Ginger Is The Ingredient You're Missing For A Vibrant Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot take: Classic chicken noodle soup can get a little boring. Even at its best — homemade broth, perfectly cooked chicken, plenty of veggies — it's not the most exciting broth in the bowl. Does that mean you should stop making it? Absolutely not! Just zhuzh it up a bit. It can be as easy as adding one ingredient: Fresh ginger.

If you were raised on Campbell's, ginger and chicken noodle soup might not seem like the most obvious combination. But think about it. So many delicious dishes spring from the ginger-chicken alliance. Butter chicken. Chicken yakisoba. Garlic ginger chicken wings. Clearly, this zippy root and plucky protein were meant to be together.

For maximum health (and flavor) benefits, you should pick up some fresh ginger. (Stumped on how to prep it? One quick trick for peeling fresh ginger only requires a spoon.) Add it at the same time as your other aromatics. It's a simple step can transform your chicken noodle soup into something special.

Simply adding grated ginger can take your chicken noodle soup to the next level. But why not level up again? There are a few more steps you can take to make a winner-winner chicken soup dinner.

For starters: Double up on the ginger. Fresh ginger tastes great — it has a bright, astringent grassiness. But ginger powder ain't bad, either — compared to the raw stuff, it's mellow and earthy. Try coating your chicken in a ginger powder spice rub as well as grating up some fresh ginger. You'll get two layers of flavor.

Another way to boost the boldness of your ginger is to cut thin slivers and sear them in oil when making the base of your soup. Chef Jeremy Pang of London's School of Wok likes to do this when making his Taiwanese chicken soup because it deepens the color and flavor of the ginger.

Once you've added ginger to your chicken noodle soup, you might as well add other flavors, too. You've probably eaten hundreds of bowls made with onions, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf or two. Why not try scallions and sesame oil? Mustard leaves and fenugreek? A fat dollop of chile paste? Adding ginger is the start to a more interesting bowl of soup — it doesn't have to be the end.

Chicken noodle soup is one of those meals you turn to when you're sick — and not just because it's what mom and dad used to make. It has real health benefits for a healing human. Broth is hydrating, noodles are easy energy, and the veggies provide much-needed nutrition. What health benefits does raw ginger add to the mix?

If you've ever taken a bite of fresh ginger root — or the pickled ginger that comes with your sushi — you'll be familiar with one perk: It's a natural decongestant. When you have a cold and you're desperate for a breath of fresh air, ginger can help clear your sinuses. Ginger may also reduce inflammation. A 2020 meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials showed that ginger supplements reduced multiple markers of inflammation in the body — though the authors also said results should be interpreted with caution and more study is needed. Whether you're eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a sick day, mental health day, or just because you like it — adding a bit of ginger can make a big difference.