In Mexico, this is a kind of comfort food – maybe like mac and cheese to us, or chicken noodle soup perhaps. It could be made without meat, but usually it’s made with chicken. It’s a great way to use up some leftover chicken that’s already cooked, like a rotisserie chicken. Fideo? Know what that is? It’s a little, tiny pasta noodle – like angel hair. What’s also on top is a Mexican white crumbly cheese, a Mexican kitchen staple – sometimes you’ll see it sprinkled on top of enchiladas.
You may recall that I had a Mexican fideo soup at a Nordstrom Café recently, and vowed I’d research it and find a recipe. There are lots of recipes out there, but I finally settled on this one from a blog called www.azucarandspice.com that I thought would have more flavor and texture than most of the others. Maribel’s recipe, from her much beloved grandmother Elvira, has lots of little tips and tricks to making it, all of which I included. I did, however, take a few liberties with the recipe – I liked the carrots that were in little cubes in the soup I’d tasted, and although most of the soup was a puree, there were a few pieces of things in the soup I had at Nordstrom’s, so I only blended about 2/3 of the total amount so there was still some texture from onion, celery, leeks and carrots. I also added a can of enchilada sauce – not traditional – but I thought it added a bit of extra flavor. And lastly, I sprinkled some salty Mexican cheese on top. I used Queso Fresco, but Cotija would be really nice too. Cotija is saltier and a bit drier cheese. They’re both good, however.
What’s fideo? That’s pronounced fih-DAY-oh – and it’s just a tiny little pasta noodle, much like angel hair. Let’s briefly talk about fideo . . . if you have a market with some Mexican staples on the shelves, you might find a cellophane package of pre-cut, short fideo (I did, see photo below). But it’s not necessary to find a Mexican market – just use angel hair pasta and break it up into small 2-inch pieces.
Fideo soup is a fairly easy soup to make – the only different thing you must do, to make it right, 
Maribel’s way, is to toast the raw pasta in a little bit of oil. See photo at left. This is the same technique used for making pilaf, when you toast the rice and pasta in oil. That process hardens the pasta a bit, also gives it a nice golden brown color (just be cautious you don’t burn it) and therefore it takes longer to cook. This soup is simmered for nearly an hour after you add the pasta – normally pasta would cook in about 7-8 minutes, but toasted this way, the pasta doesn’t get mushy.
I made a nice, big batch of this, and since it definitely is NOT soup season right now, I packaged it up, except for the single serving I ate that night, and it’s all in plastic ziploc bags in the freezer. It will stay there until the fall when the weather turns cooler. My guess is that every good Mexican cook (maybe even bad cooks) know how to make fideo soup. Not everyone, though, uses all the different steps in this one that make it so good. Thanks to Maribel, you now know how to make it her abuelita’s (grandmother’s) way.
What’s GOOD: it’s just a good, tasty soup – enriched with chicken and the little pieces of pasta. Easy to make – easy to freeze too. Very comfort food. You don’t have to serve anything with it.
What’s NOT: there are a few more steps to this than just pouring in a bunch of raw veggies and adding broth, but it’s worth it.
Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open recipe in MC)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Mexican Chicken Fideo Soup
Recipe By: Adapted from azucarandspice.com
Serving Size: 8
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 whole garlic cloves — minced
1 cup yellow onion — chopped
1 cup celery — chopped
1 whole leek — cleaned, finely chopped
56 ounces canned tomatoes — chopped or squished in your hands
1 whole chipotle chile canned in adobo — minced finely
1 teaspoon salt — or more if needed
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces fideo pasta — or angel hair, broken into small 2-inch lengths
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups carrots — chopped in small 1/2″ cubes
10 ounces enchilada sauce — canned (Las Palmas if you can find it)
2 cups cooked chicken — shredded or chopped in small pieces
1/2 cup cotija cheese — or queso fresca (garnish)
1/2 cup cilantro — chopped (garnish)
Notes: If you’d like this soup to have more flavor depth, rehydrate some guajillo or ancho chiles – the dried ones – in water for an hour, then open them, remove stems, seeds and membranes and chop them up – add them all to the blender batch that gets pureed in step #3 below. I didn’t do this when I made it, but next time I will.
1. In a Dutch oven heat the canola oil. Add the garlic and saute for less than a minute (do not let garlic brown or burn). Add the chopped onions, celery and leeks. Continue cooking until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the tomatoes, with the juices and chipotle chiles and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Remove from heat and scoop about 2/3 of this mixture into a blender or food processor. Add about 1/2 cup of water. Don’t overload it as it may blow the lid off (from the heat). Puree that mixture and pour it back into the pan.
4. Return pan to the heat, add salt and add some of the chicken broth if needed (if it’s too thick to simmer without burning). Bring to a simmer and allow it to cook while you prepare the noodles.
5. Into a large nonstick skillet pour about 2 T of olive oil. Warm to a medium heat. Add the fideo pasta to the pot and fry until the pasta turns light brown. This will take about 5 minutes depending on the heat level. Keep stirring throughout or the noodles will burn. You want them to be golden brown, no darker.
6. Add the golden brown fideo to the soup and raise the heat to medium.
7. Add the remaining chicken broth and stir well. Let the soup come to a boil and let it bubble for about 5 minutes then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot.
8. After 15 minutes add 2 cups of water, stir well and cover and continue to simmer.
10. After another 15 minutes add the remaining cup of chicken broth, stir well and cover the pot again up so the soup continues simmering.
11. In 20 more minutes add one more cup of water, cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes. At this point add chicken. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed.
12. Serve hot and garnish with the crumbled cheese and cilantro.
Per Serving: 265 Calories; 12g Fat (39.9% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 48mg Cholesterol; 960mg Sodium.
Leave a Comment!