Sopas (Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup)

Sopas, or Filipino Chicken Macaroni Soup, is a delicious, creamy dish with chicken, pasta, and vegetables in every spoonful.  A classic Filipino soup that you can easily make in your kitchen — a meal on its own!

I grew up having chicken sopas all year round, but twice as often during the rainy season — a toss-up between sopas and chicken sotanghon soup to warm me up. 🙂

It’s got everything in a serving: warm, milky broth, pasta, shredded chicken, and vegetable bits.  Of course, like any traditional Filipino dish, sopas is primarily seasoned with fish sauce.

Chicken macaroni soup is a meal on its own for locals — a bowl of absolute deliciousness.

It is a comfort food for many Filipinos, and the only way to understand this is for you to try it! 😉

FOR MORE TRADITIONAL FILIPINO FOOD, CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES!

Ingredients

(The ingredients’ measurements for preparing sopas are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

• Chicken – I always use chicken breasts for making sopas, but I know chicken legs or thighs are also commonly used.

• Oil – canola or sunflower oil would be great.

• Garlic – minced or grated.

• Onion – finely chopped so it’s barely noticeable when your macaroni sopas is ready.

• Celery – chopped into small dice, but the usual thin slices would also work.

• Carrot – peeled and chopped in the identical small dice as the celery.

• Macaroni – elbow macaroni is traditionally used for chicken sopas, but you can also use any small macaroni pasta.

• Hotdog – if you can find Filipino-brand hotdogs like ‘purefoods,’ they are even better for this soup.

• Evaporated milk – to add creaminess to your chicken macaroni soup.

• Seasoning & spices – bay leaf, peppercorns, fish sauce, salt, and ground black pepper.

How to make sopas

The first step is cooking the chicken, and don’t throw away the water from cooking it; you need it to make sopas.

Combine the chicken breast with bay leaf, peppercorns, and four cups of water in a medium saucepan.

Cover with a lid, place it over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil — remove any scum floating on top.

Adjust the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked.  Remove it from the water and let it cool.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the skin and bones, shredding it with your hands —- set aside.

In another medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.

Add garlic and onion.

Cook until it becomes translucent, then add carrot and celery.

Mix for a few minutes, then add the chopped hotdog and the shredded chicken.

Mix to combine everything.

Use a strainer to pour the liquid from cooking the chicken earlier, then add the bouillon cubes and a tablespoon of fish sauce.

Cover with a lid, boil, adjust the heat, and simmer your sopas for about twenty minutes.

Add the macaroni.

Cover and lower heat — then continue simmering until the macaroni is cooked.

Pour the evaporated milk.

Mix, taste, and adjust seasoning by adding ground black pepper or fish sauce.

Remove your pot of chicken sopas from the heat.

Transfer into bowls and serve!

Helpful tips

• Whether you’re using chicken breasts or legs, keeping the bones when cooking them is better.  It gives your macaroni soup a deeper flavor.

• Remember to remove and discard the scum that floats when cooking the chicken.

• Do not add all the fish sauce at once.  Start with one tablespoon and add more after tasting.

• Adding more water if you want more liquid in your sopas is ok.  I typically add half a cup of water as well.

Recipe variation

• Salt.  If you do not like fish sauce, use your regular salt for seasoning.  I must tell you, though, there is a difference in taste — the ‘funkiness’ is part of traditional Filipino sopas.

• Vienna sausage.  A great alternative to hotdogs, Vienna sausages are small, canned sausages that you can find in any Filipino store.

• Regular milk.  I sometimes use whole-cream milk if I run out of evaporated milk.

• Spring onions.  Also known as scallions or green onions, are often added when serving.

So, are you craving a bowl of chicken sopas now? Grab your ingredients and give this a try this evening! 🙂

OR GET MORE IDEAS FROM THIS LIST OF POPULAR SOUPS!

FOR MORE DISHES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, CHECK OUT THESE WORLD CUISINE RECIPES!

📖 Recipe