- 1 pound chicken wings, tips removed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup Chinese celery (kinchay), chopped
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon atchuete powder
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces (about 2 coils) sotanghon
- ½ head napa cabbage, shredded
- 3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and halved
- fried garlic bits
- green onions, chopped
For the Fried Garlic Bits
- ½ cup oil
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and cook until softened.
- Add chicken and cook, stirring regularly, until lightly browned and juices run clear.
- Add celery and cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until softened.
- Add fish sauce and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, skimming any scum that floats on top. Lower heat, cover, and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through.
- In a bowl, combine about ½ cup of the hot broth and atsuete powder. Stir until atsuete is dissolved. Add atsuete water to pot.
- Add carrots and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until half-done. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add sotanghon noodles and push down into broth to soften, stirring gently to separate.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with boiled eggs, fried garlic bits and green onions. Serve hot.
- When noodles have slightly softened, add cabbage and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until noodles are cooked and vegetables are tender yet crisp.
For the Fried Garlic Bits
- In a small pan over low heat, heat oil. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- With a slotted spoon, remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Garlic will crisp as it cools.
Nutrition
The best!
Thank you!
Hello po, can I use turmeric instead of the ordinary ginger?
I've never tried it with turmeric but worth a try 🙂
I love your recipe! I have made it a few times before, but this time I tried it with the atchuete like in your recipe. Love the color!
I just had a question.....I always presoak(20-30 mins) the noodles before adding to the pot, but after about 10 minutes, the noodles start absorbing the soup. By the time we eat, there's not much soup left. How do I get more soup without it absorbing it so quickly? This is one of my fav filipino dishes, but I don't make it often because of this issue. I sometimes add more chicken stock than recipes states so I can have more soup, but the same thing always happens.
Unfortunately, this is going to be an issue because of the nature of noodles. If you want, you can boil the noodles in another pot or in the soup and then take them out. Keep them separate from the broth, then place in bowls and top with the broth when ready to serve.
This is the best pinoy cooking blog I ever found. Thank you!
I'm so pleased with the results. Ang healthy pa. Yung natikman ko cabbage lang tsaka manok sahog tapos ang plain tingnan, unlike this. Sobrang sarap po. Maraming salamat dito.
Thank you, Tessa, for the feedback. I am glad you liked it. The extra vegetables definitely makes the soup more colorful and inviting!
Been wanting to cook this for a while and glad i've found one in kawaling pinoy. gonna try this sometime soon, My flatmates gonna love this one for sure..
Let us know how they liked it, Dustin!
Thanks kay Google for leading me to this blog...just had one for my dinner...just tried hard to find anato powder or seeds here in Oman..but all I found were Indian spices...but I found Lucky Me Instant sotanghon ... that gave me an idea to use the powder on it...taste good. Wish I could post the final product hehehe. Just miss my nanay cooking this every Christmas or New year.
Awww, Alvin, this touched my heart. I remember my first year here in the U.S. and away from my mother. It was November when we left and that first Christmas was exciting yet lonely at the same time. I cried all the time 🙁
Take care of yourself and I wish you happy holidays.
pwede ba ung atchuete seeds? or iba un sa powder? wala kasi ko sa pinas wla kaming ganyan 🙂
Yes, pwede yung atsuete seeds. Ibabad lang sa konting warm water hanggang magkulay. 🙂
I tried this one and my hubby really liked it. It's a big help for me as a beginner to learn on how to cook and received a good compliment from my hubby. It's a good and healthy food though.thank you so much .
You're welcome. I am glad the recipes are helpful in providing homecooked meals for the family 🙂
Made this today for dinner! Masarap! I dont have kinchay and atsuete powder. Used atsuete leaves instead while boiling then took it out of the soup upon serving. Add potatoes also. Overall it taste yummy!
I am glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Woke up this morning and saw snow on the mountains and came here looking for a good soup. Just finished and my two year old devored two bowls. So yummy.
Hello Brenadine
Yes, this sotanghon soup is the perfect comfort food for chilly days. Wow, snow! Lucky you, we are still sweating out the remainder of summer here.
I am glad the kiddo loved it. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. 🙂
Thanks sa recipe na to! Nagustuhan ng buong pamilya, lalo na ng kids ko. Try nyo to masarap talaga
Hi SC,
Salamat sa feedback. Napasaya mo naman ako, I am so glad your family enjoyed the recipe 🙂
ahh! sarap! nakakagutom
My favorite soup as well 🙂
Sarap neto pag malamig at maulan.
Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family
A bountiful 2015 to you and your family, Raymund 🙂