Easy Chicken and Noodles — The Broth That Crossed a Screen Door

Everything changed this week. Not all at once — gradually, then suddenly, the way everything in 2020 seems to happen. Monday: the World Health Organization declared a global emergency. Cases in Houston. The mayor held a press conference. Schools are considering closures. Restaurants are seeing a drop in customers. Tuesday: my AA meeting was half-empty. People are staying home. Bill was there — he's seventy-five and he showed up because that's what Bill does. I said, "Bill, you should stay home." He said, "If I stay home, I drink. If I come here, I don't. The virus can wait." Bill's calculus is brutal and correct. Wednesday: I went to the restaurant space. Stood in the dining room with the new floors and the painted walls and the empty tables and I called David Chen. I said, "What happens to the lease if restaurants are forced to close?" He said, "Force majeure clause. If the government orders closures, rent is abated." I said, "Does that apply here?" He said, "Bobby, I don't know. Nobody knows anything right now." Thursday: I set up a system for Ma. Groceries delivered to her door — I prepaid for a month's worth of rice, vegetables, meat, fish sauce. I stocked her kitchen. I told her to stay inside. She said, "I'm not afraid of a virus." I said, "Ma, you survived a boat. You don't need to survive this too. Just stay inside." She looked at me with an expression I couldn't read. Then she said, "I'll stay inside if you bring me pho on Saturday." Deal. Friday: the March pop-up was supposed to happen on the 7th. I canceled it. Two hundred people in a parking lot during a respiratory virus outbreak is not responsible. Lily announced the cancellation on Instagram. The response was understanding and sad. One comment said: "Take care of yourselves. We'll be here when you're back." Saturday: I brought Ma pho. Through the screen door. She opened the screen, took the container, and said, "This broth is not twelve hours." It was six hours. She could tell. From the other side of a screen door. The woman has broth sonar. The restaurant build-out is paused. The pop-up is paused. The world is pausing. I'm not pausing. I'm cooking. Every day. For the kids, for Ma, for the neighbors. I'm standing at the smoker and tending the fire because that's what I know how to do when everything is uncertain. The fire keeps burning. Even when the world stops, the fire keeps burning.

The pho I brought Ma on Saturday was only six hours — she knew it the moment she lifted the lid — but it reminded me that a good broth doesn’t have to be a project to do its job. While the restaurant stayed dark and the pop-ups stayed canceled, I kept coming back to a simpler version of that same idea: chicken, noodles, heat, and time. This Easy Chicken and Noodles became my weekday anchor through those first weeks of uncertainty — fast enough to make for the neighbors, humble enough to feel honest, and warm enough to matter when warmth was the only thing I could actually give.

Easy Chicken and Noodles

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz wide egg noodles
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (for serving)

Instructions

1. Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
2. Add broth and chicken. Pour in the chicken broth and water. Add the whole chicken thighs or breasts, carrots, thyme, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Simmer the chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and reads 165°F internally.
4. Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken with tongs and transfer to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred it into bite-sized pieces, then return the shredded meat to the pot.
5. Cook the noodles. Bring the broth back to a gentle boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions, typically 7–9 minutes, until just tender.
6. Taste and finish. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Serve immediately — or pack into a container and bring it to someone who needs it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg