Over the winter, Tory & I got together when we both had a Monday off and planned to look through a box of Nana’s recipes we’d received when she moved I had only recently received my Instant Pot and I was just itching to make some kind of soup with it. Via text conversations we decided we wanted to make a Ramen style soup, well my grocery store didn’t have the right kind of noodles so we ended up with Chicken Udon Noodle Soup instead.
What I really wanted to test out in the Instant Pot was its ability to make a really flavorful broth in a short amount of time. I read tons of recipes online and was most intrigued by the ones that used chicken pieces with some marrow in it, like cut apart chicken wings. Not knowing how much meat would be left on the wings, Tory & I decided to roast a breast and some thighs to shred for the soup once we made the broth. I don’t know that it had the Asian flair we were looking for, even though it started with a base of garlic and ginger but the chicken and mushroom broth was rich and flavorful. Add in some sprouts, carrots, and spinach toppers sure was tasty and comforting on a cool winter day.
Here’s what you need:
If you don’t want to pick the meat off the wings for the soup, roast a bone in chicken breast and 2 thighs in the oven at 425 until done and then shred. You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken or spend the time on the wings.
Tory had also read that when making a stock like this, it’s recommended to cut off the meat you want to use and cook separately; for example if using a whole chicken cut off the breasts and use the rest for stock or buy chicken parts and cook the ones for the sauce separately. The rationale behind this is that the chicken used in the stock will give up all its flavor to the liquid and be pretty bland on its own.
The first thing you want to do is cut apart the chicken wings. I used 3.25 lbs or a family-sized package.
Grate a few cloves of garlic and a teaspoon or so of fresh ginger (it will grate better if you freeze it first).
Select the sauté setting on your Instant Pot (or multi-cooker) and heat about a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant about 30 seconds to a minute.
Hit cancel. Add 8 cups water, chicken wings, and some mushrooms. Season with soy sauce, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
Lock the top on and set the instant pot to high pressure for 20 minutes. When it’s finished use natural release for at least 15 minutes before trying to quick release the remaining pressure. Tip: When I quick release anything with a lot of liquid, I use a kitchen towel to slowly move the steam release handle. Move it back if liquid splatters out and wait longer. The kitchen towel will keep any mess contained.
Once the pressure is released, remove the cover. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the broth. Allow the broth to sit for a few minutes to settle and then skim off some of the fat and any floating bits from the top.
While the broth is cooking, I grated some carrots, sliced some scallions and rough cut some spinach.
Shed the chicken pieces that you cooked separately.
Turn the Instant Pot back to saute. When it come to a boil add udon noodles to the broth and cook according to package directions.
To the soup add carrots, spinach, sprouts, scallions and your shredded chicken.
Turn off the pot and stir together.
I like to enjoy this soup with chopsticks for the noodles and goodies and a spoon for the broth.
The leftovers tasted even better to me than the first time around. Because you are cooking wings with some exposed marrow from cutting them apart, the broth might form a gelatinous solid in the fridge. This is ok and just means you have a nice rich broth. It will thin out again as you heat it up.
- 1 T sesame oil
- 1 t fresh grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 8 c water
- 3.25 lbs chicken wings cut apart at the joints
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 2 T soy sauce, reduced sodium
- 2 t kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 8 oz udon noodles
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
- ½ c shredded carrot
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced – white and light green parts
- 1 cup spinach, sliced into strips
- 1 c fresh bean sprouts
- Set instant pot (multi-cooker) to sauté. Heat sesame oil. Cook garlic and ginger for about a minute until fragrant.
- Add water, chicken wings, mushrooms, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
- Close lid and pressure release valve. Set to cook for 20 minutes on high pressure. When it finishes cooking, allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes before carefully and slowly trying quick release. If liquid sputters out, allow natural release for another 10 minutes or so. When pressure is released take off the lid.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken wings from the pot. Allow broth to settle for 5 minutes and skim off fat and any bits from the top.
- Turn Instant Pot back to sauté and bring to a boil. Add udon noodle and cook according to package directions. Stir in chicken, carrots, scallions, spinach and bean sprouts.
- Serve with chopsticks (or a fork) and a spoon.
Hello,
Thank you for this recipe, we followed it however at the end of cooking the broth had a very bad smell this is before adding in the noodles, we used fresh chicken wings and followed the recipe exactly. Do you have any idea why the broth didn’t smell nice?
Thanks.
I am so sorry to hear that. It might be the mushrooms in the broth. The first time I used mushrooms, I noticed they gave broth a very earthy smell where I was expecting something more chicken-y. How did it taste?
Can I substitute beef instead of chicken? Will frying it instead of boiling it enhance the flavours?
Hi Natasha! Great question. What we are doing with the chicken wings is basically making a broth or stock to build the rest of the soup. I have not yet tried making a beef stock in my instant pot yet. Based on a quick google search, what most people suggest doing is using beef bones and roasting them to enhance the flavor before pressure cooking. If you want to go the beef route, I suggest trying the Serious Eats version as I find them to a reputable source with well tested recipes. As far as boiling vs frying goes – when I make beef soup and start with a pre-purchased stock, I do like to fry or saute the beef to brown it in some oil before adding to the soup.