A step-by-step guide to making Oma’s soup

My mom makes the best soup in the world! She always has a bowl ready for me to eat when I come for a visit.

Growing up, we ate soup at every supper meal before the main course of meat, potatoes, and vegetables.

As an adult, I’ve attempted many times to make my own soup. But it never tasted as good as my mom’s.

So I asked her to show me EXACTLY what she does to make her soups. She doesn’t follow a recipe, so I decided to record her making the soup — I wrote down and recorded with photos and videos as she cooked.

Here it is!

Ingredients

Soup Noodles: My mom recommends the Bechtle brand of Traditional German Egg Pasta soup noodles

Chicken

Vegetables

Spices

1 pkg chicken noodle soup mix
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 kippenbouillon t-bag — Mom gets these from Holland but any Dutch specialty store should sell them

Directions

• Fill a large pot with water
• Add chicken bone and meat into the pot
• Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer until meat separates from the bone (for about an hour)
• If it accidentally boils over, take off the foam to keep the broth clear
• Strain the soup so that broth is meat-free
• Add vegetables and spices to the broth
• Bring to boil and then turn down to simmer again
• When meat cools down, remove the chicken and fat from the bones and add the meat to the broth
• Add 2 handsful of noodles to the soup

Once the noodles are added, make sure you do not let the water boil.

It’s that simple.

I think I was missing the Dutch spices that gave it the “extra” yumminess.

I also think that I especially enjoy my mom’s soup because soup means love. Soup represents tradition. It represents structure and discipline. It represents routine, comfort.

I like routine. We are told that routine is important for children because it gives them a sense of security and stability.

My mom’s soup did this for me as a child and still does as an adult.

Smakelijk eten! Bon appetit. Enjoy!

Check out these other soup recipes by my mom:

Beef Vegetable

Tomato Soup